‘I’ve been called a terrorist,’ Vancouver council hopeful target of online racism

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – A Vancouver city council hopeful says he has received dozens of racist messages online ever since he announced his candidacy for councillor.

Rohana Rezel, with ProVancouver, says things have escalated in the last few weeks, noting there was a point where he even feared for his safety.

“There have been a few instances where the threats have been pretty persistent,” Rezel says. “One guy made some racists comments and then he actually asked me to apologize, like pretty much ‘apologize or else’ and that’s when I approached police.”

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He says that unfortunately, online attacks are common for candidates of diverse backgrounds.

“It’s the reality of being a minority candidate running for office. I’ve seen it happen to other people, I talked to other candidates and they say it’s pretty common.”

Rezel says he was called a terrorist because of his South-Asian heritage. He also says he’s received multiple comments from people making fun of his accent.

“The general feeling that the city is not really working in the interest of the people is making people really angry, and sometimes when people are angry they’re not thinking clearly,” he says.

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But despite the online attacks, he says he has no intention of dropping out of the race. He says instead, the city needs to learn to embrace politicians of all backgrounds and cultures.

Even though politics can get messy, there should be no room for racism, Rezel adds.

The civic election is taking place Saturday, Oct. 20.

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