THREAD: This is Shivali Lekhi. She saves lives at BC Children’s Hospital as a respiratory therapist.
This morning, she drove with her brothers for hours to their family home to find broken windows and this graffiti. Their parents were alone last night when this happened.
This morning, she drove with her brothers for hours to their family home to find broken windows and this graffiti. Their parents were alone last night when this happened.
Ramesh Lekhi and his wife were inside when they heard a big bang from the windows breaking.
He showed me the swastika at the front of the house and said he knew what it meant, but had to explain to his wife, who cried the whole night.
He showed me the swastika at the front of the house and said he knew what it meant, but had to explain to his wife, who cried the whole night.
This is Abhishek Lekhi, who just graduated from @UBC in Vancouver. He says the graffiti is an act of hatred making him wonder if their family was very truly welcome in the place he and siblings were born and raised.
Story coming soon in @TorontoStar. I’ll share it here. If you’d like to relay messages to the family, post here and I’ll direct them to this thread. No hate will be tolerated.
Here’s the story - ‘Your parents can call me anytime’: After racist vandals target home, town rallies to help Indo-Canadian family thestar.com/news/canada/20… @TorontoStar
“The saddest part is that my mom didn’t even know what the swastika was and what it meant,” said Shivali Lekhi, who works at BC Children’s Hospital. She and her brothers drove from Vancouver to Summerland this morning. thestar.com/news/canada/20… @TorontoStar
Seeing the awful graffiti and broken windows, Shivali first felt the home wasn’t her home anymore, but neighbours and relatives were there offering support.
Visiting them, I felt overwhelmed by the love I felt from everyone there for this family. thestar.com/news/canada/20…
Visiting them, I felt overwhelmed by the love I felt from everyone there for this family. thestar.com/news/canada/20…
Woke up to an awful message from a councillor of a small town letting me know this happened.
When I arrived, I didn’t expect to find such a heartwarming scene of support at the family’s home, so maybe this is the story too. Love trumps hate. thestar.com/news/canada/20… @TorontoStar
When I arrived, I didn’t expect to find such a heartwarming scene of support at the family’s home, so maybe this is the story too. Love trumps hate. thestar.com/news/canada/20… @TorontoStar
The Lekhi family are reading your comments here in support. Abhishek said, “This is so sweet and kind. A light during this heartbreaking time.” thestar.com/news/canada/20…
The Lekhi family are some of the loveliest people I've met in a while. After the interviews I was awkwardly saying, hey want to have a BBQ sometime? I want to be your friend! Meanwhile, there's a swastika in the background. Awful. thestar.com/news/canada/20…
Local police are investigating the two vandalism incidents as suspected hate crimes. A bandstand in a community park was also vandalized. This happened in a very wholesome-seeming small town, literally named *Summerland* a few hours from #Vancouver. thestar.com/news/canada/20…
"We will repair the broken windows and get down this spraypaint as soon as possible. I can’t even look at it for very long.”
With the support of their neighbours and friends, Lekhi thinks the home will be a safe place for them again. thestar.com/news/canada/20… #racism #cdnpoli #bc
With the support of their neighbours and friends, Lekhi thinks the home will be a safe place for them again. thestar.com/news/canada/20… #racism #cdnpoli #bc
