Foreign interference: A Montrealer of Ukrainian descent fears being attacked on the street

Much has been said about foreign intervention in recent years, while rarely seeing faces. Many are afraid to speak out about the reprisals they experience from foreign countries on Canadian soil. Over the past few months, our Intelligence Bureau has met with nationals who agreed to tell us about their reality of living in fear in Quebec in 2024.

Anna (fictitious name) no longer dares to speak Ukrainian on the streets of Montreal because she fears being attacked, something she previously thought was unthinkable in Canada.

The young mother of two has been verbally assaulted at least three times in recent months by Russian speakers who overhear her speaking in her native language.

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On Twitter, a pro-Russian activist identified his former employer. Anna has been living in fear ever since. The man who gave several media interviews during the Russian invasion two years ago now refuses to speak openly. For her it was too dangerous. She fears that if she is identified, she will be harassed on the streets or on social networks. Or worse.

“Before the invasion of Ukraine in 2022, I didn’t care when I heard someone speaking Russian on the street or on public transport. Now I have a reflex to turn away. I put my phone on airplane mode as I approach the hill where the Russian embassy is located, because I know they might have the technology to track people,” he said. He says.

On March 4, 2022, Russian armored vehicles were destroyed in Bucha, west of Kiev.

Photo by AFP

Canadian recession

Anna is bitter. He accuses his adopted country of being complacent in the face of persecution suffered by thousands of his fellow citizens rooted in authoritarian or war-torn countries.

“We are more loos [que d’autres pays] In matters of national security. We see this in Chinese police stations or even with the political assassination of a Sikh leader last year. It’s like we don’t understand the world we live in and how careful we need to be,” says the woman, who has worked in the central public service for many years.

Born in Russia in the 1980s to a Russian father and Ukrainian mother, Anna grew up in Ternopil, Ukraine. Thanks to a scholarship, he studied in the US for a few years before settling here in 2015. Married to a Quebecer, she quickly learned French and became involved in Montreal’s Ukrainian community.

“In 2020, when my first child was born, I hung the flag of Ukraine on his stroller. I am a proud Ukrainian. But I won’t do that today. For fear of provoking someone,” she said.

Many incidents

That’s because Anna and other members of the Ukrainian community say they’ve been bullied for months because of their origins.

“A few weeks ago, I was at Ikea. My daughter was having fun, and I leaned over to talk to her. A couple came up to me and said in Russian: “Aren’t you ashamed to forget the language of your motherland?” I asked in French if there was a problem. They approached me and the The person started insulting me and they left when my husband came,” says Anna.

“In the minds of many Russians, our language, Ukrainian, is not, and it’s a shame when we speak it,” he said.

Last year, during a peaceful demonstration in front of the Russian embassy, ​​Anna, eight months pregnant, was followed and harassed by a Russian-speaking woman, according to a video we were able to consult and publish to protect her identity. She had to seek refuge in the nearby Polish embassy.

In another video we saw, he also witnessed an argument between his Ukrainian friend and two Russian-speaking men while leaving the Russian embassy last spring. Anna and her friend protested peacefully in front of the embassy and were told that all Ukrainians should die and that Ukraine should be nuked.

Anna also reported to our investigative unit on cases of harassment by other members of the Ukrainian community in recent months. Michael Shvek, head of the Quebec branch of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress, confirms that these are not isolated cases. “Direct bullying is rarely reported to us because people are afraid. But we report many incidents of vandalism, especially on cars displaying the Ukrainian flag. Even the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Montreal was vandalized last summer,” reports someone who had his own vehicle vandalized by vandals.

Nowhere is safe

“One of my favorite Ukrainian writers, Oksana Zabozhko, wrote that Ukrainians must realize that they are living an existential war and that there is no safe place for them anywhere, in Ukraine or elsewhere. We are always being targeted. I think she is right,” he says. elder brother.

The young woman says that she is now taking several precautions for her safety. In particular, he has kept his address secret. “I’m happy because the door to the building is locked and we have an intercom.”

She insists: Her fear is nothing compared to her parents, who stayed in Ukraine and live in fear of bombings. Still, he laments that many members of the Ukrainian community feel abandoned by Canadian authorities.

“Some countries are taking action. Iceland closes Russian embassy Here in Canada, I have the impression that we are not aware of basic national security measures […] We live more in a pink unicorn world.

Lies, retaliating against the Russian embassy

Ambassador of the Russian Federation in Montreal, Alexander Alexandrovich Noskov.

Ben Bellows / Le Journal de Montreal

The Consul General of the Russian Federation in Montreal, Alexander Alexandrovich Noskov, who gave us an interview, denies that Russia cannot attack Ukrainian nationals on Canadian soil.

“I don’t think there are tensions (between people of Ukrainian and Russian descent in Quebec). Of course, they can be divided, but there is still friendship. […] For me these stories are [d’intimidation] Fairy tales. Stories people tell to get pity. Russians living here can tell the same stories,” he commented.

– In collaboration with Christian Wiens and Yves Levesque