Victims of Islamophobia across Waterloo spoke out on Monday in hopes of building bridges with community with their act of kindness.
This comes after police said there has been an uptick in hate-related calls.
The Muslim group of women offered the sweet alternative of offering baked cookies as a way of getting to know their neighbours. The cookies were handed out across the region on Family Day.
“This campaign is to help people to go from not knowing us to knowing us, to knowing we are just average people living in the community like everyone else,” said Fauzia Baig, the organizer of the event.
“One of the things we see locally is really we start to see the uninformed, so we see inappropriate comments. We see hateful comments,” said Bryan Larkinwith the WRPS.
He said it involved comments like: "go back to your own country".
“It is very hurtful. I've lived in Canada my entire life. I work really hard. I contribute,” said Baig.
She hopes that these small gestures will help bring everyone together.
Police said if anyone experiences or witnesses any form of hate to call them. They said raising awareness about different cultures is important.
With files from CTV Kitchener's Marc Venema.
