Support groups making newcomers aware of safety issues on city streets

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This article was published 13/08/2024 (391 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Newcomer support groups say they’re doing all they can to inform and protect people in their communities after a Ukrainian refugee mother and her teenage son were beaten and robbed in a random, broad-daylight attack earlier this month.

The violent assault Aug. 3 occurred in the 900 block of McCalman Avenue in East Elmwood. Police say the woman and her 14-year-old son were walking home when they were confronted by two suspects who asked for money. When refused, the suspects attacked them with a baseball bat and robbed them of their personal property before fleeing.

Police said officers found the boy unconscious from serious head injuries that left him in “touch-and-go” condition until he recently stabilized. His mother, who is in her 30s, was less-seriously injured.

Police made two arrests following the attack. Donovan Kane Tray Kipling, 26, has been charged with assault causing bodily harm, assault, uttering threats, robbery and mischief under $5,000.

Dawson Marcus Keeper, 27, is charged with robbery and failing to comply with conditions of a release order.

Both men are in custody.

Kipling has prior convictions for assault, and was most recently sentenced in May 2023 to 45 days in jail after admitting to throwing a backpack at a security guard while he was intoxicated. Court heard at the time he has been diagnosed with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder.

At the time of his arrest, Keeper was before the court on charges of uttering threats, resisting arrest, forcible confinement, assault and sexual assault in two alleged incidents last September and October.

”It’s like they’re running from one traumatization to another.”–Joanne Lewandosky, president of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress Manitoba chapter

It was the latest in a series of violent attacks in the city over the last two years in which the victims have been refugees who fled their war-torn homes in Ukraine.

Ukrainian Canadian Congress Manitoba chapter president Joanne Lewandosky said she knows the community isn’t being targeted, but it’s been difficult for people already traumatized by what they witnessed following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, who escaped and travelled half a world away in search of peace and security here.

“It’s like they’re running from one traumatization to another,” she said Tuesday.

In January, a man waiting for the bus with his family was shot in the face with a pellet gun and robbed of his groceries. Two youths, who were 14 and 17 at the time, were arrested.

In December, 46-year-old Ivan Rubanik was stabbed to death while walking to work. Ethan Gladu, who was 19 at the time of the attack, has been charged with second-degree murder. Gladu’s next court date is Sept. 6.

On Canada Day 2022, two Ukrainian refugees in their 20s were attacked near the Canadian Museum for Human Rights just hours after moving into a downtown apartment. One was stabbed and the other was hit with bear spray after bumping into a group of men they didn’t know.

Jayden Kyle Martin and Tyson Cole Bechard were arrested and have pleaded guilty to aggravated assault.

Lewandosky said the UCC has helped arrange legal representation for the mother and her son, translated for them at the hospital where the boy is being treated and is organizing meals and transportation while they recover.

Lewandosky said there’s only so much the community can do to keep newcomers informed about the dangers associated with life in Winnipeg. The UCC hosts sessions with the Winnipeg Police Service; people are able to ask questions and receive advice on how they can minimize their risks.

“It’s (rules like), when somebody attacks you, give them what they want,” she said.

“If they want your bag of groceries, let them take it…. It’s common sense, but sometimes for newcomers, they’re not accustomed to our way of life… it’s a learning curve.”

Mayor Scott Gillingham pointed to the work of settlement agencies around the city and the work they do as crucial to ensuring newcomers are equipped with the necessary tools to stay safe.

“It’s a horrendous situation when anyone is attacked in our city, and most certainly, when we have newcomers attacked within Winnipeg, it’s very concerning,” he said. “It’s a very serious situation.”

”You don’t want to make people feel like they’re not protected…. But you want them also to understand the realities of where they live.”–Reuben Garang, executive director of Immigration Partnership Winnipeg

Immigration Partnership Winnipeg executive director Reuben Garang said he sympathizes with the mother and son who were attacked and, generally, Ukrainian refugees struggling to feel safe in their new home.

Safety education for newcomers has to deliver information without being alarmist, he said.

“It’s a difficult kind of situation to balance sometimes, because you don’t want to make people feel like they’re not protected, they’re not safe here,” he said.

“But you want them also to understand the realities of where they live in their new place. The way we talk about it, is that (safety) is a collective effort.”

He said he doesn’t believe refugees are being targeted, but lower-cost housing often puts them higher-crime areas.

“Newcomers and low income groups here have same experience — same space, same experience… people are struggling in Winnipeg, whether they’re new or people who have been here for a while,” he said.

Mosaic Newcomer Family Resource Network head Val Cavers agreed.

“What I hear from people a lot is they’re very surprised. They’re not expecting that in Canada — the downtown is a surprise for people,” she said.

Mosaic is located next to Central Park in an area with a large number of newcomer families. Safety initiatives focus on keeping public amenities safe and family friendly — “trying to overwhelm the park with positive activities,” she said — and providing personal safety alarms to women who want them.

Most of the conversation about safety in the neighbourhood focuses on the large number of vacant buildings, which often become hubs for unsafe activity.

“We’re just trying to look at everybody’s individual situations,” she said.

“But I guess the main thing is kind of taking responsibility for your personal safety is all we can do.”

— With files from Dean Pritchard

malak.abas@freepress.mb.ca