In Montreal, a week after the Sept.11 attacks, a female resident doctor of Saudi origin was wearing a hijab as she stepped into an elevator at work. A man got in the same elevator and noticed the young lady’s head-scarf. He grabbed her scarf and attempted to strangle her with it. She started to scream as the elevator doors opened, and he ran away. The hospital’s administration sent out a memo asking female employees not to work late at night and to be escorted to the parking lot.
In Toronto, two employees, one of Muslim faith, get into a heated debate about U.S. foreign policy. One employee gets annoyed with the other for his controversial stance on the events of Sept.11. They barely speak to each other at the office any more and when they do, it inevitably turns into an argument.
Loss, anger, frustration and fear. That’s what many are feeling around the world after witnessing the terrorist attacks in the U.S., and people of Arab and Islamic background are experiencing the backlash on the streets, in malls, in the schoolyard and at the workplace.
John Asfour, president of the Canadian Arab Federation says many Arab Canadians are afraid as a result of Sept.11.
“A lot of people, especially women of Islamic origin, are really identified by their costume...and what do you do when somebody makes a gesture with his index finger on his throat, what do you do?”
Jan Sunoo, a commissioner with the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service — an independent U.S. agency dealing with labour-management relations — says these reactions have to do with loss and grief.
“The whole population is going through loss and I think we need to recognize that and use it as a (lens) when we view events happening in the workplace. Everyone has suffered a tremendous loss in the workplace, it’s like a death in the family.”
According to Sunoo, racially charged disputes, harassment and discrimination are all results of the loss people are feeling. They have no other way to vent their anger and have no one specific to blame, so they turn on their co-workers, he said.
“This has to do with all the pent up anger and frustration and loss. All that works itself out by people getting on each other’s case.”
Catherine Morris, the director of Victoria-based Peacemakers Trust, (a non-profit conflict resolution organization) says fear also plays a part.
“When people become afraid, they may very well begin to try and blame others for whatever is causing their fear,” she says. “People become focused on differences, and if there’s a group associated with something... (then) their stereotypes can become connected with their fear and that can escalate conflict.”
Sunoo agrees.
“I’ve talked to a lot of guys who are getting all macho talking about ‘striking back’, and ‘we’ll get them.’ They are not willing to admit how scared they are...a lot of people lash out at each other out of their own fears.”
As conflict intensifies, people are more likely to start dehumanizing a targeted group, which makes it easier to treat those people as inhumane, says Morris.
“You can do anything to somebody who is not human. That shows a very heightened level of conflict.”
If conflict is evident in the workplace, it’s the responsibility of employers to ease the tension, especially during this difficult time, says Sunoo. Managers must recognize and educate themselves on how to deal with grief, and he says grief will manifest itself in many forms such as anger, rage, hopelessness and anxiety.
“If a manager can find a way to acknowledge all the anger and frustration and fear in the workplace over Sept.11, that will help in many ways to diffuse people getting into fights or racial profiling each other,” he says. “If it’s not dealt with, it’s just sitting there like a time bomb.”
Sunoo and his wife Brenda were guest speakers at the Association for Conflict Resolution conference in Toronto, last month. A year ago, they created a unique workshop that deals with grief at the workplace after they realized many employers were not aware of the impact of grief. Sunoo says there are consequences if employers are not sensitive to their employee’s feelings.
“Just one wrong thing said and you’ve lost an employee. He or she may not quit, but you’ve lost their loyalty, morale and productivity.”
While employers must practice sensitivity in this delicate time, they must also make sure to enforce zero tolerance when it comes to harassment and discrimination, says Sunoo.
Employers can ease the tension by promoting open dialogue at the workplace through facilitated forums. Morris says it’s a good idea only if the discussions are facilitated by a person with experience working across cultures, specifically with issues of discrimination.
“I wouldn’t recommend just saying ‘let’s all get together and talk,’ because if there is a level of animosity or racism in the workplace, an unfacilitated discussion could aggravate things,” she says. “HR managers should contact people who are doing diversity training and get some advice about what particular conversations need to be had within the workplace. What kinds of issues are present that need to be addressed?”
Employees of Middle Eastern background especially should be encouraged to express themselves, says Sunoo.
“You have to have people who feel victimized speak out to their co-workers about how it feels to be in this situation. How people who have traditionally worn turbans are considering cutting their hair, and not wearing a turban. When they go to an airport, everybody is staring at them. That’s such a denial of their freedom living in this country.”
To assist in educating people on the specifics of Arab culture, Sunoo gives out a fact sheet, created and published by the Detroit Free Press, that lists 100 questions and answers about Arab Americans. There is also a lot of information on the Internet, Sunoo says.
Asfour says the Canadian Arab Federation is ready and willing to assist employers with education initiatives.
“We’re very happy to supply information and material. We can at least advise them, and if we can’t help them, we can direct them through the proper channels.”
The federation is working on an educational kit explaining the origins of Islam, the Arab society in Canada and the contributions they have made. They are asking the government to make it accessible to schools and businesses.
“We hope this will help educate and inform, so Canadians at large will not jump on the bandwagon of crime by association,” Asfour says.
In Toronto, two employees, one of Muslim faith, get into a heated debate about U.S. foreign policy. One employee gets annoyed with the other for his controversial stance on the events of Sept.11. They barely speak to each other at the office any more and when they do, it inevitably turns into an argument.
Loss, anger, frustration and fear. That’s what many are feeling around the world after witnessing the terrorist attacks in the U.S., and people of Arab and Islamic background are experiencing the backlash on the streets, in malls, in the schoolyard and at the workplace.
John Asfour, president of the Canadian Arab Federation says many Arab Canadians are afraid as a result of Sept.11.
“A lot of people, especially women of Islamic origin, are really identified by their costume...and what do you do when somebody makes a gesture with his index finger on his throat, what do you do?”
Jan Sunoo, a commissioner with the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service — an independent U.S. agency dealing with labour-management relations — says these reactions have to do with loss and grief.
“The whole population is going through loss and I think we need to recognize that and use it as a (lens) when we view events happening in the workplace. Everyone has suffered a tremendous loss in the workplace, it’s like a death in the family.”
According to Sunoo, racially charged disputes, harassment and discrimination are all results of the loss people are feeling. They have no other way to vent their anger and have no one specific to blame, so they turn on their co-workers, he said.
“This has to do with all the pent up anger and frustration and loss. All that works itself out by people getting on each other’s case.”
Catherine Morris, the director of Victoria-based Peacemakers Trust, (a non-profit conflict resolution organization) says fear also plays a part.
“When people become afraid, they may very well begin to try and blame others for whatever is causing their fear,” she says. “People become focused on differences, and if there’s a group associated with something... (then) their stereotypes can become connected with their fear and that can escalate conflict.”
Sunoo agrees.
“I’ve talked to a lot of guys who are getting all macho talking about ‘striking back’, and ‘we’ll get them.’ They are not willing to admit how scared they are...a lot of people lash out at each other out of their own fears.”
As conflict intensifies, people are more likely to start dehumanizing a targeted group, which makes it easier to treat those people as inhumane, says Morris.
“You can do anything to somebody who is not human. That shows a very heightened level of conflict.”
If conflict is evident in the workplace, it’s the responsibility of employers to ease the tension, especially during this difficult time, says Sunoo. Managers must recognize and educate themselves on how to deal with grief, and he says grief will manifest itself in many forms such as anger, rage, hopelessness and anxiety.
“If a manager can find a way to acknowledge all the anger and frustration and fear in the workplace over Sept.11, that will help in many ways to diffuse people getting into fights or racial profiling each other,” he says. “If it’s not dealt with, it’s just sitting there like a time bomb.”
Sunoo and his wife Brenda were guest speakers at the Association for Conflict Resolution conference in Toronto, last month. A year ago, they created a unique workshop that deals with grief at the workplace after they realized many employers were not aware of the impact of grief. Sunoo says there are consequences if employers are not sensitive to their employee’s feelings.
“Just one wrong thing said and you’ve lost an employee. He or she may not quit, but you’ve lost their loyalty, morale and productivity.”
While employers must practice sensitivity in this delicate time, they must also make sure to enforce zero tolerance when it comes to harassment and discrimination, says Sunoo.
Employers can ease the tension by promoting open dialogue at the workplace through facilitated forums. Morris says it’s a good idea only if the discussions are facilitated by a person with experience working across cultures, specifically with issues of discrimination.
“I wouldn’t recommend just saying ‘let’s all get together and talk,’ because if there is a level of animosity or racism in the workplace, an unfacilitated discussion could aggravate things,” she says. “HR managers should contact people who are doing diversity training and get some advice about what particular conversations need to be had within the workplace. What kinds of issues are present that need to be addressed?”
Employees of Middle Eastern background especially should be encouraged to express themselves, says Sunoo.
“You have to have people who feel victimized speak out to their co-workers about how it feels to be in this situation. How people who have traditionally worn turbans are considering cutting their hair, and not wearing a turban. When they go to an airport, everybody is staring at them. That’s such a denial of their freedom living in this country.”
To assist in educating people on the specifics of Arab culture, Sunoo gives out a fact sheet, created and published by the Detroit Free Press, that lists 100 questions and answers about Arab Americans. There is also a lot of information on the Internet, Sunoo says.
Asfour says the Canadian Arab Federation is ready and willing to assist employers with education initiatives.
“We’re very happy to supply information and material. We can at least advise them, and if we can’t help them, we can direct them through the proper channels.”
The federation is working on an educational kit explaining the origins of Islam, the Arab society in Canada and the contributions they have made. They are asking the government to make it accessible to schools and businesses.
“We hope this will help educate and inform, so Canadians at large will not jump on the bandwagon of crime by association,” Asfour says.
