Humanity stood together this month

Massive worldwide demonstrations against US President Donald Trump’s divisive policies have given me hope in humanity, especially amidst the feelings of hopelessness and despair in light of having Trump as the president.

I felt a sense of belonging to see these massive crowds everywhere standing up with one voice against bullies and injustices. This has lessened my worries for having right-wing politicians – even in Canada – gaining momentum after seeing their role model in the US climbing to power by using the policies of divide and conquer.

These egotistical politicians will think twice before getting too excited. They will see that humanity will not stand idle in the face of human rights violations. They will not tolerate injustices and persecution as they are not asleep, but awake with open eyes. They will mobilise their voices against the voices of intolerance and bigotry.

My ultimate worry is to see the effects of Trump policies, especially towards immigrants and the vulnerable and the growing anti-immigrant sentiment in Canada and Europe. As a Muslim and a person of colour, I am deeply worried and concerned of what future lies ahead for us and our children.

Are we going to have to endure systematic racism like what happened to the Japanese people during the Second World War?

As the entirety of humanity came together on Saturday to protest, I hope we can cultivate such forces and use it to tackle the root cases that have led the voices of intolerance to grow and gain momentum.

We need to come together and ask what went wrong with humanity and why the voices of intolerance have been muzzled, as the majority of peace loving people don’t stand for this. A small section of society has hijacked the arena while they only represent a small fraction of humanity.

- The reader is a freelance writer based in Toronto, Canada.