'We can't always jump to conclusions': Did the fight at Saunders fuel unnecessary racial tension?

One Londoner says a fight between two students at Saunders Secondary school may have sensationalized issues between racial minorities in the city, fuelling unnecessary hurt and tension in the community.  

Nawaz Tahir is the chair of the Hikma Public Affairs Council, an advocacy group for Muslims. For the past couple of weeks, he's been following the aftermath of the fight at the south London school between a Middle Eastern and Indigenous students.

It's important that we look out for our Indigenous brothers and sisters in the Indigenous community, because unfortunately they have been through a lot of hurt themselves.- Nawaz Tahir, Chair of Hikma Public Affairs Council

Following the incident, he says that people may have been too quick to jump to allegations of a larger racial issue.

"I think whenever we hear about this type of incident, particularly when it involves two young men of two racial backgrounds, we can't always jump to conclusions that [this] incident means that there are bigger tensions between those two groups," he said. 

Tahir was concerned that the dispute between the two students at Saunders was flaming tensions between groups that may not necessarily have been there to begin with. He says that sensationalizing racial pressures may only do more harm than good. 

"We really have to pay attention to any unconscious bias that we might be bringing to the situation. I was concerned that it was being made into a bigger dispute between two ethnic groups, forgetting that it was originally between two individuals," he said.  

Instead, Tahir thinks that as a community, people need to work to understand the root cause of the disturbance to begin with. Given the age of the students and the school setting, it doesn't necessarily mean the fight was caused due to racial tensions. 

"[We] need to understand that two people, especially at that age, can have a disagreement that is not racially connected," he said. "Just because people have that racial identity, it doesn't necessarily mean that those two racial groups on a marco level are in conflict with each other."

Rather, Tahir says that both Middle Eastern and Indigenous community groups have faced a lot of angst over the years and share a lot in common that bonds them together. Both communities have a shared understanding of being through difficult times. 

In the past, the communities have gotten together to support one another and cooperate in their initiatives. He says that looking out for their community members is essential to maintaining solidarity.

"It's important that we look out for our Indigenous brothers and sisters in the Indigenous community, because unfortunately they have been through a lot of hurt themselves," he said.

• Indigenous students back to class with Saunders listening following racial tensions

• Police monitoring alleged social media threats against Indigenous communities near London

Tahir adds that the Thames Valley District School Board (TVDSB) also has a large role to deescalate the situation between students. At a student level, he says it's important to bring together community groups to ensure that the issue gets resolved. 

Meanwhile, TVDSB says they are continuing to meet with members within the community to work toward solutions. 

After safety concerns were brought to their attention, the school board agreed to bring in a police officer to patrol Saunders on a regular basis. 

On Tuesday, TVDSB confirmed that the police presence is still active at the school.

Last week, amid safety concerns, Chippewa of the Thames First Nation Police also began to work with London police to investigate alleged social media threats that were made toward Indigenous communities near London.

A memo released by Oneida Nation of the Thames' political office on Friday said that Oneida police would be on duty all weekend with reinforcements from the OPP.

On Tuesday, Oneida police said that there were no issues over the weekend, but that they would remain vigilant.