Ottawa Diary: Autumn, elections, and a horror film By Fayyaz Baqir

(Pictures Credit: Fayyaz Baqir)

Local government election and autumn season have set Ottawa ablaze in October. Ottawas’ tree-lined streets are lit up with various shades of red, crimson, brown, and yellow. Ducks, pigeons, geese, squirrels, and Seagulls are still playing around the lakes and water streams. Temperature is falling and one can feel the chill when it drizzles. A steaming cup of coffee and the morning sun is a great way to start the day. Sweaters and scarves are not out yet.

Voting for the election of Ottawa’s mayor, councilor, and school board member has started. The city arranged early polls for voters who cannot easily access the polling booths on the day of the election. There are 14 candidates for the mayor, 6 for the councilor, and 2 for the school board member. Ottawa is very hospitable to immigrants, refugees, and ethnic minorities and is in perpetual tension with the indigenous communities. Another good tradition is that mosques open the doors for all the candidates, Muslim or non-Muslim, men or women to come and address the congregation at Friday prayer time. Mosque Committee does not support any candidates but lets the candidates present their program.

Ottawa’s community has also shown solidarity with the Muslims. A few years ago when there was an attack on a mosque in Quebec there was an exemplary show of solidarity by the residents. When I went for Friday prayer at Ottawa’s main mosque I saw a line of people around the three walls of the mosque. They showed their support for the protection of Muslim residents of the community. Inside the mosque elected representatives and leaders from all communities of faith had gathered to express their resolve to stay united.

Local movie theatres are back to normal after a long period of closure due to corona pandemic. Mola Jat, a highly-rated Pakistani film is screening in many local cinemas. It was a horror to watch this movie. It is a pathetic glorification of violence in a society that is suffering from the ghost of vigilante Justice. This is done by the so-called enlightened class of producers and artists who are willing to sell the most brutal stories for commercial gains. This film has picked an ugly theme from our past and mixed it with the toxic presentation of cowboy culture to ‘resurrect” our dead film industry. Watching this film one wonders why our film industry has produced only one feature film on Jinnah, and that also as a reaction to the release of Gandhi, non on Edhi, and four on Mola Jat. Is this the mass education we want to provide to our youth?