THUNDER BAY — A doctor working in the COVID-19 care unit at Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre says her family has been subjected to racism.
Dr. Jehan Zaib decided to go public after her husband and son were yelled at while they were out shopping last Thursday.
Despite the distressing experience, she said this won't stop her or her family from contributing to the community,
But Zaib feels particularly upset for her son.
"Random people [were] questioning why they were there. My son said he didn't understand what was going on. He looked around. He thought he was not maintaining any physical distance, but that was not the case. They both were wearing masks," she said Monday on 91.5 CKPR's morning show.
Zaib is originally from Pakistan but her 18-year-old son was born and raised in Canada.
"Canada is the only country he identifies with. Now he's hearing and seeing the hatred of some people for no reason," she said.
Her son is having a difficult time dealing with the incident.
"He's a very hardworking student...he's put in close to 2,000 volunteer hours for the Alzheimer Society, RFDA, Shelter House. For Shelter House he would go door to door collecting clothes for them," Zaib said.
Another of her children founded Snow Angels, a volunteer group that clears snow for people needing help, and which is currently delivering groceries to protect seniors from COVID-19.
Zaib said she wishes people making racist remarks knew how much her children are doing for the community.
"At a time when humanity should shine, sadly, some people have forgotten basic kindness that one would have learned in Kindergarten," she said.
It's not the first time she and her family have been subjected to racism.
Zaib recounted one incident in which a patient made an extremely derogatory remark "because I was wearing a scarf. I still treated that patient because I believe in humanity. I am a doctor."
She said she's pleased to contribute by participating in the hospital's COVID-19 care unit.
"This is my job. I am there to help people. I'm not scared. Thunder Bay is very, very lucky. They have dedicated nurses who volunteered for the unit, to take care of coronavirus patients, and dedicated physicians."
