Calgary volunteers help Muslim farmer after his hard work was targeted by vandals
A group of volunteers are helping a Muslim farmer rebuild after a series of incidents of vandalism on the land where he works.
Mohamed Eldaher tends to a vegetable farm just outside of Calgary.
This year, he says he's been dealing with multiple incidents he believes may be connected to his race or religion. The Syrian immigrant says garbage is constantly dumped on his property and someone attempted to destroy his greenhouse with their vehicle.
But on Saturday, something happened that made him fear for the lives of his wife and children. Eldaher says he came to the plot to find his fence broken and tire tracks over parts of his crop.
"I'm very sad and very angry," he told CTV News. "Why? What (did) I do?"
However, an outpouring of support from Calgarians this week has changed Eldaher's outlook on the situation.
"I'm feeling good," he said. "Many (are now) saying, 'Mohamed, it's not only you here. We are beside you.'"
Dozens of volunteers showed up to Eldaher's farm on Saturday to help weed his property and to finish building a homemade greenhouse.
Strangers, neighbours and friends have also donated money to put up a new fence for Eldaher and to install security cameras.
He's only been in Canada for five years, but the man who helped Eldaher get on his feet says he's already a popular figure in the community.
"I really admire the gusto of people like Mohamed," land owner Abdullah Chybli said. "He has a good attitude and is grateful in any situation."
The co-founder of the Calgary Immigrant Support Society, which helped organize the weekend's support, echoed Chybli.
"When something really bad happens, they always say counter that with something really big and good," Saima Jamal said. "And so that's what's happening here. This is the really big and good thing."
Anyone looking to financially help Eldaher can visit the Calgary Immigrant Support Society group on Facebook.
Volunteers will be on site Sunday between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. continuing to work.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Boeing's financial woes continue, while families of crash victims urge U.S. to prosecute the company
Boeing said Wednesday that it lost US$355 million on falling revenue in the first quarter, another sign of the crisis gripping the aircraft manufacturer as it faces increasing scrutiny over the safety of its planes and accusations of shoddy work from a growing number of whistleblowers.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
"It's a bit of a complicated pattern; we've got a lot going on," said Jennifer Smith of the Meteorological Service of Canada in an interview with CTVNews.ca on Wednesday. "[As is] typical with weather, all of these things are related."
Police tangle with students in Texas and California as wave of campus protest against Gaza war grows
Police tangled with student demonstrators in Texas and California while new encampments sprouted Wednesday at Harvard and other colleges as school leaders sought ways to defuse a growing wave of pro-Palestinian protests.