The daughter of a man seriously injured in a protest during a weekend Eritrean festival says she believes the people responsible for the violence were “rewarded” after the City of Toronto revoked their permit.
Danait Mehreteab told CTV News Toronto that her 60-year-old father was helping set up for the festival and was passing out volunteer T-shirts when a group of protesters “descended upon” Earlscourt Park, near Caledonia Road and St. Clair Avenue West on Saturday.
“We're all still so shocked and hurt by it,” she said. “It's just devastating. It's devastating to see the police didn't do anything to like, arrest them or stop them. We now have no festival. What's going to happen to my dad's long-term health impact?”The protest started up just before 10 a.m. According to festivalgoers, a large crowd of people started gathering in the area and began chanting. But soon after, some of the nearly 200 people started to get physical.
"More officers were deployed from across the city, including Public Order officers, to separate the combative groups and remained on scene until approximately 8:30 p.m. for everyone to disperse," officials said., which was billed as a family-friendly cultural and sports affair being held over the long weekend.
Multiple festivalgoers told CTV News Toronto on Saturday that while they understand why the group was protesting, the festival is not a political one. “When they take away this festival, when they take away these moments where we can have small moments of connection and joy. It's just like, what message does it send,” she asked.
Following the protest, the City of Toronto decided to cancel the park permit for the Eritrean Festival “in the interest of public safety.”
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