An act of vandalism targeting Vancouver's memorial to the 1914 Komagata Maru incident is under investigation as a "possible hate crime," according to police.
The Komagata Maru memorial, installed in 2013 in Coal Harbour, serves as a reminder of a painful chapter in our local and national history when the nearly 400 South Asian immigrants aboard a ship were refused landing in Vancouver, and the passengers left aboard to suffer and starve.
Reports surfaced online Sunday (Aug. 22) that the memorial - which bears the names of all 376 passengers - had been defaced by a vandal or vandals with white paint.
The graffiti was done with paint and included multiple white hand-prints as well as tagging.
Vancouver Police indicated Monday morning investigators are "collecting evidence" in connection with the crime.
“Front-line officers and other specially-trained investigators worked throughout the evening yesterday, and will continue to gather evidence in this disturbing crime,” said Sergeant Steve Addison of the VPD in a media release. “This investigation is a priority, and we are committed to finding out who is responsible and why they did this.”
“This monument is an important memorial to the people who travelled here seeking a better life and were wrongfully turned away because of racist policies,” added Sergeant Addison. “It is disheartening that someone could show such disrespect to this important memorial, and we’d like anyone with information to come forward.”
The City of Vancouver initiated clean-up of the vandalism on Sunday.
Vancouver Police are asking anyone with information about this crime to call 604-717-0613.
