Komagata Maru monument vandalized ahead of tommorow's 100th anniversary
The Komagata Maru monument at Harbour Green Park, just west of the Vancouver Convention Centre, has been vandalized again – ahead of tomorrow’s 100th anniversary of the incident.
Vancouver Park Board crews quickly removed the graffiti from the monument including one that read “Owen is gay,” the Globe and Mail reported.
However, the chemicals from the cleaning process also damaged the monument’s intentional rusty design, causing a whitewash effect.
To give it an even appearance ahead of tomorrow’s anniversary, crews will return to the site later today and rid the monument of its rusty look. It is expected that the monument will rust over time, returning to its original look when it was first installed in 2012.
This is the second time in half a year that the memorial has been defaced. Last fall, a viral photo of a man urinating on the monument caused an uproar in the South Asian community. Vancouver Police did not press fines nor charges on the individual responsible as he was discovered to be a mentally ill drug addict.
Featured Image: Herb Neufield via Flickr
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