ኢትዮጵያዊው ሳሙኤል ጌታቸው የቀድሞው የቶሮንቶ ከተማ ከንቲባ ለሰነዘሩት የዘረኝነት ቃላት ይቅርታ እንዲጠይቁ አደረገ
የቀድሞ ከንቲባው ራብ ፎርድ ባለፈው አመት የጥቁር ህዝቦችን የሚያንቋሽሹ ቃላትን ተጠቅመው ነበር፥፥
የቶሮንቶ ከተማ ምክር ቤት ባደረገው ስብሰባ ላይ ራብ ፎርድ በድርጊቴ ኣፍሬያለሁ ከ ልቤም ይቅርታ እጠይቃለሁ ብለዋል፥፥ ፎርድን ለ ከተማዋ የ ስነ ምግባር ኮሚሽን የከሰሰው ሳሙኤል ጌታቸው ይቅርታውን ተቀብያለሁ ሲል ለጋዜጠኞች ተናግሯል፤፤
“I am Ashamed of my actions” : Former Mayor of Toronto Rob Ford
“Apologies accepted”: Citizen Complainant, Samuel Getachew
Former Toronto mayor, Rob Ford, made a direct and “heartfelt” apology to Samuel Getachew for racial slurs he made while he was mayor. “I’m aware of the hurtful nature of my comments and that they are unacceptable,” Ford told council members. He continued, “I’m deeply ashamed of what I said and I recognize they bring discredit to council and myself. I wish to offer heartfelt apology for my words and actions.”
The complaint to Toronto’s Integrity Commissioner, was made by Getachew, last July and the report was made public last year and it was found that he had indeed breached the City’s codes of conduct. While the apology lasted just over a year, for Getachew,it was enough . “I did not expect perfection (from the former mayor) but his apology is accepted”, he told the Toronto star.
In an exclusive interview with Ethiofidel, Getachew reflected how he wants to “live in a Toronto where everyone is equal and never insulted by racial slurs especially from an elected official”.
Getachew had also invited leaders from the Ethiopian, Jewish, Italian and Pakistani communities to City Hall, however, the apology was delivered earlier than expected. “It’s time for me to move on and I fully expect it. I wish him the best. I understand he’s going through personal issues and, like all Torontonians, I wish him the best.” He also reflected with the Toronto Star.
