Khawla Ibrahim
Khawla Ibrahim was born in the town of Jayous in the West Bank of Palestine, where she still stays in close touch with her family suffering from the illegal occupation of their lands by the Israeli government. Since her arrival in Hamilton in 1969, she has been involved in many community organizations. For many years she led the Palestinian Arab Association of Hamilton. She also was a member of the Hamilton Folk Arts, which organize the Canada Day events in Gage Park. She has also been active in the United Way and is currently a member of the advisory committee for international students at Mohawk College. As an executive member of CCAR, Khawla attended recent meetings with police and board officials at Barton Secondary School to deal with the anti-Arab racist brawl that took place in 2003. Despite her experiences with the Israeli government, Khawla often cooperates with Hamiltonians of every background (including Jewish) to fight racism. Khawla believes that racism is not a disease that you can catch as you’re walking down the street. It is something that you are taught. We need to fight racism by educating people that we are all equal and should be treated with dignity, respect, and equality.
Khawla is a salesperson.
