Part 3 – Patterns of Power and Fear

Part 3 – Patterns of Power and Fear 🔗

Watching Abbotsford from afar, I see how some patterns persist across decades. The fear I felt as a 14-year-old — unease around authority, the knowledge that power could be cruel — seems to echo in the city’s current struggles.

In Clearbrook and Abbotsford, Indigenous families, immigrant communities, and youth have long faced vulnerabilities. In my childhood, Indigenous teens from Kilgard were often targeted by police; South Asian families navigated both cultural expectations and occasional harassment in public spaces.

Now, criminal networks exploit fear — extortion letters, threats to businesses, intimidation — but the community’s response is shaped by decades of living under both visible and invisible power.

Fear multiplies: residents are cautious, some avoid reporting crimes, mistrust lingers. Yet within this tension, there is resilience — neighbors watching over shops, community leaders speaking up, families educating youth. Abbotsford’s residents remember: the past shapes the present.

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