Langley community comes together after house targeted by anti-Ukrainian, Nazi graffiti again
Posted March 20, 2023 4:35 pm.
A Langley woman whose home was recently spray painted with a swastika says the area around her house has been tagged again, this time with what she says may be a death threat.
Kiersten Bisgaard says since the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, she’s had a Ukrainian flag hanging outside her home.
She recently told CityNews the gate to her home was initially marked on March 9 with a swastika and the words “Ukraine equals Nazi” on the sidewalk.
She says her home was hit again on Friday, March 19, this time with “a lot more” graffiti.
“They continued with the ‘Ukraine equals Nazi’ messaging,” she explained, adding there were also crosses as well as “Jesus is King” and “Ukraine are the devil” tags.
“This time they also made what looks to be some kind of death threat, like, ‘The Nazi Die,’ ‘Be Aware,’ ‘Nazi up ahead,’ kind of message with arrows towards our home.”
While she can’t say for sure who the “threats” may be intended for, she says they’re “creepy nonetheless.”
“We thought it was originally going to be a one-off thing. Now that it has happened a second time, we’re annoyed and disgusted,” Bisgaard said.
“Comparing Ukrainian people to evil and to Nazis is just disgusting.”
Community bands together
Despite the return of the graffiti, Bisgaard says the hateful messages didn’t last long.
“It looks like quite a few people came out and either tried to scrub it away and cover it with more spray paint or chalk,” she said.
“They changed the messages into positive ones again, adding hearts and love inside the crosses.”
“I was outside in front of my place with colored chalk and making rainbows and messages of like love and peace…so many people from the community, out walking or driving, stopped to lend their support as well,” she said.
“It’s nice to see how the community is coming together against all of this hate.”
Bisgaard says despite whatever message the spray painter or painters intended on sharing, the reaction to the graffiti is likely not what they had in mind.
“The reaction that the perpetrator was going for has been quite the opposite. Instead of being divided…we’re coming together.”
Related Video: Sidewalk, gate of Langley home defaced with hateful messages
Bisgaard says she immediately called the police after noticing the paint, adding officials “seem to be taking it very, very seriously.”
When asked if she was going to take down the Ukrainian flag on her house, she said “absolutely not.”
“It is staying where it is. We are not going to be intimidated.”