Swastika drawn on head of man with Alzheimer's in Toronto
A police report has yet to be filed by family for incident at Glendale Care Center
By JERUSALEM POST STAFFAntisemitic graffiti near a London Underground station. The graffiti reads “dirty f***ing Jew” beside an image of a swastika.(photo credit: COURTESY COMMUNITY SECURITY TRUST)
A man currently living at at the Glendale Care Center in the Swansea neighborhood of Toronto had a swastika drawn on his head by a staff member of the facility, which was noticed by his nephew Shane Morrow, according to a Toronto.com report.Morrow said that he and his mother thought his uncle may have been in some sort of accident, and that the black markings were stitches or bruising.The perpetrator of the assault had drawn a swastika and a smiley face with a black marker on his head. "I couldn’t believe my eyes," Morrow said. Upon further investigation and questioning of a care facility of staff by Morrow, it was discovered that a "younger man" drew an additional swastika on the 65-year-old man's body. The additional swastika was drawn on the man's back, which was washed off before Morrow's visit."I was thinking: How did he get his shirt off? Why was his shirt off? Did this guy pull his shirt over his head and was abusing him?" Morrow said, adding that he also saw bruising on his uncle's arms.The care facility staff also informed Morrow that the staff member responsible for the abuse has been arrested.Despite this, Toronto police media relations officer Const. Caroline de Kloet said there has not been a report filed for the address in question.Morrow's uncle, Larry, who is living with Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and diabetes, has been a resident at the Toronto care facility for two years, and is waiting to enter a retirement home. Morrow also noted that the general conditions of his uncle was poor, including that fact that his uncle was wearing dirty clothes and living in an unclean environment.
"The smell of feces, the smell of urine, I could not believe it," Morrow said. "It was to the point that I wanted to grab my uncle, throw him on my back and get out of there. That’s how bad it was."While Morrow and his uncle are not Jewish, the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) in Toronto reached out to the family, offering support following the incident.CIJA has also released a statement in reaction to the abuse, noting that they are "horrified by reports that an elderly man suffering from Alzheimer’s was brutally abused at a Toronto care facility. That someone would commit such a vicious assault on a human being in our society is almost beyond belief."The Glendale care facility and respondent refused to comment on the incident, calling it a "private matter."
