Manitoban educator in Minnesota describes fear, unrest after ICE shooting

A Manitoban teaching in Minnesota says the atmosphere in the Twin Cities has become increasingly tense following an ICE shooting that has sparked days of protests and community unrest.

As events escalated in Minneapolis over the weekend, Dr. Amy Hewett-Olatunde, who teaches at a Minnesota school, described a climate of fear and exhaustion among residents.

“Everything that you see, that is volatile and bad – amplify that. Because it is so much worse here that you see,” said Dr. Amy Hewett-Olatunde, who teaches in a Minnesota school.

Roughly 50,000 people took to the streets in freezing temperatures Friday to support protests in Minneapolis. The situation intensified Saturday after a man was shot by ICE.

Hewett-Olatunde says the incident has dominated daily life and conversation.

“It’s really all we can talk about at this point. There is nothing else to talk about and if you are not talking about it. What are you doing?” she said.

Originally from Manitoba, Hewett-Olatunde now lives in St. Paul, Minnesota. She says the events of the past 24 hours have left her shaken.

“I sat in the car and I just screamed. Because it’s just like – how does this keep happening? How do they keep lying? How fare are we gonna get until something catastrophic happens in this state?” she said.

Protests in Minneapolis are continuing in response to what demonstrators describe as an immigration crackdown by ICE. Hewett-Olatunde says protesters have been met with force despite their efforts to remain peaceful.

“It’s evident that we are peaceful protesters, that we are doing peaceful things to support our community and we are being attacked with absolutely no dignity, no humanity, and no rights are being given to any of the people that are involved on our side of this,” she said.

On Friday, many local businesses and organizations shut down. Hewett-Olatunde says she chose not to travel into Minneapolis for safety reasons but noted a strong show of solidarity in St. Paul.

“Yestreday everything was so shutdown, that people really came out today to support local businesses and that was beautiful to see. But there is also this ominous cloud of what happened in Minneapolis,” she said.

Hewett-Olatunde is now calling for support from other states and from the international community, saying Minnesotans will continue to demonstrate peacefully.

“Minnesotans will continue to protest and do things peacefully as in the nature of the people in this state,” she said.