Herouxville, Quebec - (Rotters): A family of six Asian immigrants has said it first got a vaguely spooky feeling of cold and distant neighborly attitudes early last year when they arrived in the tiny, quintessentially Quebecois town of Herouxville - population 1,300 - as asylum seekers from war-torn Darfur.
Nothing they could quite put their finger on but then they spoke and read little English. So whatever insider joke was being played out by locals clearly did not include them.
And then they twigged.
Somebody eventually told them that the town council's website had published a warm welcome to their latest residents which warned about the consequences of settling down and getting too comfortable with their famous Quebecois hospitality:
"The way of life that the new arrivals have abandoned in their country of origin cannot be recreated here," warns the site's home page.
"So please do not kill women by stoning them in public, burning them alive, burning them with acid, circumcising them etc."
The genius behind this helpful declaration, councillor Andre Drouin, has admitted there are no other Asians or Muslims living in Herouxville.
He then added that the website warning was a typically local interpretation of popping round to see the new neighbors armed with a basket of fruit, cakes and lemonade.
"I'm no racist", said Drouin. "We invite people from all nationalities, all languages, all sexual orientations, whatever, to come live with us, but we want them to know ahead of time that we've sussed them out before they get too cosy."
Rumors that Mr Drouin has been invited to host his very own Celebrity Big Racist reality show are unconfirmed but more details may emerge on this breaking story later this week.
