7 days ago
Four years since tragic death of London Muslim family
Muslim family is remembered four years after they were targeted by a hate attack. (Lauren Stallone/CTV News London)
June 6 will mark four years since the tragic death of a Muslim family when they were deliberately struck and killed by a truck while out for a walk in London, Ont.
In the wake of the attack, police said there was evidence this was a premeditated attack motivated by hate.
The victims were Alman Afzaal, his wife Madiha, their 15-year-old daughter Yumna and 74-year-old grandmother Talat, along with a surviving nine-year-old boy.
The city is coming together to commemorate the family and stand against Islamophobia.
'It was an incredible shock,' said Nawaz Tahir, a community advocate. 'To know we've had hate incidents before, but this just reached a new level.'
'It is a yearly reminder to ourselves to not forget what happened, to process and really feel what happened and not let it dull with age,' said Tristan Johson with London and Middlesex Local Immigration Partnership.
'We need to make London a safe place for Muslims to live.'
Londonders can attend several events throughout the city this week, including a community memorial walk at Canterbury Park on Tuesday night, ribbon making and the Our London Family Prayer on Friday evening.
'I think it's important to recognize that hate grows on quiet dissent and when we don't show up and we don't speak up about what happened our inaction leads to complicity and Islamophobia grows,' said Tala Zyoud with the Youth Coalition Combating Islamophobia (YCCI).
Advocates say there is still lots to be done to prevent similar attacks from happening in the future.
'The hate is worse by every conceivable metric, and anecdotally we know that the hate is getting worse, not just in quantity and numbers but in terms of scope and extent of it,' said Tahir.
'It's about education, we need to keep talking with our neighbours, our friends,' said Huda Hussein with London Immigration Partnership. 'When you talk to everyone, people will understand more about us.'
As a member of the Muslim community, Huda Hussein says she too feels targeted at times.
'That didn't stop me, I continue to do what I feel like doing, what I'm passionate about,' said Hussein. 'I continue to work and raise my family.'
Hussein said although it can be challenging at times, she will continue to honour the lives lost by standing up against hate everyday.
'We are one community, one big community with different kinds of fabrics,' said Hussein. 'I am this way, and you are that way, but we are all one community at the end of the day.'
