Hundreds of Londoners gathered for a vigil on Thursday to remember and honour “our London family”.
Thursday marks the third anniversary of the murder of four members of a Muslim family in London. The four members were Salman Afzal, 46, his wife Madiha Salman, 44, their daughter Yumna Afzal, 15, and Salman's mother Talat Afzal, 74. They were killed while walking in East London, and their young son was seriously injured. The family was deliberately hit while waiting at the intersection of Hyde Park Road and South Road.
The vigil was held on Our London Family A memorial service was held at the site of the attack, with speeches from several speakers from the community and a prayer at the end.
The vigil was held at the site of the attack and attracted hundreds of Londoners.
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This year's vigil was the first since the attacker, Nathaniel Veltman, was convicted of four counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder. Veltman was sentenced to life in prison. Earlier this yearThe judge who sentenced him to prison deemed his actions to be acts of terrorism.
Selma Tobah, a mentor with the Youth Coalition Against Islamophobia (YCCI), said the designation is important.
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“It's a very important acknowledgment that his purpose was to intimidate the Muslim community in Canada, that this was an act of violence, that was intended to really send a message,” Toba said ahead of the vigil. “It will go a long way toward getting justice, but at the same time there's still a long way to go.”
YCCI, a group of Muslim youth who came together shortly after the attacks with the goal of empowering young people and helping to combat Islamophobia, works with the city to organize the commemoration each year.
Toba said that while great progress had been made, such as the new counter-Islamophobia strategy published by the Thames Valley District School Board on Thursday, more needed to be done to tackle systemic Islamophobia.
“Understanding how images of Muslim violence and terror actually influence these violent acts.”
Hate crimes against Muslims surged last year. London Police Statistics This shows that Muslims are the third most attacked group in London.
One of the speakers, London-based lawyer Nawaz Tahir, called on the crowd to hold elected officials accountable.
London-based lawyer Nawaz Tahir called on people to hold elected officials accountable.
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“Three years after the National Islamophobia Summit, many of the recommendations at the federal and provincial levels have still not been implemented. That is simply unacceptable,” Tahir told the crowd. “My challenge to Prime Minister Ford and Prime Minister Trudeau: Respect the family.”
Amira Elghawaby, Canada's first special representative to combat Islamophobia, also attended as a speaker and said the attack was a reminder not to become complacent.
“This attack is a reminder not only for Muslims in Canada, but for all Canadians, that being an inclusive country or standing up for human rights … is not an accident,” El Gawabi said. “We need to come together once again and recommit to working with these forces to advance and protect the important values we care deeply about.”
Elghawaby, who said Canada leads the Group of Seven in the number of deadly attacks on Muslims, said the creation of her position and others like it was a step forward but that it was a “Canadian problem.”
“We can continue to find hope … I think that’s the message we want to convey, that we can move forward, that we can create a legacy of change,” El Gawabi said. “We can stand with our fellow Londoners and fellow Canadians to make sure that we protect the values of social cohesion and equity that we all believe in.”
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