A special message from our Executive Director, Kahir Lalji
Our hearts are heavy right now as we mourn the senseless loss of four innocent lives in London Ontario.
This morning I was asked if I felt it was safe for 2 neighbours to walk to the mall, 3 crosswalks away. The reason they asked is because of the colour of their skin and the clothes they were wearing.
Our hearts are heavy right now as we mourn the senseless loss of four innocent lives in London Ontario. The lives of four members of a loving family, ranging in age from 15 to 74, were cut horribly short and a nine-year-old child is now left an orphan. This was a deliberate act of terrorism fueled by Islamophobia and hatred.
When we often hear of such tragedies, we tend to shake our heads in disbelief and write it off as a rare occurrence. The victims become statistics and some of us may move on to the next day’s news. But we don’t often do is take the time to consider the impact the loss of life has on us as a larger community. No matter the age or background of the victims, the pain and loss are immeasurable. We lost a daughter, mother, father and grandmother. We lost a high school student with tremendous potential, and we lost talented colleagues and kind neighbours. Extended family and friends lost on the opportunity to capture more memories, laughs, and hugs. The nine-year-old survivor lost his whole family.
We should not let this family’s story become ‘old news’. We should use it to spur us to act. To stand with our Muslim friends, family, colleagues and neighbours. To condemn all acts of Islamophobia, racism and hate. Period.
To my Sisters and Brothers in Islam, to our Muslim friends, family, colleagues and neighbours – we stand and mourn with you and we recognize this act has damaged your sense of peace and safety in the country you rightfully call home. This is not right.
Simply, thoughts and prayers are not enough anymore. We must take a stand collectively as Canadians against all forms of Islamophobia, racism and hate. This means taking action in educating ourselves, talking to Muslim members of our communities, learning from one another, and doing the work to eradicate this vile hate and racism that has never disappeared in our country but has become more dangerously bold and violent in recent years.
Enough is enough.