Government action is needed to prevent crimes caused by Islamophobia.
REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, ONTARIO – As thousands gathered outside Canada’s second largest mosque in London, Ontario, Canada, Reina Persaud watched her niece and other children chalk brightly colored hearts along the street .
“The path to the heart” is what the picture is called. The photo is a tribute to the Afzaal family, a local Muslim family who were killed last Sunday. They were killed in what police described as a planned Islamophobic attack.
Reported from The GuardianThree-generation family members died on Wednesday (9/6) when a 20-year-old man crashed into his van. The victims are Salman Afzaal (46), his wife Madiha Salman (44), their daughter Yumna Afzaal (15), the mother of Salman Talat Afzaal (74). As for his son, Fayez (9 years old) was hospitalized.
On Tuesday evening, crowds of mourners, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Canadian political leaders, attended a mourning service to honor the victims and protest hatred. Persaud, the daughter of a Chinese-Filipino mother and Indian father, said she was there because she had been a victim of racism in London throughout her life, as have other migrants. Two of them had cried in his office the day before.
“I’m scared for them. I’m scared because they can’t be what they want to be because of the fear,” he said.
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