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| A Toronto Vigil was held yesterday to remember and honour the victims |
It's been a few days since we watched the horror of the news report on television.
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| Yonge Street and Sheppard area where the attack occured. |
Every time I watch the news reports, an immense feeling of sadness fills my chest. How could such tragic incident happen in our peaceful beautiful city of Toronto?
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| Around the Mel Lastman Square |
When I thought about the innocent victims who were killed simply walking on the sidewalks last Monday on a beautiful spring day, my eyes swell up with tears.
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| A make shift memorial site at the entrance to the Mel Lastman Square |
What a senseless action and tragic wast of many lives! Young lives that have been cut short; bright hopes and future come to an abrupt end and beautiful dreams never will be fulfilled.
For the past couple of weeks, it has been a difficult time for Canadians. While we were still mourning for the sixteen young hockey players killed in the horrific tractor trailer accident in Saskatchewan, we, in Toronto are hit by this unprecedented attack on our busiest street.
Unfortunately, Toronto joins the same list as other western countries hit by attacks that killed massive number of innocent people.
We need a place to grieve together,
to comfort and lean on each other.
The city of Toronto organized an interfaith memorial service to honour and remember these victims. We were a part of this event.
The Toronto Strong Vigil took place on Sunday, April 29 at Mel Lastman Square started with a walk at the scene of the massacre at Yonge and Finch.
People came by the thousand joining the walk to claim back the street.
It was the firs time we went to the site of the incident. Seeing the mount of flowers and the notes, candles left at the memorial site, many people , including me, broke down and cry.
Days of holding back our emotions, many Torontonians bursted at the sight of the memorial.
There were many people came out for this memorial service. People kept coming, laying down flowers and hand written notes at the make shift memorial site.
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| The service started with the drumming by the representative of native people of Canada |
We could hardly get close to nor saw the stage but were able to take part in this multi-faith vigil by watching from the jumbo tron set up in the square.
It was a good an hour and half mutli faith vigil. with members from our community being represented.
Different major faith and religions were represented and each was involved for a few minutes.
We had someone representing the Christian faith.
Someone represented the Muslim faith and shared a few words.
The police chaplain from the Toronto Police Department also represented the Hindu religion was there.
As well as the someone from the Jewish religion.
Among the ten victims killed, a couple of Koreans, one of whom was a young student from Korea studying in Toronto, as well as a Jordanian father here visiting his son.
Another victim was a single mother with a young child. She just graduated from school and started working at her job for the first day o at a school nearby.
Her son is now both motherless and fatherless. Amid these tragedies, the light of humanity shone through. This gentleman told us at the vigil that the Buddhist community has decided to collectively become his new family and raise him up together.
The Yonge Street tragedy was devastating for us. We were innocent enough to think that such evil deeds would never touch us in Toronto.
But it also bought us together.
We are a diverse society reflecting people and immigrants from around the world.
Together, we stand strong and united.
We have been living in Toronto for the past forty years. I have never had such heaviness and grieve in my heart until last Monday when the attack occurred.
Being part of the inter faith memorial service gave me an opportunity to grieve with others openly in Toronto yesterday.
Though my eyes still swell up with tears and emotions as I remember the innocent victims, somehow, I am a little more comforted than the day before knowing that I am not alone in this grieve.
R.T.
Mel Lastman Square
Willowdale, Toronto
Canada
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