“Yumna was my best friend.”– Huda Sallam with XFM reporter Jess Gould.
What was planned to be a small vigil for grieving, quickly escalated into much more as thousands of Londoners gathered at the London Muslim Mosque. One of the attendees was Huda Sallam.
“Yumna was my best friend. I’ve known her since I was in 2nd grade,” she says, as the vigil began to expand over lane after lane of traffic.
At first only one lane was blocked off; but as more people came, all of Oxford– from Cherryhill Mall to Wharncliffe Rd– was shut down. People were packed shoulder to shoulder from sidewalk to sidewalk.
“We talked everyday. I have never experienced something like that– where it’s a friend. I’ve dealt with death before, but I think that this one hit much harder for the community.”
The collective grief of the community was expressed by one of the organizers and moderators for the night: Nusaiba Al-Azem.
Nusaiba Al-Azem, second vice-chair of the London Muslim Mosque. Jess Gould and Connor Luczka/XFM News.
“It’s not a matter of ‘it could have been me.’ It was one of us.” says Al-Azem.
Al-Azem is the second vice-chair of the London Muslim Mosque and the organizer for the vigil. “An LMM family, an LIS family, a Thames Valley Family, a Western University family, just taking a stroll on a beautiful summer day.”
Although the community and all of London was shaken by this tragedy, it has been especially hard for those closest to the family. Three generations were killed: Salman Afzaal, his mother Talat, his wife Madiha Salman, and their daughter Yumna. For Huda Sallam, she lost her best friend.
“I was going down Hyde park to Walmart at the time and I actually saw them doing CPR on her mom. I didn’t know it was her mom at the time, and now I can’t get that picture out of my head.”
Muslim faith and community leaders spoke up at the vigil. While the pervading message was one of hope, they also encouraged action– not only action from the political leaders in attendance, but from everyone watching and listening.
Imam Abd Alfatah Twakka, during his speech to the crowd. Jess Gould and Connor Luczka/XFM News.
Imam Abd Alfatah Twakka, standing beside other faith leaders, gave a stirring speech which received thunderous applause multiple times over.
“Although what brought us here together today is a tragedy, what I want to offer is a message of hope. Of hope that this gathering today represents a pivotal moment in the history of our beautiful community, in the history of our beautiful city of London, in the history of our province of Ontario, and in the history of our beautiful country, Canada.”
Written by Jess Gould and Connor Luczka
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