Jennifer Huynh - 'Makes us stronger': Van attack witness says Toronto vigil brought city together

Summary: Thousands of mourners attended Sunday night’s ‘Toronto Strong’ vigil for the victims of last Monday’s deadly van attack. The interfaith vigil to remember the ten people killed and more than a dozen injured in the attack took place at Mel Lastman Square in the northern part of the city and near the scene of the tragedy. Many people who have attended the vigil have praised the event, calling it wonderful and saying it was actually very indicative of them as a community, that it was really nice to see all the different faiths coming together, and that it just demonstrates that these dark times makes them stronger as they band together. Before the vigil, John Filion, city counselor for the Willowdale area where the attack took place, told CTV News Channel the ceremony would be a chance for Toronto to heal and that it’ll be a real opportunity for the community and the city to come together to express their collective grief, but also their collective hope and resilience.

Analysis: The City of Toronto led organization of the vigil, but the event was the culmination of several grassroots efforts which sprang up in the days following the attack. The vigil was surrounding the idea that in times like this, no one feels they should be a bystander, and that veryone’s coming forward and assisting as best as they possibly can. Groups like Faith in the City and the Toronto Area Interfaith Council worked to help organize the vigil, while Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama' at Canada distributed flowers to attendees. John Joseph-Mastandrea, member of the Toronto Area Interfaith Council, said in the past week, several witnesses and people who’ve lost loved ones in the attack have visited to look for advice. For some people who attended the vigil, it was their first time being exposed to leaders of other faiths. With all their differences and diversity, there is a strong commonality in regards to community and looking after each other. This event brought a community together in a similar way to how after the Boston Massacre, the Americans became more united and started going against Great Britain towards the development of the American Revolution.

Source: https://www.ctvnews.ca/mobile/canada/makes-us-stronger-van-attack-witness-says-toronto-vigil-brought-city-together-1.3907274