Thread by @AliChahbar

Dear #LdnOnt,

A difficult truth is preferable to a palatable lie.

One year ago, a son of our city, sentenced #OurLondonFamily to death for the crime of being different. Singled out & marked for execution because they were deemed to be enemies in an invisible war.

Dear London, the difficult truth is that his was not an imported hate, but rather one grown in plain sight. A hate that took root & grew in a forest city. A hate we chose not to see because we preferred the ease of wilful blindness over the harsh reality of the difficult truth.

The difficult truth is that this evil man does not exist in isolation. There are many, too many, that walk amongst us who share his philosophy. We have all, at one time, witnessed someone partake in hate & we have all, at one time, failed to call it out.

The difficult truth is that when we fail to address & call out the micro offences, for reasons of discomfort, it gives licence & oxygen for the macro offences to flourish & grow. We loudly condemn the deadly attacks, but are quiet in the face of the less heinous ones.

The difficult truth is that in seeking to blame others, we are avoiding hard truths about ourselves. Because we accede to illusionary comfort of the palatable lies, I fear it is only a matter of time before history repeats itself once again.

Dear wife,

I am tired of the things I think & do not say.

I’m tired of the thought of going for a walk with you & our 3 children has become a calculated act of risk. That while I try to hide it from you, my eyes are fixated on the road next to us as we walk.

That our grade school daughter can so seamlessly speak of Islamophobia as “an irrational fear of something that can lead to murder” with such ease. That despite our best attempts to insulate them, the world will teach them that which we seek to protect them from.

Dear politicians,

Political rhetoric is meaningless without political action.

Words are important, but words alone will no longer suffice. We need you to stand up for us now so you don’t have to stand next to us later as we mourn our dead.

Expressions of support are appreciated, but they will not protect us. Symbolism matters, but it will not save us. We need you fulfill your sacred trust. To not prioritize politics over principle in pursuit of power. You are our leaders.

So lead.

Dear Muslims,

We are not now, nor have we ever been a people who scare or are intimidated. Stand tall & press forward for we are an indomitable people united in faith & belief. We submit not to the whims of those who seek to do us harm, but only to the will of God.

Do not compromise who you are for the comfort of others. In a world that will both tempt & attempt to silence you or compel you to conform, firmly raise your hand & voice with the knowledge & confidence that your voice matters.

That your perspective matters.

That you matter.

Dear terrorist,

You are a failure.

If your intention was to instill fear & enmity in the hearts & minds of our community, you have failed miserably. You’ve brought us together & united us as a city, as a community, as a country & as a people. United against you & your hate.

Dear terrorist, you are not a martyr, but rather a coward who murders children & elderly alike. You represent the most despised & despicable amongst us & we will not utter or type your name for it is not worthy of our lips & fingertips. You are destined to be forgotten.

Dear stranger,

I do not know your name, but I know your heart. As I stood on the side of the street at a makeshift vigil, you approached me with tears in your eyes to apologize for our pain. Although unknown to each other, we cried together & you hugged me with such sincerity

Dear strangers, all thousands of you, although entirely unknown to me, you marched next to us in lock step in repudiation of hate & intolerance. Your signs & placards that lined the street etched in my heart. This is who you are & by extension, who we are.

Forward, we march.

Dear mirror,

What you reflect depends on the angle I look at you from.

When we say Our London Family, do we really mean it? When we look in the mirror, do we see them, I mean, do we really see them? Are they ‘Our London Family’ in name only, or do we see ourselves in them?

When we think of Yumna, do we see the hopes & dreams of our daughters? When we think of Talat, are we reminded of the infinite love & enduring wisdom of our mothers? When we think of Salman, do we think of our fathers, brothers & husbands & the example they provide?

When we think of Madiha, do we see our mothers, sisters & daughters? Can we see past the different names, beliefs & language and see us in them? Do our mirrors see us for who we are? For who they are? Forever #OurLondonFamily

Dear Canada,

Difficult questions rarely illicit easy answers.

Oh country of my birth, that I love so deeply, I ask you, who are we & who do we want to be? We are a great nation of vision & ideals. A place of plurality & equality & opportunity, but our history calls to us.

Our soil holds unmarked graves, confiscated land & property. A history of internment camps & closed ports. Now, in one of our provinces, Bill 21 codifies discrimination in law. We are a nation struggling to reconcile two competing narratives of who we are & who we want to be.

Dear media,

You are our story tellers, so please, tell our story.

We Muslims are part of the fabric of this land. Like you, we also stand on guard for thee. Do not simply talk about us, talk to us. Tell them the truth so they don’t fear us or hate us or target us…or kill us

Dear Afzaal family,

Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji'un. To God we belong & to God is our return.

We failed you & in doing so, we failed ourselves. We will remember your names, lives & example. We will hold them to account, I swear to you, that we will hold them to account.

We will ensure that your deaths will be a catalyst for real change. For systemic reform. For new laws & policies & curriculum.

We will take care of your son as he grows. He will forever be a son of our community as you will forever be Our London Family.

Dear reader,

Join us today at 1pm at Oakridge as we gather together to mourn & heal & remember & march. Your mere presence represents an act of solidarity, protest, comfort & defiance against hate all in one.

Today we march forward, both figuratively & literally.

🟩🟪🟩🟪