Afzaal Family Murder: Muslim Counseling Group Funded to Address ‘Traumatic Loss’
London’s Muslim Resource Centre is getting money from the federal government to support its counseling program as the trial of the man accused of killing four members of the local family reignites memories of the horrific violence.
Kamal Khera, Canada’s Minister of Diversity, Inclusion and Persons with Disabilities, revealed the local agency was receiving $202,131 to support counseling and support efforts at an announcement in London on Friday morning.
“My heart is with the loved ones of Our London Family and Muslim communities of Canada as we continue to grieve their loss. As the trial of the person accused of killing them is underway, we are reminded of the Islamophobia that exists in Canada,” Khera said in a statement.
“By supporting the Muslim Resource Centre for Social Support and Integration Inc., the Muslim community in London can access the services they need and help cope with this traumatic loss.”
The federal funding for the Muslim Resource Centre’s culturally integrative coordinated community support program is for the 2023-24 budget year. The Canadian Race Relations Foundation is also providing $60,000 in funding from 2023-25 to support the local program.
The counseling and support program at the resource center focuses on empowering individuals to overcome obstacles, heal from past trauma and build resilience, all in a way that closely aligns with the community and culture the center serves.
“We aim to extend much-needed culturally integrative support and counseling to the community through this program,” Muslim Resource Centre executive director Mohammed Baobaid said in a statement.
“This partnership stands as a beacon of hope, healing, and unity in the face of adversity, emphasizing the commitment to creating safer and stronger communities for all.”
The funding announcement comes as the fourth week looms for the trial of Nathaniel Veltman, the man charged with four counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder in the June 2021 hit-and-run killing of four members of the Afzaal family. The Crown is arguing the killings were also acts of terror. The trial is the first time the federal terrorism laws have been argued before a jury in a first-degree murder trial.
Salman Afzaal, 46, his wife Madiha Salman, 44, his mother Talat Afzaal, 74, and their daughter Yumnah, 15 died after being struck by a pickup truck in London at the corner of Hyde Park and South Carriage roads on June 6, 2021. The family’s son, then nine years old, was seriously injured but survived.
In two videotaped police interviews, the jury has heard Veltman confess he targeted the family “because they were Muslim” and identified them as such because of the traditional clothing the women were wearing.
The trial, which is in Windsor, is expected to run for eight weeks and resumes on Tuesday.
Source: lfpress.com
