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Events remember #OurLondonFamily on anniversary of their death

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It’s a community garden of hope

"The Afzaal’s were avid gardeners, in that spirit, a community garden made great sense," says Rumina Morris, director of anti-racism and anti-oppression for the City of London.

The 10 garden plots at Maple Grove Park in London, Ont. are dedicated to the Afzaal family who were killed on June 6, 2021. They are primarily owned by Muslim community members.

"This is a food garden, and a way to give back to community as well," says Morris.

One of the plots belong to Imran Saeed, a friend of the late Salman Afzaal.

"The reason I came here and took this initiative for this project is so people would know about Salman," says Saeed, who would like the park to be named after Salman who lived just a few metres away.

Imran Saeed, a friend of the late Salman Afzaal has a plot in the new OurLondonFamily community garden. (Brent Lale/CTV News London)

"He was simple person with a gardening passion, and growing vegetables. I will do the same things, grow fruits here, and distribute them to friends like he would do."

The water tank will be wrapped with the Our London Family image, and the compost in the used in the plots is made from the plant and flower materials left at the crash site at Hyde Park Rd. and South Carriage Rd. last year.

At the same time the garden was being unveiled, students from Oakridge Secondary School where Yumnah Afzaal was a student, held a 15-minute memorial walk.

Students at Oakridge Secondary School walk in memory of the Afzaal family, June 6, 2022 (John Vennavally-Rao/CTV News)

"We’re remembering the Afzaal family, as all TVDSB students are walking at this time," says Noor Farooqi, an Oakridge Student.

"I think all students are showing support for Our London Family, saying we care, and showing we have come together to support and remember the ones we lost," says Sara Ali, another Oakridge Student.

Ali believes there is still work to be done when it comes to combatting Islamophobia in schools.

"I think we definitely have more to do but the fact we are all outside, showing support and speaking up allows us to really get the conversation going," says Ali.

"It doesn’t feel real that it’s been a whole year, but we just miss them a lot."

Later in the afternoon Monday, the London Muslim Mosque unveiled a new art exhibition in honour of Yumnah Afzaal who had a passion for art and creation.

"It really tells a story of a collective community coming together and making sense of these events and creating in response to the tragedy that occurred last year," says Nusaiba Al-Azem, Vice Chair of London Muslim Mosque.

The exhibition will be open everyday until the end of June for people to come by, look at the art and read the inspiration behind the pieces. There is a memory table which had the messages received from community members in 2021, and put into a scrapbook.

An art exhibition will be on display for the month of June at the London Muslim Mosque (Brent Lale/CTV News London)

"It's really a testament to the power that this family had and that their loss did touch so many people in so many ways," says Al-Azem.

"We thought it was very fitting, given Yumnah’s love of art and creation. The focal point of the whole exhibit is her mural downstairs. Even in times of tragedy, there's love abounds." 

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