After Sorrow and Pain, Comes Unity

Last year, my husband, myself and a few of my sisterhood tribe attended the Lapu Lapu event as we were all invited and we personally knew the organizers. It was a fun family gathering and we were proud to be a part of the first Filipino community block party. This year, my husband and I had intended to go after we closed our fitness club at 6pm. One of my sisterhood tribe was an emcee at the event (together with her daughter). However, at the last minute, we decided not to go because we were so tired that day. Little did we know that a horrific tragedy would happen that night. The first thing I did after hearing about the tragedy was to call my son and my Filipino friends to make sure they’re ok. And they were. Sadly, some people weren’t.

It’s been nearly a month since the gruesome attack that happened at the Lapu Lapu Filipino festival on the night of April 26 in Vancouver. It is a senseless act killing eleven people and badly injuring more than a dozen (no matter how one looks at it, it is actually an act of terrorism because the attacker terrorized innocent people). This monster of a perpetrator may be dealing with mental health issues, because apparently he had past interactions with the police and mental health officials, but, the fact remains that he is a MASS MURDERER. From the video circulating in social media immediately after the horrific attack, the perpetrator said he was sorry. Sorry is not enough.

Having mental issues are not an excuse to plow down innocent people. Everyone faces tragedy and suffering in their lives but that doesn’t give anyone an excuse to kill another innocent life just because life has been unkind to you. What kind of a society are we going to have if everyone who’s lived a tragic life resorts to the horrific crime that he did? MENTAL ILLNESS IS NOT A FREE PASS TO COMMIT HEINOUS CRIMES.

Photo courtesy of Pexels.

I’m not going to write in detail exactly what happened that night. We’ve read enough about it from various newspapers and seen enough of it from television and social media. It’s too painful to watch and even more painful to have to read the horrendous details of this tragedy again. I don’t want to relive such terror anymore. Our hearts and prayers go out to the families of those who perished. All I know is that eleven innocent lives were tragically killed. Among the 11 people killed were teacher-counsellor Kira Salim, artist Jenifer Darbellay, mother Vicky Bjarnasson, Jendhel Sico,  Nerissa Pagkanlungan, and two families of three — Realtor Richard Le, Lin Hoang and their five-year-old daughter Katie Le; and Colombian immigrants Daniel Samper, his wife Glitza Maria Caicedo, and their adult daughter Glitza Daniela Samper. 

I will stress the fact that these 11 people were someone’s daughter, someone’s son, someone’s mother, someone’s sibling, someone’s father, someone’s relative, and someone’s friend. Their untimely deaths have left such gaping holes in someone’s life. I’m both angered and utterly devastated for those who lost their loved ones. I can’t even imagine such loss and pain. I was touched by the admirable generosity of the sixteen-year-old boy, Andy Le, who despite his devastating loss (his father, his stepmother and his half sister were all killed), still found the kindness and compassion of donating half of the proceeds from a fundraising campaign for him to other victims. Wow. It’s a relief to know that there’s still goodness left in this world. His parents raised him well.

Photo courtesy of Bayan Canada.

I’m neither related nor knew these 11 people, but still, I’m deeply affected and deeply shaken by their tragic demise. It was how their lives were brutally taken which left their loved ones and families totally destroyed. I keep telling myself, if that were my son or my husband, I wouldn’t be able to live without them. It’s like I would have died with them. That’s what we call indescribable pain. That’s what indescribable sorrow is about.  

Now more than ever, it’s plainly clear that a lot needs to be done to address the rising violent crimes in the city, mental health and drug addiction. May this tragic event end the leniency and lax treatment of criminals (a fine example is a man who stabbed two Alberta sisters who rented his Airbnb in Vancouver and got away with no prison time). May this tragedy also put an end to the catch and release system in BC Canada which is totally failing the assault victims of these repeat offenders. Above all, it’s clear that we need more specialized institutions and homes for the seriously mentally unstable. 

Perhaps the closure of the Riverview Hospital in Coquitlam was not a good idea after all? It should have been kept operating to house and support the more seriously mentally unstable to prevent the violent random attacks that are occurring in Downtown Vancouver and other areas of mainland Vancouver. Both the Federal and Provincial governments must take immediate steps and measures for more assertive care for the mentally ill and vulnerable. And it must be done now. Not just lip service. We need more funding for mental health. 

Photo courtesy of Pexels.

And this is where I segue to a different topic but related to what needs to be done in terms of preventing such horrific crimes from happening again — I just want to suggest that perhaps the Federal government should cut down on financial aid to other countries and instead take care of more Canadians at home, especially those who are in desperate need and care? Canada’s international assistance spending has increased significantly in 2021 reaching $8.4 billion partnering with organizations such as UNHCR, and UNRWA (which by the way it’s disappointing because this organization has ties to Hamas terrorists with  nine staff members having had links to the October 7 attack in Israel). 

In 2021-2022, some of the top recipients of Canadian aid included Ethiopia, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Sudan (I hate to be cynical but let’s just hope that the financial aid does go to those in need and NOT to line the pockets of these countries’ local officials). Since the beginning of 2022, Canada has committed $19.7 billion in multifaceted support to Ukraine, including direct financial assistance and military aid. To date, Ottawa spent $12 billion on foreign aid in the fiscal year that ended in spring 2024, according to Global Affairs Canada’s latest figures.  

While these are generous and honourable achievements in supporting other less fortunate countries, still, I strongly believe that our hard earned taxes should go to Canadians first because charity should begin at home. I’m not saying we should stop helping other less fortunate nations but personally, I would have preferred to have allocated at least 6 billion out of that $12 billion (in foreign aid and other international assistance) to instead go towards building more homes for all Canadians, increasing our senior citizens’ pensions so they can cope with the rising costs of living, building more specialized housing for mentally challenged people and funding our military and police forces to combat rising crimes in Canada.

Photo courtesy of Global Affairs Canada.

Right now in Canada, we need more affordable housing for all Canadians, there’s clamor for continuously BANNING foreign investors from buying homes and that the ban shouldn’t have any expiry date (the current ban in place is set to expire on January 1, 2027). We need more assertive care for the mentally unstable by providing more specialized housing or hospitals for them and again, this must be addressed now. We need a better healthcare system for all Canadians as we are currently experiencing shortage of nurses and doctors which makes waiting time in emergency rooms longer and more frustrating and moreover could cause fatal deaths. 

We need to tighten up controls on immigration by being highly selective when it comes to who we allow in the country. We need to give more preference for highly trained foreign doctors, nurses, dentists, teachers, hospitality industry workers, and skilled construction workers. We need to STOP allowing refugees or lesser skilled immigrants who won’t even speak English and who will neither conform to nor integrate into the Canadian culture hence they end up becoming a burden to our society. Lastly, we need to give more funding to our police force so they can be ably equipped to fight the growing violent crimes and random attacks in our communities related to drugs, gangs, and mental health thus ensuring safety for all Canadians. 

Photo courtesy of Pexels.

I am not looking to blame others, especially those in authority and power. My views and core values in life will always be a combination of liberal and democratic but now that I’m older, some of my views and values have admittedly become slightly more conservative, although I prefer to remain apolitical hence I will not divulge in public who I voted for during the last election. As a proud Canadian (of Filipino descent) who has a voice, I would like to share some suggestions especially after being affected by such a painful tragedy. And right now, I am merely suggesting that perhaps instead of funding other countries, we should divert most of those funds to Canadians first — focusing on our most ardent needs. 

However, after much pain and sorrow, it is not really healthy and healing if we start finger pointing or blaming others for this horrific tragedy. After much pain and sorrow, we must stand united as a nation and we must continue to look for guidance from our elected leaders in ensuring that we all live in a safe and peaceful environment. It is heartwarming to see the different Filipino communities in Canada stepping up and forging Bayanihan spirit by helping the survivors of this tragedy. And for those, who would like to donate or extend help, you may do so through: UFCA B.C. 

Photo courtesy of UFcabc.

Lastly, as Canadians, we should never lose our faith and hope for our country and to those we elected because we live in a country of ingenuity and yes, of hope. Personally, I don’t believe that our country is broken. One cannot break a beautiful country that is already so strong even in dire times. But yes, we are currently struggling and even the strong ones need help. And now more than ever, we need for our leaders to show us their true mettle in this time of struggle — by being laser focused on solving our nation’s challenges with the right problem solving mindset.