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Ajit Jain in Toronto
Students from Hindu Sathya Sai School in suburban Markham, north of Toronto, brought hushed silence outside Toronto City Hall as they expressed hopes for peace and tolerance at a peace vigil held on Sunday.
"We are sorry about what happened," said 7-year old student Kriusanthy Kaneshwaran. "We want everybody to be happy and be at peace," he added.
She and other students then sang a song: "Take a lesson from the sun, which shines on everyone."
The word peace was expressed at the vigil meeting in several languages: shanty, suleih, salam, shalom, and representatives of many religions and cultures took pride in introducing each other.
The event described as a 'renewal of faith in the Canadian way', included prayers and words of peace from representatives of the Hindu Campus Ministry, the Jaffari Islamic Center, Temple Sinai and the Afghan Association of Ontario.
Neelofer Mansuri, a 7-year old Afghan-Canadian girl said, "Islam is peace and I wish peace in Afghanistan and for the all nations of the world. I love to live, but I love to live in peace. God bless."
Wahid Ullah Amin, also an Afghan-Canadian, said carpet bombing the mountainous Afghanistan may cause more harm to the already poverty-stricken ordinary people, than the damage done by the country's dictatorial regime.
"To get rid of terrorism, not only do they have to get rid of bin Laden, they must also get rid of the Taleban and Pakistani governments that feed and arm the terrorists," he suggested.
Members of the South Asian community, including South Asian media, also organised a Candle Light Vigil at Mississauga city hall to mourn the victims of terrorism.
"Just as we are deeply anguished over the tragedy ... we are also concerned over the way the hate-mongers have risen to the fore following this tragedy," said Parvinder Sandhu of the Worldwide Immigration, who presided over the vigil.
"The most unfortunate part is that such racially motivated crimes are happening in lock step with a wave of similar incidents in the United States and Britain," he added.
Metro Police Staff Sergeant Jamal Khan, an Indo-Canadian who was present at the vigil on behalf of the Toronto Police, assured the gathering the Toronto police would respond to complaints of racial attacks very promptly and vigorously prosecute the offenders.
The congregation of over 300 people lighted candles to express their solidarity with Americans and mourn the loss of lives in the tragedy.
The Attack on America: The Complete Coverage
EXTERNAL LINK For Further Coverage and Information, you may visit www.saja.org/roundup
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