‘I can’t talk to my family anymore,’ boy orphaned in anti-Muslim attack tells London, Ont., sentencing court
Warning: This story contains distressing details.
The boy left orphaned after an Islamophobic attack on the Afzaal family says he wishes he could still have his sister to fight with, his mom’s cooking and the house he grew up in. He also longs for the plans that will never happen, like being in a car with his sister driving after she finally got her licence.
Now 11, the youngest member of the Muslim family attacked with a pickup truck on June 6, 2021, in London, Ont., detailed at the convicted killer’s sentencing hearing how losing his sister, dad, mom and grandmother has changed his life.
In the statement read by his cousin in Ontario Superior Court on Friday, the boy says the attack left him with injuries like a broken leg, and he’ll have to undergo physiotherapy and surgery to hopefully walk again.
“The offence has made me very sad at the fact I can’t talk to my family anymore and make new memories with them. I won’t be able to have fun with them anymore,” the boy wrote in his victim impact statement. “When I have kids, they’re not going to have grandparents because of this offence.”
The statement was the culmination of two days of emotional testimony by relatives, friends and community members as the two-day sentencing hearing for Nathaniel Veltman wrapped up Friday with the final victim impact statements.
Raw grief and pain were on full display in a London, Ont., courtroom as victim impact statements were read out on day one of Nathaniel Veltman’s sentencing hearing. He is convicted of running down and killing four members of the Afzaal family in 2021.
CBC News is not naming the boy at the request of the family and out of respect for his privacy, and he wasn’t present in court Friday. He was nine years old when his family was killed in an attack quickly condemned by political leaders as an act of anti-Muslim hate.
Yumnah Afzaal, 15, Madiha Salman, 44, her husband, Salman Afzaal, 47, and paternal grandmother Talat Afzaal, 73, were killed. The boy was taken to hospital after the attack and was the lone survivor.
After a 10-week jury trial in Windsor, the 23-year-old convicted killer, a self-described white nationalist, was found guilty in November of four counts of murder and one count of attempted murder. He sat with a shocked look on his face Friday as the 11-year-old’s statement was read aloud.
“I wouldn’t be able to have some of the delicious food that my family used to make like Yumnah’s pasta, Ami’s all around food (because nothing was better than the other), Baba’s butter chicken and Dadi-Jaan’s potato wedges,” the boy wrote.
“Me and Yumnah had plans that when she finally got her driver’s licence, she’d drive me around. She said it would cost 25 cents per drive. Now I’ll never be able to see that.”
He also had a message for other children whose moms and dads make them do homework instead of playing video games: “I realize now they are only telling me this stuff to help you. However, once they leave you, you start to really notice how much they cared about you. And also, you may think your siblings are really annoying, and to be honest I thought the same about Yumnah, but when they leave, you would love to fight with them one last time.”
Madiha’s and Salman’s extended family have rallied around the boy, trying to create a semblance of a normal childhood, they told the court. His sister’s friends have also stepped in to big sister roles as the boy grows up.
Those young people also spoke to the court on Friday, staring directly at the man who murdered their friend and her family, defiantly detailing the loss of their childhoods since the attack.
“We didn’t just lose Yumnah and her beautiful family, we lost our sense of belonging. We lost our sense of community. We lost our self of safety and our sense of self. We even lost our innocence,” said Maryam Al Sabawi, who met Yumnah in Grade 2.
Al Sabawi described Yumnah as “a confidant, a support system, a classmate, study partner, secret keeper and giver of hope.”
“He took from us what did not belong to him and there is no way to take it back — all of it because of hate that was left unchecked, carefully incubated through the silence of others.”
First-degree murder comes with an automatic sentence of life in prison with no parole eligibility for at least 25 years.
The third day of the sentencing hearing, Jan. 23, will hear legal arguments about whether the attack constituted terrorism. The judge will make that determination in a decision expected at a later date. A terrorism designation will not change the killer’s sentence, but could affect the programs he has access to in prison and his eventual parole eligibility.
In the aftermath of the attack, Al Sabawi and other teens created the Youth Coalition for Combating Islamophobia (YCCI) to honour their friend and work at ensuring no others lose loved ones to hatred.
‘Losing her felt like losing a limb’
On Friday, children and teenagers spoke about the loss of simple milestones, such as texting through the night, buying prom dresses and planning for the future, that they can no longer do with Yumnah.
“My best friend was murdered, leaving her little brother orphaned without his grandmother, his mom and dad, his best friend his sister,” said Huda Salaam, one of her best friends. “I can’t go anywhere in the city without feeling and seeing her.”
Many said they feel guilt that they are able to graduate and continue their lives while Yumnah and her family cannot, and they worry about the pain of losing more loved ones.
“She was the person I texted good morning to every morning, without fail. Losing her felt like losing a limb and so many things in my life came to a standstill,” said Eeshal Salman.
The trial of Nathaniel Veltman demonstrated that an online ‘culture of hate’ contributed to his radicalization that culminated in his attack on the Afzaal family in London, Ont., said Nusaiba Al-Azem, director of legal affairs for the National Council of Canadian Muslims.
Four students from the London Islamic School, which the surviving boy attends, also spoke.
“Many people think that just because we are children we don’t understand what is going on. When I was a kid, I thought Canada was the safest place in the world. Then that happened, and I learned the world isn’t as good as I thought,” one 11-year-old said.
Court also heard from organizations, including those representing the Pakistani, Jewish and Sikh communities, that expressed solidarity with the Afzaal family, as well as the fear that visible minorities now live with after the attack.
