Filipino community in mourning after Vancouver festival attack

A vigil has begun at the Kensington Community Centre. The mayor has met with community members grappling with the devastating attack.

The Filipino community in Vancouver and around the world is in mourning after a driver plowed into a crowd of people celebrating Lapu Lapu Day Saturday, injuring dozens and killing 11.

The festival’s organizers addressed the media Sunday morning to offer thanks for the support pouring in from across the globe, promise help for those affected and express profound grief in the wake of the horrific event.

“Last night there was a horrible tragedy that occurred at a happy event and we’re still reeling from it,” said RJ Aquino, chair of Filipino B.C.

Read more: ‘Darkest day in our city’s history’: 11 killed at Vancouver Filipino festival

The attack happened as the busy block party was wrapping up and people were beginning to make their way home. Aquino said his phone had never rung so much in his life, recalling “a lot of panic, and relief when somebody answers.”

“Last night was extremely difficult and the community will feel this for a long time,” he continued. “We know there’s a lot of questions floating about and we don’t have all the answers, but we want to tell everybody that we’re grieving, we want to tell everybody that we see and hear the support from around the world at this point.”

He asked people to respect the privacy of victim’s families and those who witnessed the event firsthand, and added Filipino B.C. is still working on what comes next in terms of resources and support, and how it can help the community heal.

In the meantime, Aquino urged everyone affected to reach out for help and hold each other close.

“Filipinos sometimes forget to ask for help and we sometimes forget to take care of ourselves, and to that end I tell people sometimes the best way to help yourself is to help others, so we want to make sure that everybody knows that there’s somebody to talk to whether its your friends or family or us, we’ll be here,” he said.

Read more: ‘Grief and solidarity’: B.C. premier addresses carnage at Vancouver Filipino festival

MLA for Vancouver-Kensington Mable Elmore, the first person of Filipino descent to win a seat in B.C., said she’s working with the city, the province and the federal government to get supports in place for the families and volunteers shaken by the “unspeakable tragedy.”

“I encourage everyone whose been impacted, please reach out, talk to your friends and family, get help and get support, you’re not alone. We love you, we care for you, we’re here for you and we will come together,” she said.

Services in place the day after the attack include a crisis centre at Douglas Park Community Centre and the VictimLinkBC phone line, Elmore said, and more information will be coming soon.

“I just want to say, my message to everyone, to those in the Filipino community, the broader community, we are in incredible pain,” she said through tears. “The Filipino community will show true resilience, and we will come together out of this catastrophe with the support and the love from the broad community, from all of you in the public across British Columbia and around the world.”

Read more: Vancouver SUV attack is ‘largest crime scene that I’ve seen,’ Sajjan says

Both speakers emphasized that the community will heal and rebuild its strength.

“If there’s something the Filipino community has demonstrated over and over again is how resilient we can be,” said Aquino. “It’s not lost on us and the people on our team that the spirit of the festival was about that resistance, resilience, courage and strength and we’re going to have to call that up in ourselves.”

He continued, “Looking at the history of our people we’ve encountered many tragedies and we’re going to be okay. But it’s okay to not feel okay, it’s okay to be sad angry and confused, but as we work through these feelings, we’ll have each other to do that—we’re here to lift each other up.”