B.C. Filipino community still trying to make sense of Lapu-Lapu Day attack, one month on

Exactly one month since the senseless Lapu-Lapu Day car-ramming attack in Vancouver, the local Filipino community is still trying to understand what happened.

The head of Filipino BC says people are grieving on their own timeline.

“What we’re seeing here is kind of like a social disaster, where it goes beyond the scope of the immediate tragedy, that there’s still a lot of work to do with those directly affected, but we’ve only now started to see the traumatic ripple effect of the event,” RJ Aquino told 1130 NewsRadio on Monday.

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“When there’s floods and fires, it’s a very easy thing to see, for the public and governments to understand that there’s something physical you can see, but in this case, you can’t see a fire inside someone. It’s clear who’s impacted, in those cases, in natural disasters where people are displaced — there are evacuees. And in this case, it’s difficult for many people who are experiencing trauma to even realize just how much they’ve been impacted,” he explained.

In the evening on April 26, 11 people were killed and dozens more injured when a driver rammed an SUV through a crowded street at the Lapu-Lapu Day festival in East Vancouver.

The tragedy has been characterized by the city’s mayor and police department as “the darkest day in Vancouver’s history.”

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Aquino says Filipino BC continues to support the community, connecting members with the right supports and organizations.

“We’ve set up the Kapwa Centre for Community Resilience, where people can go visit a physical space to be present with others, have a hot meal, and also have direct access to counselling services and other services that will allow them to get the support that they need,” Aquino said.

Along with the Kapwa Centre, the Kapwa Strong Fund with United Way BC has been giving victims and their families, along with other organizations and community groups, up to $25,000 each for counselling and support.

“We have been in touch with the victims and their families. We know that there’s a long road to recovery. We’re providing the support in any way that we can, up to and including, making sure that family is able to be near those that are still in the hospital, providing support to the families in any way we can,” Aquino said. “[We] recognize that there’s been an interruption in their income, and [we’re] making sure that any lost or broken items from that day are replaced.”

As for a potential permanent memorial dedicated to the victims of the attack, Aquino says that while it’s “early days, the conversations are happening.”

“Everyone recognizes that the temporary memorial that’s in place already is a very meaningful and significant memorial for everyone to continue to gather and grieve,” he said. “While we’re working in collaboration with the city, we’re taking a victim-centred approach, where we’re acting as advocates on behalf of the community. And what we’re hearing is that it’s too soon to make major changes to the temporary Memorial.

“We’ve been fielding calls and messages from people who want to make sure that it remains a place of remembrance and healing, and any movement or consolidation of the memorial site should be done with care and in consultation with these families. So, we don’t want to see anything moving forward if that work is not complete.

“And certainly, we know friends and immediate family of those who passed away are visiting the site regularly, and everyone is mindful of the next steps to take and making sure it’s appropriate and meaningful,” he explained.

With files from Mike Lloyd.