Dozens of students and members of the Ottawa community gathered for a candlelight vigil Oct. 3 at Carleton in honour of the victims of the Westgate mall attack in Nairobi, Kenya.
The four-day-long attack happened Sept. 21, killing at least 67 civilians and government officers, including Carleton graduate Annemarie Desloges.
The vigil included the singing of the Kenyan national anthem, two moments of silence for the victims, and a candlelit procession through the university campus.
The vigil was organized by the International Student Centre (ISC) and the East African Student Association (EASA).
Elvin Rugerinyange, ISC administrative co-ordinator, said he wanted the vigil to show Carleton’s support for the victims.
“We wanted to do something as Carleton students in solidarity with the victims,” he said. “I think we . . . saw how united we can be here at Carleton in good and bad times.”
Bertha Kizito, president of EASA, said it was important to spread awareness about the tragedy.
“There are a lot of Kenyans, there are a lot of East Africans, so we wanted to . . . show our support and . . . let everyone know that we’re here and we care about the issue and what’s happening,” she said.
Carleton president Roseann Runte said it was important to “support our students” and “hope for peace and no violence in the world.”
Yves Dushimimana, a third-year economics student who attended the vigil, said he thought it was important to stand with Kenyans in this time of difficulty.
“For me, it’s also a personal thing because the attack happened in a place that I know my friends frequent, that I’ve been to, and that is really close to where I grew up,” he said.
