Statement on the fatal attack on the Muslim family in London, Ontario

CBC News Article 

The UBC Department of Physical Therapy is devastated by the loss of Salman Afzaal, a physiotherapist, Madiha Salman, an engineer and PhD candidate at London’s Western University, their daughter Yumna Afzaal and Salman’s mother, Talat Afzaal. This is an enormous loss to the Muslim community and the physical therapy community across Canada and beyond. 

Salman was a physical therapist who worked in long-term care and was well regarded in the physical therapy community for his caring attitude and cheerful, positive demeanour both with clients and with other members of the health care team. Our heart goes out to his family, friends and the patients he served.  

To the Muslim community at UBC, please know that we stand with you and denounce this act of terror and Islamophobia. We stand in solidarity with the Muslim community, the Afzaal family, and the physiotherapy community. Our deepest sympathies to the Afzaal family for their loss due to the anti-Muslim act of terror. We are mourning the loss of lives and are keeping the 9-year-old boy that remains in the hospital in our thoughts. 

We all play a part in keeping our community safe. The UBC Department of Physical Therapy is bringing a Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusive (JEDI) approach to our curriculum and strategy, in alignment with the Faculty of Medicine and UBC, so that moving forward we continue to contribute to creating safe and inclusive communities. 


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