5 years after the Quebec City mosque attack, how should Canada keep it from happening again?

Aymen Derbali was rapidly losing consciousness as he lay on the floor of the Quebec City mosque, blood gushing from six bullet wounds, when he raised his arm to say a prayer.

It’s a daily reminder of the event that changed his life forever and etched a painful scar in one of the oldest cities in Canada. Derbali, a father of three with a background in information technology, is originally from Tunisia and moved to Canada from Bolivia in 2001. Derbali actively tried to distract the shooter and has been called a hero for risking his life to save others.

“I was paralyzed after receiving that bullet. I lost a lot of blood, I was falling unconscious. I was trying to open my eyes, but it was really difficult. I was hearing a lot of screams, a lot of people saying ‘Allahu Akbar’ ,” he said.As he lay on the ground, a pool of blood forming around him, he says, he stared directly into the attacker’s eyes, still hoping to distract him from shooting others.

Doctors told his wife that because of the oxygen deprivation to his brain during those heart attacks, he would likely have no memory and would be unable to breathe on his own. They advised she take him off life support. After his release from hospital, he lived for two years in a rehabilitation centre because his home was not wheelchair accessible. During that time he would have strange nightmares of waking up in the hospital in countries he’s never been to, such as Syria and Russia.

Guillet came to Canada more than 40 years ago from war-torn Lebanon. In some ways, the mosque shooting shattered his perception of Canada, which he saw as an “oasis of peace.” Stemming the tide of hate has proven difficult, but Canada has not been completely complacent. There was M-103, a non-binding motion in Parliament to condemn Islamophobia passed by the Liberal government. Last year, the government designated Jan. 29 as the National Day of Remembrance and Action Against Islamophobia.

“When you have a segment of the population that wants to actively harm or hurt Canadian Muslims, we have an attitudinal problem that needs to be challenged through dialogue, education and resourcing … This is not an Ottawa or Legislature of Alberta problem. This is an everyone problem,” Farooq said.

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