Vigils were also held on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, and in Toronto Hundreds gathered in Holland Park, where they held a moment of silence for those killed in the bombings SURREY (NEWS 1130) – A vigil in Surrey to remember the victims of Easter’s horrific attacks in Sri Lanka was one of many such gatherings across the country Monday night. Hundreds gathered in Holland Park, where they held a moment of silence for those killed in the bombings. At Holland Park in Surrey, a moment of silence is held for the victims of the bombings in sri lanka. pic.twitter.com/jVqVecCZZH — Jonathan Szekeres (@jonszekeres) April 23, 2019 Candles arranged to spell “Sri Lanka” were set up to be lit after dark fell. One woman present said she was there to support the Sri Lankan Catholic community. “They lost so many of the people,” she said. “And their place of worship.” Another attendee say he was there to share his condolences for both the dead and those who survived the attacks. Many in the crowd were from Sri Lanka and said they had come out to support their people. “People from other religious groups have also come to support,” one man said. “It’s really nice to see that, everybody showing their community spirit.” The suicide bombings struck three churches and three luxury hotels Sunday in the island nation’s deadliest violence since a devastating civil war ended in 2009. At tonight's vigil for #SriLanka in #surreybc … The crowd brings their candles to the wall. Lit candles are used to light new ones or relight those that have blown out. pic.twitter.com/tZvLEYP0v8 — David Zura (@DavidZuraCityTV) April 23, 2019 Nearly 300 people were killed, and officials said Monday intelligence agencies had warned weeks ago of the possibility of an attack. To end the evening, attendees joined together and sang the national anthem of Sri Lanka. Vigils were also held on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, in Edmonton, and in Toronto. With files from the Associated Press.<doc-sep>Unity and forgiveness at heart of Surrey prayer vigil for Sri Lanka "We don’t believe in fighting violence with violence. All we can do is to pray and that’s what we are doing tonight. Giving the message that we want peace, we don’t want any conflicts in that country." Article content Prayers for unity and forgiveness were at the heart of a vigil held by B.C.’s Sri Lankan community in Surrey’s Holland Park on Monday evening. “We want to give a message to two sectors of society,” said spokesperson Ransiri Fernando. We apologize, but this video has failed to load. tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Unity and forgiveness at heart of Surrey prayer vigil for Sri Lanka Back to video “One to the Sri Lankans living here and living in Sri Lanka that we are united as one people. The Tamils, the Sinhalese, the Muslims, the Burghers, we are all united. We want that message to be given out loud and clear. “Secondly we want to tell those who perpetrate violence that they are forgiven. Wholeheartedly. We don’t believe in fighting violence with violence. All we can do is to pray and that’s what we are doing tonight. Giving the message that we want peace, we don’t want any conflicts in that country.” Around 150 people attended the vigil, with candles, flowers and Sri Lankan flags. Photo by Arlen Redekop / PNG There were roughly 4,500 people of Sri Lankan or mixed Sri Lankan descent living in B.C., mostly in Surrey, said Fernando. Most of Canada’s 150,000-strong Sri Lankan community live in Ontario.<doc-sep>Send this page to someone via email About a hundred people attended a candlelight vigil in downtown Halifax on Tuesday, remembering those killed in the Colombo suicide bombings earlier this week. Faith leaders said prayers in English, Arabic and Sinhala as members of the Sri Lankan diaspora lit candles bordering a chalk drawing of the Asian island nation in Victoria Park. More than 320 were killed in the coordinated attacks on the capital on Easter Sunday, and roughly twice that number were wounded. It was the deadliest instance of violence in Sri Lanka since a brutal civil war, which ended 10 years ago after nearly three decades of conflict. Tea lights outlining the shape of #SriLanka, drawn in chalk in Victoria Park as the candlelight vigil begins. #Halifax pic.twitter.com/nnwP43WHmW — Elizabeth McSheffrey (@emcsheff) April 23, 2019 READ MORE: Nova Scotian Sri Lankans mourn after targeted Easter Sunday attacks “We call our motherland the Pearl of the Indian Ocean,” said Sanjee Ekanayake, who led the ceremonies on behalf of the Sri Lanka Canada Association of the Atlantic Region (SLCAAR). Story continues below advertisement “Today our hope [is for] that pearl to shine again with love, unity and peace.” Politicians, including federal MP Andy Fillmore and Halifax Mayor Mike Savage, made short speeches before the crowd observed three minutes of silence. “I think the message that resonates is forgiveness,” said Pastor Keith Ferreira of the Atlantic Foursquare Gospel Church. “It happened on the Easter Sunday where we celebrated the forgiveness the Lord has given us. And it is hard, but I think that’s the message that resonates.” READ MORE: Militant group blamed in Sri Lanka attacks called for non-Muslims to be ‘eliminated’ Close to 100 people gathered in Victoria Park, including federal politicians, gathered to spread harmony and unity in wake of horrific #SriLankaAttacks pic.twitter.com/d704o5lhNs — Elizabeth McSheffrey (@emcsheff) April 23, 2019 According to the SCAAR, which represents roughly 1,000 Sri Lankans living in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island, no Maritimers lost family in the attacks. Story continues below advertisement A candlelight vigil was also held in Charlottetown on Tuesday evening, and one will be held in Truro, N.S. on Wednesday. To date, roughly 40 people have been arrested on suspicion of connections to Sunday’s bombings and the investigation is ongoing. WATCH: Coverage of the Sri Lanka attacks on Globalnews.ca<doc-sep>"Peaceful" is not a word Gary Anandasangaree would use to describe Sri Lanka. It's a country he fled at the age of 10 amid a decades-long civil war. But while peace may not have been achieved on the island in the past 10 years, "there was some semblance of order in some places," Anandasangaree said. That all changed Sunday, when a sudden attack killed hundreds of people and injured hundreds more with a series of coordinated bomb blasts that rocked churches and hotels across the country. Many of the attacks, believed to be carried out by suicide bombers with a local Islamic group, targeted worshippers gathered to celebrate Easter Sunday, authorities said. "This just brings everything to a halt," Anandasangaree said. "It's beyond comprehension." Today, Anandasangaree is a Scarborough-area Liberal MP in a city home to an estimated 250,000 people of Sri Lankan origin. 'Come together, mourn together' And on Monday, he was of several Canadians who organized vigils to pay tribute to those killed and to seek solace among those who have witnessed violence in their homeland before. Edward Anura Ferdinand, president of the Sri Lanka Canada Association of Ottawa, said hundreds of Sri Lankans planned to gather in several cities to light candles, sing hymns and come to terms with the recent bombings. One such vigil unfolded Monday evening on Parliament Hill in Ottawa. Anura Ferdinand said the horror of Sunday's violence is compounded by the memories it revives, adding many Sri Lankan-Canadians are grappling not only with the latest events but memories of the bloody civil war that drove many of them out of the country in the first place. "We are in the position of healing our wounds after a 30-year war," he said in an interview. "There was a time when breaking news was a common thing, every now and then you would hear explosions. . . . There are so many bad memories that come to my head personally and so many of the other members when we heard about this." The Toronto vigil, held at 7 p.m. at the Malvern Methodist Church, was a chance "to bring everyone together," he said. The place of worship overflowed with people, not unlike the churches in Sri Lanka on Easter — though this time, to remember the victims. "It's a way for us to really come together, mourn together, to start the long healing process together and also to support each other," he said. Faith leaders — including a Catholic priest, a rabbi and an imam — also spoke at the ceremony. "We have been sustained by other communities coming to us, particularly after the assault on Pittsburgh and we have tried to reach out to other communities when they have been in need," Rabbi Debra Lansberg said. "We are deeply saddened, all of us, in the city of Toronto," Mayor John Tory said. The Easter Sunday bombings, said Anandasangaree, are the latest religiously motivated terror attacks around the world. He called for Canadians of all faiths to denounce hate and intolerance. MP Gary Anandasangaree said Sunday's attacks risk destabilizing a country that's still struggling to establish a fragile peace, adding many of his fellow expatriates are anxious about its longer-term consequences for loved ones back home. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press) The explosions — centred on the cities of Colombo, Negombo and Batticaloa — collapsed ceilings and blew out windows, killing worshippers and hotel guests in one scene after another of smoke, soot, blood, broken glass, screams and wailing alarms. While no group has officially taken responsibility for the attacks, Sri Lankan Health Minister Rajitha Senaratne attributed the bombings to a group known as National Thowfeek Jamaath. Police said they have arrested 13 people in connection with the attacks. 'We started panicking' Toronto resident Princely Soundranayagam was among those who learned his family member was seriously injured. It was Sunday afternoon when he heard the news from a relative. 'When we heard an attack at the Bedico church, that's when we started panicking," he said. His cousin had been severely injured and was unconscious in hospital. "It's really sad and it's frustrating because there is no solution," he said, adding he worries the Sri Lankan government will use the attack as justification to clamp down even further on freedoms. Princely Soundranayagam's cousin was seriously hurt in the attack. He worries for the next generation of Sri Lankans, saying with an incident like this, the chance of peace feels remote. (Jonathan Castell/CBC) During the civil war, which came to an end in 2009, a powerful rebel army known as the Tamil Tigers was crushed by the government. Meanwhile, critics say anti-Muslim bigotry has swept the island in recent years, fed by Buddhist nationalists, though the island also had no history of violent Muslim militants. The country's small Christian community has seen scattered incidents of harassment in recent years but nothing close to the scale of devastation seen Sunday. Anandasangaree said Sunday's attacks risk destabilizing a country that's still struggling to establish a fragile peace, adding many of his fellow expatriates are anxious about its longer-term consequences for loved ones back home. 'Situation remains volatile' Officials with Global Affairs Canada have said no Canadians were among the 39 foreigners killed in the attacks, but stepped up travel advisories for anyone in or headed to the country. "The situation remains volatile," reads the advisory, which urges Canadians to exercise a high degree of caution. Other attacks could occur throughout the country, the statement warns. Local authorities have declared a state of emergency and a curfew has been imposed. Access to some social media has also been temporarily blocked. Global Affairs Spokesperson Amy Mills urged Canadians in Colombo, the nation's capital, to limit their movements, avoid impacted areas, and take direction from local authorities. Special Task Force Bomb Squad officers inspect the site of an exploded van near a church that was attacked on Sunday in Colombo, Sri Lanka. (Dinuka Liyanawatte/Reuters) In the hours after the attacks, some 200 Sri Lankan-Canadians attended a service at the Toronto Harvest Missionary Church in Scarborough, Ont., to pray for victims and their families.<doc-sep>
Around 200 people gathered in Surrey's Holland Park on Monday night for a vigil in honour of the people killed in a string of attacks in Sri Lanka over Easter weekend. At least 310 people were killed and hundreds more were injured in a series of co-ordinated bomb blasts that rocked churches and hotels across the country on Sunday. Many of the attacks targeted worshippers gathered to celebrate Easter Sunday and were believed to be carried out by suicide bombers from a local Islamic group, authorities said. In Surrey, mourners lit candles and lay flowers. A Buddhist monk led the crowd in prayer. Organizers said they wanted to show unity and solidarity in the face of hatred. (CBC) Ira Waranasinghe, who attended the vigil, said the overwhelming feelings in the crowd were shock and sadness. "It's been a peaceful country for years, and this is what happened. So, why?" she said, before sharing a message to people back in Sri Lanka: "Please be calm. Please do whatever you can to help others, and give blood if you can and help the families that are affected by this." Heshani Indrasiri teared up while speaking, saying she moved to Canada from Sri Lanka 15 years ago. "I just came here to give them my prayers and my blessings and my thoughts for the people who lost their lives. It's very hard, it's very emotional. We thought our war was over a long time ago," she said, referring to the country's civil war, which ended in 2009. "We have to gather and we have to show we are united as Sri Lankans. Religion is just religion but we are all Sri Lankans." Around 200 people gathered on Monday. (CBC) Zeeniya Nizam, a doctor who spoke at the vigil, said the crowd gathered to show that even though they are far from Sri Lanka, they support their country. She also delivered a message for people in her home country: "Be united, that's No. 1. There are forces that are trying to divide our small country into little groups, so we ask all our brothers and friends to be united and work hard to win peace. "Peace is the most important thing." A second vigil will be held on Tuesday night.