Following the attack on a mall in Kenya, Ohio University students from African countries held a vigil to remember those lost to terrorism.
The African Student Union held the event Tuesday on College Green to show their solidarity for the victims and affected families of the attack in Nairobi, Kenya that claimed at least 67 lives, according to CNN.
“The terror attack that took place at the Westgate Mall in Nairobi was to say the least very unfortunate,” Jeremiah Asaka, the union’s president, said. “(I) condemn it with the strongest term possible.”
People around the world feel the tragedy, Asaka said.
“To those affected by the tragedy, we share in your grief,” he added. “May God give you strength to pull through and may he rest the souls of the departed in eternal peace.”
No student or faculty member from Kenya was directly affected by the tragedy to the best of his knowledge, said Steve Howard, director of OU’s African Studies Program.
Howard, who was at the vigil, said it is important to come together and support the Kenyan community. He advised students who might be affected by the attack to visit Counseling and Psychological Services.
Philistar Bonyo, a senior from Kenya in the College of Health Sciences and Professions, described the terrorist attacks as terrible and unfortunate, but she hopes they act as a wake up call for the Kenyan government to tighten security measures nationally.
Mohamed Ashour, a first year political science graduate student from Somali, feared how the incident would make Americans view Somalia.
“I am saddened by what happened in Kenya,” Ashour said. “The whole incident possibly will put Somalia community across the globe in a bad light since the culprits are Somalia’s but with different nationalities.”
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