Lebanese were in mourning in both Beirut and nearly 9,000 miles away in Sydney, Australia, after a horrific car crash claimed the lives of four Lebanese-Australian children on Saturday night.
An alleged drunk driver lost control of his vehicle in the Sydney suburb of Oatlands, ploughing into a group of seven children. They had been riding their bikes along a footpath on their way to buy ice cream, family members said.Samuel Davidson, 29, was on Sunday denied bail and charged by the Parramatta court on 20 counts, including manslaughter and drink driving. He allegedly had a blood alcohol level three times over the legal limit.The horrific incident caused the deaths of 13-year-old Antony Abdullah and his siblings Angelina, 12, and Sienna, 9, as well as their cousin Veronique Sakr, 11.
“Yesterday I lost three of my children. I had a cousin, Bridget, she lost her daughter as well,” Daniel Abdullah said on Sunday morning according to AFP. Leila and Daniel Abdullah are left with three remaining children.
“I’m numb, probably that’s how I feel at the moment,” he said, adding that his children had gone on to “a better place”.
“All I just want to say is, please, drivers be careful. These kids were just walking innocently, enjoying each others’ company and this morning I woke up, I have lost three kids.”
A makeshift memorial was put in place overnight at the site of the crash, with people coming to place flowers, teddy bears and candles.Another three children from the Lebanese-Australian family were injured in the crash, with the Abdullahs’ 10-year-old son in hospital in a serious but stable condition.The tragic incident has been widely shared on social media in Lebanon, with many paying their respects.
Lebanon‘s foreign ministry has instructed the country’s ambassador to Australia to follow up on the incident and aid the grieving families, The Daily Star reported.Antoine-Charbel Tarabay, Archbishop of Australia‘s Maronite Diocese, also gave his condolences for the families. The Living Maronite organisation added on its Facebook page: “Tonight before you sleep we ask that you remember in your prayers a young Maronite family from our Parish who has been devastatingly affected by a serious accident.”
How many more lives? How many more? We need a Zero B.A.C. For all drivers as well as a Zero Illicit Drug Content for ALL drivers. Yet we continue to passively promote or at the very least give a tacit approval of growing drug use of all kinds, and expect Road Tolls, Family Violence and/or Hospitalizations do drop! The cognitive dissonance in culture and policy is breathtaking. Children are always the ones who pay the greatest price in ‘drug approved’ environments. The pro-drug and pro-alcohol lobby declare ‘you cant arrest your way out of this mess’. Be rest assured, as we repeatedly declare – ‘you most definitely wont be able to ‘treat’ your way out either!”
Dalgarno Institute