This coming Sunday marks the two-year anniversary of the death of Our Three Winners. For those of you who were here last year, you probably remember the huge candlelight vigil that took place on Stafford Commons outside of Talley Student Union in efforts to highlight the lives of fellow students from UNC-Chapel Hill and NC State: Deah Barakat, 23, his 21-year-old wife Yusor Mohammad Abu-Salha and her sister, Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha, 19, who were killed on Feb. 10, 2015. When the crime occurred, the news said that the killer was feuding with Barakat and the Abu-Salha sisters over a parking space in the apartment complex they lived in near UNC-CH’s campus.
Immediately after the event occurred, thousands attended the vigils held at Research Triangle schools to honor the students. The Facebook page dedicated to Our Three Winners now has over 178,000 likes, and the family of the victims created outreach events to talk about the sentiments behind the event and increase awareness.
In order to honor the lives of Our Three Winners, the families of the three created The Light House Project. Upon searching through Deah’s tweets, the families discovered that it was one of his wishes to have “a unified and structured community.” The Light House Project endeavors to create that structure by renovating the house on Tarboro Street in Raleigh where various “incubator projects” are taking place.
Two programs currently housed in the Light House are Triangle Muslim Professionals and Triangle Muslim Aid, both looking to reach out to the Muslims in the area. “Muslim Americans will continue to be positive role models in America, despite everything, because those are our values,” said Doha Medani, a senior studying nutrition science. “The Light House is very much a symbol of that progress and the optimism we are bound to. That is Islam.
With the recent anti-immigration executive order, it is clear that the sentiments behind the untimely deaths of Our Three Winners are far from diminishing. The qualities that make these and other Muslims who they are, are ignored, as they are all painted as being the same: radical and detrimental to America.
Identifying as a Muslim has only become harder after Trump’s inauguration, particularly after the executive order. However, as Doha mentioned, Muslims will continue to be positive figures in the community. With all the political action that has been taken against my religion, I have seen more people work together to create a voice for our community, Muslim and non-Muslim alike.
If you want to get involved this year, to honor Our Three Winners, the Light House is hosting an event called “Day of Light: How Can I be the Light?” on Saturday. The event is being held to openly discuss how people can “be the light in today’s darkness” with various speakers and “an award ceremony that honors members of our community who have kept and continue to keep Deah, Yusor and Razan’s legacy alive.” Along with this event, there is a solidarity and support rally occurring in Raleigh on Feb. 20 that is in direct reference to the immigration ban.
