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The family of four children who died in a nightmare accident three years ago honored their sons at a new event.
Antoni, Angelina and Sienna Abdallah and Veronique Sakr were walking to buy ice cream when their lives were taken after a drunk driver swerved onto a pavement and killed them in Oatlands, west of Sydney, in 2020.
His mother, Leila Abdallah, wanted to hold an i4Give festival at Prince Alfred Square in Parramatta in memory, but the event was delayed due to the Covid pandemic.
The festival was held for the first time on Saturday with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet and former Prime Minister Scott Morrison in attendance.
The family of four children who died in a nightmare accident three years ago honored their sons at a new event
His mother, Leila Abdallah, wanted to hold an i4Give festival at Prince Alfred Square in Parramatta in memory, but the event was delayed due to the pandemic.
“This is the park where I used to come all the time with my children,” said Ms. Abdallah.
‘Although Antony, Angelina, Sienna and Veronique are not present in body, but they believe they are present in spirit.’
Ms Abdallah shocked Australia when she pardoned the driver who killed her three children and her niece just days after their shocking deaths.
Prayers for the lost brothers were read to start the proceedings.
Veronique’s father, Bob Sakr, was emotional, saying there was “nothing in the world” that wouldn’t offer to give his daughter one last hug.
‘When I heard Leila say that she forgave [the driver]that was not going through my head,” Sakr said.
“But then very quickly I realized that I was just burdening myself.”
The i4Give Day Foundation was established by the Abdullah family in the wake of the death of their children, with its mission statement aimed at “raising community awareness of the power of forgiveness to transform human relationships and provide resilience towards flourishing.” human”.
The festival will become an annual event packed with carnival rides, live performances and an outdoor movie screening to cap off the day.
Former Prime Minister Scott Morrison and his wife Jenny were there to support the family they became close to after the tragedy that occurred during their tenure (pictured, NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet talks with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese)
The festival will become an annual event filled with carnival rides, live performances and an outdoor movie screening to cap off the day.
Mr. Morrison and his wife Jenny were there to support the family they became close to after the tragedy that occurred during their tenure.
Dressed much more casually than the other politicians present – in blue jeans, tennis shoes and a baseball cap – he marveled at the family’s ability to unconditionally forgive the person responsible for their children’s deaths.
“People often ask me, ‘How did you do that?'” Morrison said.
“I couldn’t imagine that in the face of something like this I could have shown up on that site like Leila did and immediately said, ‘I forgive.'”
The i4Give day foundation was established by the Abdullah family following the death of their sons.
Opposition leader Chris Minns was also present at the festival.
Mr. Albanese paid tribute to young children whose lives were “cruelly taken” from the world.
“Their bright and beautiful lives, full of promise and possibility, came to a sudden and tragic end,” Mr. Albanese told the crowd.
‘We remember today all the joy and laughter they brought to the lives of those who knew and loved them. Pride. The delight that comes with a child.
And we hold in our hearts those who still live with pain and loss. His is a pain that may ease with time, but it will never fully fade.
“Yet in the midst of this sadness, there is something very beautiful here today too, and very powerful.”