EDMONTON – Aashar Arshad talked fondly Tuesday of the weekly road trips his family would take during the summer to nearby lakes and parks.
“My dad would never let us stay home,” 11-year-old Aashar said, his smile revealing a dimple in each cheek as he sat in a family friend’s living room. “He was like an outdoor man. He’d always make us go somewhere.”
He recounted how the family would often take long road trips to places such as Lake Louise and Sylvan Lake. The family did a lot more travelling this summer compared to past years because Aashar’s grandfather was in Edmonton for a visit.
It was during a road trip Sunday that Aashar’s family was killed in a crash outside Golden, B.C.
He was left an orphan.
He was riding with friends in a two-vehicle convoy heading to Abbotsford, B.C., when his family’s minivan crossed the centreline and hit a motorhome. The collision killed his parents, Arshad and Shakila Mahmood; his sisters, Daraksha, 15, and Mahlaka, 13, his grandfather Muhammad Shraif, 81, and family friend Syeda Alizay Asad, 14.
Aashar had originally been riding with his family, but had switched vehicles with Syeda shortly before the accident so she could chat with his two sisters.
Aashar is staying with longtime family friends until it can determined whether he will stay in Canada or return to Pakistan, from where his family moved four years ago.
“I might stay here or I might go back to Pakistan,” Aashar said. “I don’t really care where I go because I have friends here and I have good friends there, too. I’m happy with my family’s decision.”
Aashar said he enjoys living in Canada, adding that his father had spent five years arranging to move here. He said he doesn’t know if his parents would have wanted him to stay or return to Pakistan, but his father wanted him to eventually pursue engineering at a Canadian school – a career choice to which young Aashar has already given some thought.
“It’s a fun job. I’ve tried it,” he said, straightening up in his seat. “I fix machines that my dad couldn’t fix. I would open the whole thing and it would work.”
Aashar said he will miss his parents and sisters, whom he said were always polite and nice to him and anyone else they encountered.
“They were very loving.”
When Sunday’s crash happened, Aashar said he understood how severe it was, but hoped that everything would be OK.
“I completely understood it,” he said. “I was like, “˜The ambulance is here; they’re going to work things out.’
“It was sad. It was unbearable – unexplainable.”
Shahid Bashir, in whose home Aashar is staying, has known knew the youngster’s family more than 20 years. He and Arshad Mahmood were from the same city in Pakistan. Bashir helped Mahmood and his family immigrate to Canada. The two families would often go on summer trips together, Bashir said.
He added that he has spoken with the young boy’s uncle in Pakistan. If it’s decided Aashar will remain in Canada, Bashir said his hope is that the boy will stay with him – a decision that Aashar said he would be comfortable with.
“They’re like my second family,” Aashar said.
Reached in Pakistan earlier Tuesday, Aashar’s uncle said he will come to Canada as soon as possible, before handing the phone to a family friend who could better understand English. The friend said the uncle, elder brother of Arshad Mahmood, has to receive an emergency visa from the Canadian Embassy in Pakistan.
“He wants to go over there as quick as possible because his nephew is over there and is just 11 years old,” said the friend. “His first priority is to see the situation and then he will decide everything.”
Mahmood’s family in Pakistan also expects Aashar will remain in Canada, although no formal arrangements have been made.
“It is best for him to stay,” said the friend.
The deaths spawned widespread concern from the local community. Members from the local Pakistani and Indo-Canadian communities have stepped forward to offer the hopes of raising money for the families.
Coun. Amarjeet Sohi knew Arshad Mahmood. He has met with the Indo-Canadian Woman’s Association, where Arshad Mahmood worked as a settlement councillor.
“We are looking at establishing a memorial committee,” Sohi said. “Along with that, we will be planning some fundraising efforts to help out.”
A Facebook group arranged by an Edmonton DJ met Tuesday evening at a downtown restaurant. The group hopes to collect money for funeral expenses and to set up a trust fund for the boy.
“These are very difficult times for the family and friends and organizations,” Sohi said. “Arshad’s work and commitment to the community and people who make Edmonton home is irreplaceable.”
mibrahim@thejournal.canwest.com
bwittmeier@thejournal.canwest.com
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