Bob CollinsIn Willmar, Minn., over the weekend, several hundred residents could do the only thing they could to grieve for two Somali boys who drowned last week. They walked.
“My thought was that if only a few people showed up, that would be great,” police officer Jared Wosmek said after 270 people showed up on Saturday to show unity with the city’s Somali community after the drownings.
“I felt that there were a number of people in our community that wanted so much to show their support and love to the family and to our Muslim neighbors,” Wosmek tells the West Central Tribune.
Idris Hussein, 10, and Ahmed Hashi, 11, were found dead in the water near the city’s fairgrounds last Wednesday.
“What really made the event special were the individuals that showed up to take the walk,” Wosmek said of the city’s show of support. “Without each of those people, that support and that love would never have been shown. It was the group that showed up that made it happen. They made all the difference in the world.”
The walkers gathering in support of our grieving #Somali community. #WillmarLove @wctrib pic.twitter.com/WQpliDTwXH
— Linda Vanderwerf (@lindavanderwerf) July 2, 2016
