Memorial to Abdallah and Sakr children killed in Oatlands tragedy unveiled
After years of fighting for a permanent monument after their children were tragically killed in Oatlands, the Abdallah and Sakr families have finally unveiled a memorial to their beloved ‘angels.
NSW
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After years of fighting for a permanent monument since their children were tragically killed in Oatlands, the Abdallah and Sakr families finally unveiled a memorial to their beloved “angels” on Saturday.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Premier Chris Minns, former premier Dominic Perrottet and Abdallah family friend and former PM Scott Morrison were on hand as the families revealed the sandstone plinths to the public outside Oatlands Golf Club for the first time.
“Leilah thank you for being a pillar of strength and carrying your grief with grace and dignity,” Danny Abdallah said of his wife at the emotional ceremony.
“I remember coming here the day after the tragedy and the days ahead every morning at sunrise, I was a broken man in tears asking God ‘why’.
“And then a family member came to me and said ‘Danny stop asking why and start asking how’.”
Danny and Leila Abdallah’s three children Anthony, Angelina and Sienna were killed alongside their cousin Veronique Sakr when drunk driver Samuel Davidson struck them almost four years to the day this weekend.
The children were on their way to get ice cream when the tragedy that shocked the city struck.
The Abdallahs’ younger son, Alex, told the crowd of his memories from that night.
“I got scared and hid in my mum’s car,” he said.
“Then Leanna came to the car and she was bleeding everywhere. I didn’t want anything bad to happen.
“I looked out at the car and saw Angelina lying on the floor and I started crying.”
Mr Albanese told the 200 or so who gathered close to sundown on Saturday that the families were “remarkable Australians who have risen from the deepest grief”.
His predecessor Mr Morrison, who gave the Abdallahs spiritual guidance in the years since the tragedy, spoke in public for the first time since reports emerged he was set to retire from federal politics.
In an almost sermon-like tearful speech the former prime minister said the spot had transformed from “a place of chaos”.
“Can you imagine the pain of not being able to get to your daughter (that night),” he said.
“Danny (Abdallah) told me how he watched them place sheets over their children under this tree.
“The mountain of grief, the mountain of tragedy, the mountain of tears, the mountain of questions and anxiety and the mountain of fear.
“Through their faith they found a way to find forgiveness and cast that mountain into the sea.”
The plinths have a special dedication to each of the “four angels” as well as descriptions of those who survived the horror that night.
After years struggling to get a permanent memorial in place 80 per cent of the Oatlands Golf Club board approved the monument last year.
The legacy of their lost children saw the Abdallahs start up i4Give Day while Veronique’s mother Bridget Sakr formed the Heartfelt charity and has lobbied for better road safety legislation.
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