UF students gathered Thursday evening on Turlington Plaza for a candlelight vigil commemorating the lives of those affected by the tragedy at the Westgate Mall in Nairobi, Kenya.
On Sept. 21, al-Shabab claimed responsibility for the armed shooting that wounded more than 200 civilians and led to dozens of deaths.
Deepa Pindolia, a Kenyan-born 27-year-old UF doctoral student, organized the event. She brought together eight student organizations for the vigil, including Gators for ASHA, Student Government, the Pakistan Student Association and UF International Student Services.
“It felt like a long, horrible nightmare,” she said. “It could have been anyone at the wrong place at the wrong time.”
Dean of the UF International Center David Sammons said as soon as the attacks were reported, Student Support Services reached out to all of the Kenyan students at UF.
“We always try to find out if any students were directly impacted by any international conflicts in their home countries,” he said.
The vigil also included a Messages of Hope display where students were encouraged to share their condolences with the civilians impacted by the terrorist attacks at the Westgate Mall. The board will be shipped to Kenya and displayed outside of the mall.
A version of this story ran on page 3 on 10/1/2013 under the headline "Vigil commemorates those lost in Kenya mall shooting"
Ph.D. student and Department of Environmental and Global Health research coordinator John Anderson, 34, lights a candle dedicated to Kenya mall-shooting victims on Turlington Plaza Monday.
