‘At peace to have my son buried in my country’: Father of Tumbler Ridge victim prepares to bury son in Zambia

CTV News Chief Anchor Omar Sachedina speaks with the father of Abel Mwansa Junior, one of five students killed.

TUMBLER RIDGE, B.C. – Just two days before the mass shooting that would shatter Tumbler Ridge, B.C., Abel Mwansa Sr. and his family were celebrating his daughter’s 8^th birthday.

Now, the father of three, is preparing to bury this son – Abel Mwansa Jr., who was one of the victims of Tuesday’s massacre.

“I want my son to be remembered as a brave one,” Mwansa Sr. told CTV News in an interview at his home.

“I wake up and walk to the living room and kitchen. I’m thinking he’s still sleeping.”

Knowing that his 12-year-old son will never wake up is a reality he is trying to come to terms with.

Mwansa Sr. says his unwavering faith – even as it’s being tested – is helping him do that.

“The owner of that life is God,” he says, admitting that he has periods when he’s “breaking down and cry(ing) inside” because of the connection that he had with his son.

Mwansa Sr. describes his son as being the perfect big brother, never hesitating to take care of the eight-month-old baby in the family or his sister.

“He was always protective. He was always trying to make sure that people around him are safe. That’s the kind of boy he was,” he says.

Mwansa Jr. had dreams of being a scientist, engineer, or soccer player, Mwansa Sr. said, as he held up a collection of soccer medals. He kept a collection of his son’s belongings nearby: a pair of ice skates, a laptop, pottery and a replica truck made from wood, with a hitch he decided his father needed.

“He made this to inspire me, to buy the towing hitch,” Mwansa Sr. said.

Etched in his mind is his son’s smile.

“He can give you the best smile that you’ve ever seen. He had such a beautiful smile,” Mwansa Sr. said.

“A smile is the perfect medicine that all of us human beings need. I tried (to make) my son be deliberate about smiling.”

Now, three years after they came to Canada from Zambia, he never imagined his son’s life would end this way.

Mwansa Sr., who is here on a temporary work permit, is preparing to transport his son’s body to his homeland.

“Imagine I bury my son here, and then I (leave). If I go back home, I think I will be feeling like a part of (me) has been left somewhere,” he said.

“My heart is at peace to have my son buried in my country, Zambia.”