Northern Virginia community holds candlelight vigil for Nepal flood victims
Washington: Candles flickered in the evening light as scores of people gathered in northern Virginia to mourn those killed in the Nepal floods and stand with families still waiting for news of their missing loved ones.
The interfaith vigil at South Riding Town Green brought together friends, neighbours, elected officials, law enforcement officers and religious leaders. Some participants carried photographs of the missing. Others closed their eyes in prayer or stood silently holding candles.
Indian American Congressman Suhas Subramanyam said many of the missing were from Virginia. Some lived in Loudoun County, where the vigil was held. He knew several of them personally.
“I’ve known them since I, before I was anything, much less a member of Congress,” Subramanyam told IANS. “It’s very, very disheartening to see something like this happen,” he said.
The gathering gave families and friends a place to share their grief. It also allowed the wider community to show that those waiting for answers were not alone.
“They don’t have closure. They don’t know what’s going on. They’re not getting regular updates all the time,” Subramanyam said.
The congressman said his office was in regular contact with US officials.
“I’ve personally talked to the State Department multiple times,” he said. “Our team is talking to them virtually every day.”
He said the US Department of Defence had sent a military aircraft carrying equipment for the rescue operation.
“Even the Department of Defense has sent a military plane there full of equipment for the search and rescue,” Subramanyam said.
Officials were also working to coordinate DNA samples from relatives to help identify bodies that had been recovered, he said.
The Loudoun County sheriff attended the vigil and addressed the gathering. He said the community had come together as one family during a painful time.
“This is one big family though,” the sheriff said. “And you can tell by the people that turned out their commitment to this, their commitment to prayer, their commitment to doing everything that they can to see this through.”
He said local authorities would support affected families and help wherever possible.
“Our role here is just to support the families here, to support this event, to support the people that may need help, may need assistance along the way,” he said.
Sridhar Nagradi, a Loudoun County resident associated with the sheriff’s office, said seven people from the county were missing. He said families and community representatives were joining a telephone call each night to exchange information and offer help.
“We have a nine o’clock call every night and anybody need help, we are here,” Nagradi said.
The vigil moved between prayers, personal memories and moments of silence. Representatives of different faiths offered words of comfort. Participants were asked to raise their candles as the community remembered every life touched by the disaster.
“Our hearts are heavy for all those who lost their lives in the devastating Nepal floods, and for the US citizens and residents who remain missing,” organisers said.
The vigil ended with another moment of silence. Candles remained raised across the town green as organisers repeated the gathering’s message: “One community. Many faiths. One prayer. One hope.”