“I must be one of a few physicians, if not the only one, who read his own children’s murder autopsy report. The details are seared into my memory.”

Dr. Mohammad Abu-Salha testified in congress Tuesday on behalf of his children, Yusor and Razan and his son-in-law Deah, Muslim-American students murdered in Chapel Hill four years ago by a man who Dr. Abu-Salha believes targeted them for the way they looked and dressed.

“I remember my Yusor telling me that this condescending man told her he hated how she looked and dressed,” Dr. Abu-Salha said. “He made it very clear to my children that they were not welcome in their own neighborhood.”

He was speaking to the House Judiciary Committee during its hearings on Hate Crimes and the Rise of White Nationalism. The Anti-Defamation League found that 2018 was a record year for white supremacist activity in the U.S., with over 1,187 literature drops and 91 events across the country. In that same period, North Carolina saw a jump of 12 percent in reported hate crimes.

In 2015, Yusor Abu-Salha, her husband Deah Barakat and her sister Razan were shot to death in their Chapel Hill home by a neighbor in what was initially reported as a dispute over parking. In the following days, the shooter’s online activity revealed a hatred for followers of various religions.

During his testimony this week, Dr. Abu-Salha, who practices psychiatry in a suburb of Raleigh, called for North Carolina, and all states, to adopt or strengthen hate crimes laws. He accused public officials of turning a blind eye to this specific kind of violence and highlighted recent shootings by white nationalists at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh and mosques in New Zealand last month.

“At times the pain is as sharp now as it was when they died. I ask you, I truly plead with you, not to let another American family go through this because our government would not act to protect all Americans,” Dr. Abu-Salha said.

“Please remember them: Yusor, Deah and Razan. They are my children, and they are gone.”

Photo via House Judiciary Youtube

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