THE ending of the trial in which three members of the Shafia family were found guilty of murdering four other members of the family was mercifully brief: just two days of jury deliberation. Mohammad Shafia, a Montreal businessman of Afghan origin, his wife Tooba Yahya, and their son Hamed Shafia were all found guilty of first-degree murder…. The convicted killers are on their way to life in prison, but the issue of so-called honour killings remains front of mind for many people. One thing it is important to state is that this issue should not be used to smear a particular culture or religion. Mohammad Shafia does not represent Afghan Montrealers, or Muslims, any more than Guy Turcotte, the doctor who killed his two children, represents Quebecers of a Judeo-Christian background.

The Shafia trial shone a light on holes in the services that are supposed to help people in danger. Mixed in with the relief many people felt that the right verdict had been delivered was a feeling that the three Shafia daughters and their aunt, Mohammad Shafia’s other wife, might have been failed by our larger society. …In months of testimony, it was clear that those who knew or had contact with the three girls — their teachers, youth-protection workers, police officers — did want to help. But they did not seem to appreciate the extreme danger that the girls faced. It is possible that the system we have in place may be too inflexible to cope with victims who are too afraid to complain and too uncertain that they will be protected. Mohammad Shafia’s first wife, Rona Amir Mohammad, was so isolated by language and fear that she did not dare reach out to anyone outside the family. The three sisters, Zainab, Sahar and Geeti Shafia, went back and forth in their efforts to protect themselves, approaching authorities that could have helped but then returning to the family fold.

…We are a country of immigrants. With the richness that immigration brings comes the duty of those already in place to try harder to understand and protect newcomers. Something good has come from this terrible story. People across the country were riveted by the trial. When the verdict came in, it was obvious that Canadians had taken the three sisters and their aunt to their hearts. They were not foreigners. They were us, members of the Canadian family. The best thing we could do now is try to make sure the next girl or woman who faces what they faced will not have to meet that danger alone.—(Jan 30)