Remembering Joshua Yasay

Remembering Joshua Yasay

By Schubert Restituto

The lyrics of a song in the 70s was appropriate for the occasion –

“Where have all the young men gone long time passing?

Where have all the young men gone long time ago?

Where have all the young men gone

Gone to battles everyone –

When will we ever learn?

When will we ever learn?”

Just as some could not forget that song, many could not forget Joshua Yasay and the event that took him away from his family and friends at a young age with full of promise. For many, the memory was no longer just personal. The memory touches on the nerve of persistent problems we have in the community today to which we have no answers so far. Joshua was caught in a cross fire presumably between two gangs as he attended a barbecue on Danzig Avenue in Scarborough in July. Having just completed a bachelor’s degree in Criminology, Joshua was looking forward to becoming a police officer. Only 23 years of age, he volunteered at Lester B. Pearson High School helping youngsters after School. He worked as a security guard for a downtown CIBC building and was a partner in a recently opened barbershop in Ajax.

The family and friends of Joshua who gathered on August 25th for a memorial Mass at St. Francis Church in Ajax, prayed not just for him but also for the cause near to his heart, the welfare and future of our youth today, and for peace in our communities.

Rest in peace, Joshua, in a place where ‘the sound of guns does not ring in your ears any more … ‘