ANTI- GANG DRIVE
with a black Acura car that belonged to her son, Chris, who was slain in the Surrey Six murders. This is one of two cars Chris owned that she is donating to the Surrey school board for students to fix up.
Eileen Mohan
Before he was shot to death on Oct. 19, 2007, Chris Mohan loved to tinker with old cars. In fact, he had spent months working with friends to refurbish an old Cadillac and a rundown Acura Legend that he had saved up to purchase.
And Chris, 22, had scheduled his driving test for Oct. 24, hoping he would soon be able to take his prize possessions on the road.
But he never got that chance, his mother Eileen recalled in an interview. Instead, he became an accidental victim of a gangland hit targeting someone who lived across the hall in his Surrey apartment building.
Since his murder, his mother has become a tireless campaigner against gang violence.
Now she has decided to donate her son’s cherished cars to the Surrey School District so students can finish the work that Chris started.
“My motivation was that Christopher really loved cars and I wanted to give them to a school where youth themselves will touch the cars and fix them and have a dream about how they will turn out — just like he had,” Mohan said. “And maybe they’ll learn some lifelong skills in the process.”
Rob Rai, of the district’s Safe Schools Program, said two schools are interested in taking the vehicles so students can work on them.
“We want to do something very respectful and something that has some longevity to it,” Rai said. “Hopefully we will have outstanding students and at- risk students work together on a project that will be an events vehicle and a legacy for Chris.”
Both Mohan and Rai are working with Kwantlen Polytechnic University on a gang prevention forum in Chris’ memory that will be held Saturday at Queen Elizabeth secondary in Surrey from 9 a. m. to 5 p. m.
Mohan said she jumped at the chance to be part of a forum that will educate both youth and parents about the risks of gang life.
“Since Christopher was taken, I have had so many parents walk up to me and say ‘ oh you know, I have a son at home and I know he is not on the right track and I don’t know what to do and where to go,’ ” she said. “What I wanted to do is bring
I want Christopher’s legacy to be looked on as, ‘ This should never happen again. Innocent life should never be taken. You must always choose life before death.’
EILEEN MOHAN
MOTHER OF CHRIS MOHAN
parents together in a group and provide awareness and also empower them by telling them there are tools and places they can go if they need help.”
About 70 students, some at risk and some who are excelling, will also attend the event to “brainstorm about what they are facing and what is lacking in support for them,” Mohan said.
“What do they need to get out of this lifestyle.”
Both she and Rai said that despite all the high- profile gangster murders, some youth are inexplicably attracted to the lifestyle.
“I have to be honest with you,” said Rai. “For some, it is still cool to be a gangster.”
Mohan said she thinks youth are caught up in the belief there is easy money to be made.
“The message is not getting through to a lot of people,” she said. “It is so good when you see in the newspapers dead gangsters on the front page. It just shows what this lifestyle leads to — you will be lying on the street covered with a plastic bag.”
Mohan will address the forum, which will be opened by Surrey Mayor Dianne Watts and feature a presentation by Supt. Tom Mccluskie, head of the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit’s Gang Task Force.
“Educating those who are considering a gang lifestyle is just as — if not more — important than enforcement,” Mccluskie said. “Every individual we prevent or deter from joining a gang is one less target for enforcement. We would much rather prevent people from joining gangs than put them in jail.”
Added Watts: “We know that early intervention is essential, so we need to engage youth and their parents about the warning signs and deadly consequences of gang activity. This forum will help educate families and serve as an important legacy for Chris Mohan, an innocent victim of gang violence.”
Kwantlen’s anti- gang Acting Together program is hosting the forum, which will be streamed online at vancouversun. com.
“This forum is a great opportunity for youth to talk to each other about the issues around youth violence in the community, and it gives parents an opportunity to share their views and concerns,” said Kwantlen’s Steve Dooley.
“The event says that the community really does want to create opportunities for meaningful dialogue about the issues that are going on, and it’s a way to honour Chris Mohan and help other youth avoid getting into trouble in the spirit of his name.”
While four people have been charged in Chris’ murder, their trial has not yet been scheduled.
In the meantime, his mother wants to focus on preventing future tragedies like the one that devastated her family.
“I want Christopher’s legacy to be looked on as, ‘ This should never happen again. Innocent life should never be taken. You must always choose life before death,’ ” she said.
“Through a horrible and very tragic situation, we have a group of people who have come together to empower youth and to show the community that when we put our minds together, good things will result.”