Fil-Canadians rally
behind slain teen
By Maripi Leynes, contributor
INQ7.net

TORONTO, Canada--It looked like a school excursion when hundreds of teenagers from the Greater Toronto Area paid their final respects on May 29 to a fallen friend -- Jeffrey Reodica, high school graduating class of 2005.

Jeffrey was shot three times by an undercover police agent who reportedly responded to a 911 call about a group of about 50 kids supposedly in "attack mode." One of the bullets entered the teenager through the back, fatally fragmenting on its way up to his brainstem.

Stories about what led to the senseless killing were conflicting. The police released their version to the mainstream media but community and neighborhood papers that did their own interviews of witnesses carried stories saying that Jeffrey was not armed and that there were less than 50 kids involved in the brawl that was started by a bullying incident in a basketball court two nights before. The Filipino youth claimed that "some white kids" stole their basketball and beat up one of them.

Jeffrey celebrated his birthday only two weeks to his funeral. He was born on May 6, 1987 in North York where the family initially resided, the youngest of three children to Willie and Flora Reodica. When the couple migrated to Canada they vowed to give their children the opportunities that their new country of residence offered. There were photos of young Jeffrey in his little league uniform, older Jeffrey on a summer vacation, serious Jeffrey in school, teenage Jeffrey as a deejay.

For his 17th birthday this year, Jeffrey's immediate family plus his cousins celebrated at the Pickel Barrel restaurant in Yorkdale. Although Flora's birthday fell on the following day, this party was exclusively for Jeffrey. He was the special person that day.

At that time, he was excited about a planned school trip to Europe and told everyone about it. He told them that he was saving the money he earned from his part time job for the trip. The day before he died, he put the Parents Consent Form on the kitchen table for his mother to sign but Flora never got to doing it.

He had other plans for the future and was mulling about whether to join the military or go into graphic design. He had to make the choice the following year when he would have been in grade 12. In the meantime, Jeffrey lived his life as a teenager normally would -- going to school (at Jean Vanier), doing his school work (he earned good grades), playing sports (basketball was his favorite), partying (he was a party animal) and just hanging out with friends (lots of them). But Jeffrey did something out of the ordinary too -- he acted as surrogate father to his four-year-old nephew Ty, the son of his sister Robin.

It was difficult for his friends to think of him today as dead. The "happiest guy in the world" as his friends described him, suddenly and forever silenced? Many wept quietly. Some wailed. Others were still in denial. They clung to each other for support. They expressed their anger. They prayed. They sang.

They came from everywhere -- his high school, Jean Vanier; his grade school, St. Rose of Lima; his workplace, Krispy Kreme; his neighborhood, in Scarborough. There were also visitors from other high schools and as far as Mississauga and Markham -- young people he had met through Youth for Christ of which he was a member, Fil-Act for which he played basketball and Mark de Leon's martial arts class. Friends of his family also came, as well as members of the Filipino community they didn't personally know but who condoled with them.

The people filled the St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church and flowed into the grounds. Close to a thousand joined the funeral procession to his resting place, Rest Haven Memorial Gardens, after the funeral service. His family requested that mourners observe traffic laws on their own since "police escort will not be present."

At the Ogden Funeral Home the day before, administration was careful not to call on the police to direct the heavy traffic to the parking lot. Resentment by the youth against the police was understandable and raw emotions still had to be processed. The viewing room quickly filled after it opened at 4 p.m. as classes for the day ended. The crowd spilled into the hall, the downstairs level and even the courtyard. Mourners lined up to view the body and afterwards lingered to exchange information as to what happened. They brought flowers, sympathy cards, mass cards, letters, photos, posters and whatever could express their grief. One letter from his co-workers had a drawing of a donut that Jeffrey supposedly invented: apple filling, chocolate glaze, apple cinnamon topping and multi-colored sprinklers. It may not have been original but it surely reflected Jeffrey's vibrant and fun personality.

In between the prayer service and mass, photos of Jeffrey were projected on screen. Outtakes from Jeffrey's communications technology project were also shown, with Jeffrey holding a mike and clowning before the camera. He looked like he had a future in broadcasting or in stand-up comedy. Even in death, he made his classmates laugh. Fondly, they recalled his comic personality. Which was the real Jeffrey, the one onscreen or the one lying in the coffin? It is the one you choose to remember.

Maripi Leynes resides in Toronto, Ontario and writes for the Filipino Bulletin. She can be reached at filipinobulletin@sympatico.ca

Who were the suspects?

I guess more than one person is responsible for the killing of this Filipino student.

I don't have much news about it?

Wow, that's soo sad. I heard there was a similar hate race attack that happened to Filos in Ireland late last yr or earlier this yr. juz gets 2 show that are sum narrow minded bigots out there.

I still do not know what was their intentions?

Its very sad to hear that bad news!!! The execusion is almost verywhere in the world..Its just not even happening in the western country. But it has so many happening in the Asia Country,too. Especially in the CambodiaCountry....Anyway...may God bless his spirit and soul will faster born in the new peace life...Did the police capture the murder already???



Rockheart.

so sad

I hope that they have captured the suspects.........