Quebec Mosque Attack Survivor Aids Seniors During Pandemic Crisis

"That I can go out and go to work, I feel lucky. I can be useful. I try to spend time with these seniors who cannot see their loved ones. I try to help those who are relearning to walk. It brings me inner well-being," Saïd tells La Presse by phone. For 10 years, this Moroccan living abroad (MRE) has been working as an orderly.

At 47 years old, he was studying office automation before the appearance of covid-19. The school closes and he decides to devote more time to the elderly who are struggling with the health crisis that is affecting almost all countries in the world, including Canada.

In 2007, Saïd Akjour left Morocco for Quebec. A sociologist by training, he worked as a teacher in his home country. He is interested in the orderly profession in his country of adoption. But on January 29, 2017, an event marks him for life. He narrowly escapes death in an attack that occurred at the Grand Mosque of Quebec. The man had been shot in the shoulder.

He still sometimes feels pain in his left shoulder, especially when he is at rest or helping an elderly person walk in the geriatric unit affiliated with the Quebec University Hospital Center. Despite the pain, Saïd is still determined to help them.