Volume 18 • No. 5 • March 1 - 15 , 2022 Publication Mailing Account #41721512
Alex Gonzaga
Justice for John Lloyd
Justice for our communities by Malaya Marcelino
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I met with the family of John Lloyd Barrion in their modest home on Saturday, February 19, before a vigil held at the hotel beer vendor parking lot where the 19-year-old was killed. The family told me a little bit about their immigration story and their family. John Lloyd was the middle child who used his earnings at the beer vendor to directly support his family and save money so that he could put himself through culinary studies. His siblings include three brothers and one sister. His parents are heartbroken and are barely functioning. John Lloyd’s mother, Maria, described how John Lloyd generously shared the weekly earnings from his minimum wage job to pay for household bills, buy food, clothes, and shoes for his siblings. The Barrion family lives across from the hotel yet on those nights when John Lloyd would take the closing shift, a parent or an older sibling would always pick him up to ensure his safety. It’s very plain to see how much the Barrion family cares for one another. See JUSTICE p5
Photo by Alex Canlapan) Mourners left flowers, candles, photos, stuffed toys at a makeshift shrine to honour the memory of John Lloyd Barrion, 19, who was tragically killed on February 15 inside the beer vendor at the Travelodge Hotel on Notre Dame Avenue where he worked his late night shift. The Feb. 19th vigil outside the same beer vendor was organized by the Filipino watch group, 204 Neighbourhood Watch.
John Emmanuel Barrion, brother of John Lloyd, addresses the large crowd at the vigil, February 19. (photo credit: Malaya Marcelino)
Seated front and centre are members of Barrion family. Speakers at the vigil were Grade 7 Cecil Rhodes teacher Ben Ganaden; John Lloyd’s friends: Kiko Mapuyan, Ponz Mapuyan, Joshua Lim, and Robert Duong; and family: John Christian, John Emmanuel, and Lola Ned Barrion. (photo credit: Malaya Marcelino)