Danny and Leila Abdallah have shared a touching message on the fifth anniversary of the horror crash that claimed the lives of their three children and niece.
Antony, 13, Angelina, 12, and Sienna Abdallah, 9, and their cousin Veronique Sakr, 11, had gone to get ice cream when a drunk driver lost control of his car and ploughed into them on the sidewalk in the Sydney suburb of Oatlands on February 1, 2020.
The couple have since launched i4give Day on the anniversary of the crash each year in the belief that holding onto resentment only causes more damage in the long term.
‘Although we’re grieving and our hearts are broken, I think the best possible way out is through forgiveness,’ Mr Abdallah told Weekend Sunrise.
Mrs Abdallah said they both ‘think of their kids everyday’ but that this morning was especially difficult and she had woken up crying.
‘I look at tears as a sign of strength,’ she said.
‘I decided to go on my knees to pray so God can give me strength and just focus on that message of forgiveness, the power and the freedom.
‘Life is short… we all deserve forgiveness and we all deserve to be forgiven. [It’s] for us more than the other person. When we are holding on to the anger and pain, we are only hurting ourselves.’
Danny and Leila Abdallah have spoken out on the fifth anniversary of the Oatlands crash
Antony, 13, Angelina, 12 and Sienna, 9, Abdallah (left) and Veronique Sakr, 11, died in the crash
A memorial to the children was established in 2024, after a years-long fight by the family, and is situated outside the Oatlands Golf Club
The couple said their message was poignant not only in Australia but beyond the country’s borders amid the current turmoil in the Middle East and Europe and the simmering division in Western countries.
‘I can see what’s happening around the world and the only way forward is through forgiveness,’ Mr Adballah said.
‘It affects our kids across generations,’ Mrs Abdallah added.
‘For example, when people end up divorced, the kids, they are bullying other people at school and some of them are self-harming.
‘If the mom and the dad are able to forgive each other. You would see kids who are a product of their own environment and dealing with it in a much better way.
‘I believe in God and Jesus said to us, we need to forgive so He can forgive us. So for people who have faith, it’s essential to forgive so we can enter eternal life.’
Mrs Abdallah said she would today unveil her ‘four step to forgiveness’ which stem from the initials of Antony, Angelina, Sienna and Veronique.
The couple have welcomed two children since the crash.
In February 2024, a heavily pregnant Mrs Abdallah and family opened a Garden Memorial outside Oatlands golf course.
Mr Abdallah thanked his heavily pregnant wife for being his ‘pillar of strength’ as they unveiled the sandstone plinths featuring each of their children’s faces in 2024
The family had long fought for the permanent memorial, which features sandstone plinths with faces of the Abdallah and Sakr families’ four late children.
The driver of the car, Samuel William Davidson, was under the influence of alcohol and drugs while behind the wheel and had been speeding and driving erratically before the crash.
Davidson was sentenced in 2021 to 28 years’ jail with a non-parole period of 21 years, which was reduced on appeal to a maximum of 20 years with a minimum of 15 years.
It was revealed while behind bars he intended to covert to Maronite Catholicism following the Abdallah family’s decision to forgive him.
In 2024, Daily Mail Australia revealed Mr Abdallah had successfully sued Davidson.
He sought damages for his surviving children over the trauma of losing their siblings including daughter Liana who witnessed the crash.
He was awarded a modest $90,000.
The money will be held by the NSW Trustee and Guardian for investment until each of the children – Liana, Alex and Michael – turn 18-years-old.
