A large crowd, including leaders from the local Palestinian, Arab, and Muslim-American communities, gathered at Plainfield, Illinois’ Van Horn Woods East Playground.
It is the same playground where Wadea al-Fayoume used to play before the 6-year-old Palestinian-American boy was stabbed 26 times while protecting his mother inside their Plainfield home in a violent attack in 2023 by their landlord, who was later convicted of First-Degree Murder, Aggravated Battery, and Hate Crime.
Odai al-Fayoume, Wadea’s father, made an unexpected appearance at the monument’s unveiling, holding a shadow-like silhouette of Wadea and a bright red heart above his shoulder.
Wadea al-Fayoume’s father, Odai al-Fayoume, made an unexpected appearance at the monument’s unveiling, holding a shadow-like silhouette of ‘Wadee’ and a bright red heart. June 28, 2025. Photo credit: CAIR-Chicago
Speaking through an interpreter, Odai told the audience, which included Plainfield Mayor John Argoudelis, that when he first arrived in the United States, he was alone; with Wadea’s birth, they became two.
“I had a young beautiful son who was everything to me, and then he was taken from me, and I was one again,” al-Fayoume explained, “but now I feel like we are so many.” You are all my family. “You are all my extended family now.”
When describing the monument, Syed “Saif” Rahman, one of several artists collaborating on the project, explained that while Wadea’s life was brief, it touched many hearts and opened the community’s eyes to the urgent need for compassion, unity, and justice.
“This artwork was created to preserve [Wadee’s] spirit. A silhouette of a young boy with a heart. It is simple yet effective. The heart represents the love that he gave, the love that he deserved, and the love that we must carry on in his name,” Rahman explained.
“I feel privileged that I was able to get to know him and associate his personality with that face,” said teacher Trisha Mathias, referring to a photo of her former student that has gone viral around the world, showing Wadea wearing a brimmed hat and a big childish grin.
This photograph is used as a model for the silhouetted monument, and it is said that he was drawing a heart at the time the photograph was taken, though that heart is not visible in the image.
Wadea died while trying to protect his mother, Hanan Shaneen, who was also stabbed multiple times during the anti-Muslim hate crime. She sustained serious injuries, the most serious being the death of her young son.
“Every single time I got to talk to her on the phone, or in an email, or anytime, he was always her ‘sweet sweet boy’ and that sums him up, her sweet sweet boy” , notes Mathias.
Wadea al-Fayoume has become a global symbol in the fight against hatred, prompting bipartisan action at the federal level to broaden the definition of what constitutes hate crime. In Illinois, a state resolution designates September 21st as Wadea al-Fayoume Day. The date corresponds to the International Day of Peace.
Soha Khatib, of the Palestinian Youth Movement, also spoke at the unveiling. She grew up in Bolingbrook, Illinois, near the border with Plainfield.
She grew up in Plainfield, participating in Girl Scouts and attending the American Girl Book Club at the Plainfield Library with her sister, where they read books about American Girl dolls.
“Plainfield used to remind me of my childhood and innocence. Wadea’s murder reminded me that Palestinians are denied their innocence in this world. We are denied adolescence; we are adultified in a world that labels us terrorists and reduces our deaths to numbers before we can even ask why,” Khatib stated.
Khatib blamed Wadea al-Fayoume’s murder not only on his convicted physical killer, 73-year-old Joseph Czuba, but also on the narratives spread by international media outlets.
“Every single media outlet that has perpetuated Israeli lies,” according to Khatib, “this was the doing of a propaganda machine that has worked tirelessly to dehumanise Palestinian men, women, and children as a means to justifying their murders.”
The monument dedication comes after the recent conviction of [Wadee’s] killer, who was found guilty of first-degree murder, aggravated battery, and hate crimes. Wadea’s tragic murder sent shockwaves across the country, sparking public outrage.
The ceremony reaffirms the community’s commitment to peace, remembrance, and justice in the face of bigotry.
“This monument acts as a memorial to the beautiful life of Wadee, a statement against the anti-Palestinian and anti-Muslim hate that took his young life, and a testament that he will never be forgotten,” said Ahmed Rehab, Executive Director of CAIR-Chicago.
Van Horn Woods East Playground is located in Plainfield, Illinois. The same playground where Wadea al-Fayoume used to play, before the 6-year-old Palestinian-American boy was stabbed 26 times while protecting his mother inside their Plainfield home during a violent attack in 2023 by their landlord, who was later convicted of First-Degree Murder and Hate Crime.
