‘These tears are not for you’ Massey’s quote of the year
A statement of defiance levelled at the Christchurch terrorist has polled as the best quote of the year.
‘‘Let it be known these tears are not for you,’’ were the poignant words spoken by Sara Qasem at the sentencing of the Christchurch mosque gunman in August.
Her father, Abdelfattah Qasem, had been killed at the Al Noor mosque on March 15 last year. Qasem told the terrorist to remember her father’s name.
The top quote is decided by public vote, with Qasem’s words attracting 26.5 per cent of the 2479 votes cast.
Massey speech writing specialist Heather Kavan said the result was not surprising given New Zealanders’ solidarity with the victims of the mosque attacks.
She said the courtroom footage of the sentencing was intense.
‘‘As Ms Qasem gets to the part in her speech about how she misses the smell of her father’s cologne, her eyes well with tears.
‘‘She pauses mid-sentence to regain her composure, turns directly to him in the dock and says, ‘Let it be known these tears are not for you,’ before resuming her speech.
‘‘Reportedly, witnesses were deeply moved, while the killer sat motionless behind a glass pane.’’
Qasem was one of more than 90 people who shared their grief in victim impact statements.
‘‘The scenes are so raw and the emotions so powerful that the words are better felt than explained,’’ Kavan said.
Sara Qasem said she was stunned her words won the competition. ‘‘I feel honoured that my words have left an impact on someone out there, and that they were able to sympathise and resonate through their compassion and humanity.
‘‘This statement was one of the most difficult things I’ve ever done. I wasn’t sure how I could speak to and bring justice to so many in my community, to my own dad, Abdul.’’
Reading the statement was heart-breaking and incredibly empowering.
‘‘When I sensed myself getting increasingly upset, I felt an urgency to race through my words and quickly run off the podium.
‘‘But my dad was there, somewhere, somehow, and I felt him assuring me with the words, ‘take your time, he has taken plenty of ours, of yours, of mum’s, your sisters, take your time, cry, be angry, tell him what you think, look him in the eye, pause, Sara, breathe, continue. There is no rush. I’m here.’
‘‘It was in these moments where my emotions were at their peak and it came to me that he needed to know, so I stopped reading.
‘‘I looked him in the eye and I let him know. I let him know that these tears were mine and my father’s, a moment we shared together. They weren’t for him. He’d taken enough. He wasn’t going to claim this, too.’’
This year’s runner-up, with 22.2 per cent of the vote, was Ashley Bloomfield’s announcement there were no new cases of Covid19 in New Zealand.
Bloomfield made this announcement, with slight variations in wording, several
‘‘I feel honoured that my words have left an impact on someone out there.’’ Sara Qasem
times at press conferences throughout the year.
Kavan attributed the quote’s success to its impact and Bloomfield’s likeability.
‘‘This is the news we all wanted to hear, that New Zealanders had averted a crisis that could have killed up to 80,000 of us.
‘‘The subtext is that everyone’s sacrifices were invaluable. The quote doesn’t need any stylistic niceties to be one of our best language moments. In fact, it’s Bloomfield’s sincere, unpretentious style that adds to its appeal.’’
Next came Zoom, cannabis and a parakeet.
The common lament of ‘‘you’re on mute’’, Hilary Barry calling marijuana ‘‘jazz cabbage’’ and the orange-fronted parakeet’s campaign slogan – ‘‘I am the orange face you can trust’’ – placed third, fourth and fifth, respectively. Kavan said the ‘‘mute’’ and ‘‘jazz cabbage’’ quotes were popular within the first few hours of voting. ‘‘The surprise was that the little parakeet’s quote beat quotes from the prime minister and the leader of the Opposition. Had the year been normal, we’d interpret this as a reflection on New Zealand politics.’’