Business must play a wider role
National anniversaries provide an occasion to stop and remember, reflect on how we have progressed, and have a conversation about what needs to be done to build a better future.
Over the weekend, New Zealand marked the first anniversary of the March 15 attacks on Christchurch mosques. It was an opportunity for Aotearoa to take a look at itself again and ask whether our communities are safe, inclusive and healthy.
And it was also an international event, with other countries turning their attention to New Zealand again. Of these countries, the interest from Asia, where 60 per cent of the world’s Muslim population resides, has been particularly notable.
When the Asia New Zealand Foundation has been participating in dialogues in Asia, the issues of countering violent extremism and cyber security have been topics that our partner organisations have been keen to discuss. Christchurch has reminded us that these are very real global issues.
The remembrance service planned for yesterday – but cancelled because of concerns around coronavirus – was intended for everyone, but perhaps more for wider New Zealand than it was for those directly affected by the attacks.
Tony Green, a spokesman for the Muslim Association of Canterbury, has pointed out that Muslims do not generally mark anniversaries of deaths, because they consider their loved ones to be going on to another life beyond death.
And in a video interview prepared for the One Year On website, a young Cantabrian named Mulki observes: ‘‘A year doesn’t really mean much, because it’s been every day since for me.’’
A university student, Mulki and her mother ran out of Masjid An-Nur (Al Noor Mosque) barefoot during the attack; her father was shot in the back.
Despite the pain and trauma, Muslim communities have embraced the spirit of oneness signified in the name of the planned remembrance event – ‘‘Ko ta¯ tou, ta¯ tou – We are one’’.
They’ve been generous in sharing their stories with New Zealand and international media, despite the fact that the telling in itself can be traumatic. They’ve hosted more visitors in mosques, and supported activities such as photography exhibitions and community picnics. The two mosques in Christchurch have now launched the Christchurch Invitation, a global call for a peaceful society.
While there are still challenges to work through, including racism and fears of further attacks, the anniversary reminds us that we all have the most to gain from togetherness.
The foundation has been tracking New Zealanders’ perceptions of Asia and Asian peoples annually for more than two decades. A few weeks after the March 15 attack, we conducted a mini-poll to assess how views had changed following the mosque attacks.
Overall, the results suggested that New Zealanders’ level of sympathy and positive perceptions and intentions towards people of Asian ethnicities had increased. Our minipoll asked specifically about Asian peoples, as appropriate to our mandate, but the findings also showed that most New Zealanders were accepting of cultural and religious diversity, and were open to learning more.
Business folk reading this may wonder why this is relevant to them. My sense (and others have mentioned this) is that businesses are increasingly expected to have a social focus beyond the singular profit-generating one – particularly amid Covid-19, the March 15 attacks and the increasing frictions we are seeing in the global environment. And it’s also about being a good employer with New Zealand’s increasingly diverse workforce.
The anniversary has been an important occasion to remind us of the terrible losses in Christchurch, and what is at stake if we don’t get things right.
Muslim New Zealanders have been putting incredible effort into overcoming difference, sharing their stories and explaining their traditions and ways of seeing the world. It’s up to the rest of us to make the same effort. The gains are for all of us to share.