Love each other, says

Young New Zealanders marched for a better future on Friday but by the afternoon their world had changed for the worse. Alex Johnson, head boy at Mana College, says only love will counter hate.

‘‘I didn’t know anything until about 7pm when I . . . saw the TV news: at that stage they were saying 41 people were dead.

‘‘It was heartbreaking – that it happened at a mosque as well – and I couldn’t stop thinking of my Muslim friends. I have lots of them. I guess it caught me offguard, this isn’t New Zealand; this is a safe country, a diverse country and a safe place for my Muslim mates.

‘‘Mum and I talked about it, she said if I saw or heard anything racist to stamp it out. She kept saying it was terrible.

‘‘On Tuesday, Mana College will have an assembly and if I have to speak as head boy, I’ll tell the students to love each other. I’ll tell them that everyone is different and we need to respect and protect each other.

‘‘I remember the Paris attacks and how I thought it could never happen here, not in New Zealand. I was probably quite naive before this but now I feel my eyes have been opened: my friends were saying the same thing today, our eyes are open now.

‘‘It’s just heartbreaking, pretty much.

‘‘New Zealand was a safe place, where anyone could be free and open about their ideology and religion; the country represented all that. It still is the same place,