‘They were yours. And now they are part of us.’
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has paid tribute to the Fijian Muslims who fell in the Christchurch terror attack almost a year ago.
During a visit to the Lautoka Mosque in Fiji, she asked all communities to call out racism or hate, whether it is online or in person.
“As we approach the first anniversary of the terror attack in Christchurch against New Zealand’s Muslim community, we are filled with deep emotion,” Ardern said.
“I want to remember Fiji’s own sons killed in this tragedy: Imam Hafiz Musa Patel, Ashraf Ali Razat, Ashraf Ali. They were yours. And now they are part of us.”
Ardern also spoke of her emotional meeting in Christchurch with the loved ones of the dead. Among them was Saira Bibi Patel, Imam Patel’s widow.
“I still remember talking with you that day as you desperately looked for your husband, your Imam,” she said.
After her speech, Ardern said that Mrs Patel was looking for Heather, from Papanui, who had driven her around Christchurch to look for her husband the morning after the shootings.
“To Heather from Papanui, thank you for embodying the New Zealand spirit of generosity and kindness that we saw in the moments after that attack, and we hope we can reunite you with Mrs Patel.”
A few hours after that, “Heather from Papanui” spoke to Newstalk ZB.
Heather Maxwell, who has now retired to Dunedin, says Patel turned up at her neighbour’s door after being separated from her husband in the shooting.
“There was no one else to take her down, and I was there with my car. Of course I’d offer to help.”
She would love to meet her again.