Mayor comes to defence of family stung by racial abuse

An “appalled” mayor has reached out to the victim of an alleged racist rant and offered to have her around to his family home and to offer an apology.

Aya Al-Umari, whose brother was shot dead in the March 15 mosque attacks, was shopping with her mother, Janna Ezat, at the Rangiora branch of Farmers when she was confronted by an older couple in an incident captured on video.

Al-Umari, who was asked if she was “born and bred” in New Zealand during the incident, has since reported the episode to police.

A police spokeswoman yesterday confirmed they have received a report and were making enquiries.

“Speech, violence or threatening behaviour driven by hate is not acceptable and should not be condoned by anyone, whether it has happened online or on the street.”

Now, Dan Gordon, mayor of the Waimakariri region – the whitest district in the country, with 95.22 per cent of the population identifying as European, according to the 2013 Census – has contacted AlUmari to express his dismay over what he called a “racist incident”.

“I have sent a message to Aya Al-Umari and her family to let them know how appalled I was that they were subjected to totally unacceptable behaviour,” he said on his Facebook page.

“I have extended an invitation to welcome Aya Al-Umari back to our community and have the family around to my home to show them how welcome they are in Waimakariri and offer an apology.”

Al-Umari said she was touched by the mayor’s offer and had felt overwhelmed by the support she has received since the incident.

Al-Umari described the incident on social media three days ago, writing the trouble started when she and her mother were at the store’s makeup counter, speaking in Arabic.

“We were standing in the lipstick counter. As we are in a pandemic, Mum does the sensible thing and tries the lipstick on her sanitised hand, then from her hands applies it to lips,” Al-Umari said.

They then noticed a couple next to them. “They were eyeing us up,” Al-Umari said.

She heard the woman say to her husband “she shouldn’t be doing that”.

Al-Umari asked the woman if she wanted to say something directly to them.

“She pretended not to hear me and then says to her husband, ‘It’s okay, it won’t be long before they leave our country’.”

She then had to decide whether to shrug it off or call out the woman on her comments, Al-Umari said.

“I asked her what her problem was and she said if we were in Europe we would be fined which was strange because how else were we supposed to test it?

“She then asked me if I was born and bred in New Zealand and I decided to start recording.”

Her brother, Hussein AlUmari, 35, lost his life at the Al Noor Mosque on March 15 last year.

“If it had happened before my brother died, I probably would have kept quiet but hate escalates, it needs to be stopped because we have seen what happens if it is not.”

Al-Umari took to social media after the incident telling the story of what happened, along with posting a video.

She was happy with the actions of Farmers staff.

“They escorted the man out of the store and the woman gapped it straight away after that.

“It’s like she was in denial. Once she was called out, she ran away.”