Are we kinder?
On Sunday, it’ll be a year since the mosque terror attacks in Canterbury. How much did it change Southlanders? What have we learnt in the past year about being accepting of other cultures and religions?
It may be subtle, but there is a sense Southlanders have changed – and for the better.
Tomorrow marks one year since the terror attacks on the Al Noor and Linwood mosques in Christchurch.
The imam of the Southland Mosque in Invercargill, Reza AbdulJabbar, had a leading role in assisting his fellow Muslims in Canterbury. And in Southland he, along with others, guided his local community through the healing process.
At a public gathering in Wachner Place, he spoke to the crowd of people who had come to pay their respects, telling them: ‘‘Finally, as Muslims who proudly live, work and engage in business in Southland, we know we can look to you, Southlanders, for support to mourn the losses together and as people to share this heavy burden with on our nation’s way to recovery.’’
Nearly a year on from delivering a powerful speech on the need for understanding and unity, AbdulJabbar says it was the perpetrator’s aim to split us, that he wanted it to be a game of hate, and that he failed. By God, he failed miserably.
‘‘What actually happened [is] it united us far, far, far more.’’
In the past year, Abdul-Jabbar has travelled to Christchurch to continue giving support.
However, a huge part of the year has been a speaking tour of sorts, educating people about Islam.
Tomorrow morning he will be in Christchurch before returning to Invercargill for a service at the mosque at 7pm.
In person, one gets the sense that Abdul-Jabbar does not want to dwell on the horrific aspects of the shootings. He appears to keep a tight rein on his emotions. But he does want to keep people looking forward and remaining united.
The Islamic community will reflect on that dark day in 2019, as will their fellow Kiwis, he says.
‘‘Once we reflect, we want to move on and start building from there. First and foremost, it’s the deepest gratitude onto our fellow Southlanders ... [who] have been very, very supportive towards us, very welcoming in lots of ways.’’
‘‘So if togetherness has been a result of this past year, we want to build on this momentum.’’ – Imam Dr Reza Abdul-Jabbar
‘‘We’re quite an old-fashioned society in Southland . . . Sometimes those attitudes can take generations to break.’’
Ruth Sears
If there is one thing Abdul-Jabbar does not want to lose, it’s the momentum of unity and solidarity that came about almost immediately after the shootings.
He describes Kiwis’ response after March 15, 2019, as magical.
‘‘So, if togetherness has been a result of this past year, we want to build on this momentum and not lose this momentum.’’
Altruistic fatigue
AUT University Professor Edwina Pio, a diversity expert, says people have been kinder to each other since the attacks and seem to make more space for difference.
‘‘However, there is altruistic fatigue and therefore there is a need to reinforce civility, and honouring the stranger in our midst for we too were once strangers in this land.’’
Accepting others takes time, as it means ‘‘displacing oneself from the centre of one’s world view’’, which takes a considerable effort, she says.
‘‘Thus while the attack does have the capacity to change people, this change can be effervescent, unless buttressed by continuous messages of how to interact with diversity.’’
Ruth Sears laid a wreath at the Invercargill mosque on the afternoon of March 15, 2019.
A Christian woman, Sears felt compelled in the hours after the attack to display her support with flowers. But she thinks Southland still has an intolerance.
‘‘We’re quite an old-fashioned society in Southland . . . Sometimes those attitudes can take generations to break.’’
Invercargill mayor Sir Tim Shadbolt says the support for the Islamic community has resulted in permanent change. The attacks sparked an introduction to Islam for many people, he says.
In turn, New Zealanders learnt more about Islam, and ‘‘whenever you learn more about another culture or religion it makes you more sympathetic’’, he says.
Open-minded approach
Sitting in a colourful office with flags and posters representing the many nationalities who call Southland home, Southland Multicultural Council co-ordinator Meggy BartlettMcBride says Southland is definitely a kinder place since the attack.
However, racism and discrimination are still in the Southland community, she says.
Part of the council’s role is to support people when their self-esteem has been affected by racism, which is still happening, she says.
The multicultural community still struggles with language and cultural barriers, and people needed to be open-minded, she says. This meant ditching the mindset that other people need to conform to the ‘‘New Zealand way of life’’.
Abdul-Jabbar’s wife, Silvia, says: ‘‘If you ask me ‘Who are Reza and Silvia Abdul-Jabbar?’ . . . [the] first thing that comes to me is we are Muslim dairy farmers.’’
Reza Abdul-Jabbar is adamant about their identity. ‘‘We are KiwiMuslims – it’s not like we are Kiwi and we happen to Muslims.’’
A year ago, some of the families of the victims put him in charge of burial arrangements and he worked with the police liaison officer and coroner and staff at Christchurch Hospital.
He was privileged enough to look after some of the bodies, to bathe them and get them ready for burial.
‘‘I was in that room, I know what I saw,’’ he recalls.
When he meets with survivors of the attack, people still cry, he says.
‘‘We’re still healing. We have to heal and look to the future.’’