Waikato students rally
On Friday, they were in shock. At the weekend, they were processing the shootings in Christchurch.
By Sunday evening, Waikato Muslim Student Association members were planning a tribute event.
Yesterday, a crowd of around 300 people gathered by the lake at the University of Waikato to show they stood with the Muslim community. Later, about 250 more walked from the Settlement Centre Waikato to the mosque to show their support, and schools around the Waikato were responding to the attack.
The shock of Friday’s attack meant the Waikato Muslim Student Association didn’t start planning its event until Sunday night, Waikato Muslim Student Association vice president Aaminah Ghani said.
‘‘We literally told some of the speakers at 10 o’clock [yesterday] and they were like, we’ll be there,’’ Ghani said.
The association wanted to show Muslim students there was no reason to be scared, and that people supported them. And a common theme was that – while prayers, messages, and donations were appreciated in the short term – the long-term goal was attitude change, and acknowledgment of racism.
For association president Alaa Abuellif, the support was heartwarming after the attacks in a country she calls home.
She urged Kiwis to learn more about other cultures – such as that the word Islam comes from salam, or peace – and to meet and interact with people from them.
Mike Brambleby-Shelford was at the tribute event and said New Zealanders need to admit the undercurrent of racist sentiment. The gunman’s manifesto read ‘‘like any other anti-migrant person on Facebook’’, he said.
Speaker Kristoffer Lavasi’i, the Waikato Pacific Law Students Association president, said love was needed to drive out the act of hatred.
However, it shouldn’t be ‘‘love which coddles’’, but rather love strong enough to confront issues like simmering prejudices.
In Claudelands, more than 250 people marched from the nearby Settlement Centre Waikato to the Hamilton Mosque, many carrying flowers and singing. The gathering took place just before afternoon prayers, and leaders from the community and associations which wor with the Centre were part of the group.
Waikato Muslim Association’s Dr Asad Mohsin invited the crowd into the mosque. Fighting back tears, he said the love and support seen over the past few days demonstrated that terrorism had no religion, colour or ethnicity.
‘‘As we cry and pass through this period of grief, your love has really helped us. It tells us how fortunate we are to be New Zealanders.’’
Numerous Waikato schools are also planning events to support students and show solidarity.
At Hamilton Boys’ High School, school flags were flying at half-mast, a fundraiser mufti day was scheduled, and a special assembly planned for Wednesday would include prayers prepared by Muslim students.
Those students are ‘‘shocked and grieving,’’ headmaster Susan Hassall said and it’s important for them to take ownership of the tributes.
Rototuna Primary School asked the Muslim community for guidance, and held a special service for staff and parents yesterday morning. The aim was to keep things normal for pupils, while focusing on compassion and togetherness, deputy principal Kylie Morris said.