Unite to show the haters won’t win

KIM LEADBETTER Sister of MP Jo Cox who was murdered by a right wing extremist in 2016

MY heart goes out to New Zealand. Once again the evil of extremism has taken dozens of innocent lives. A barbaric act born of hatred. And designed to create more hatred.

Violent extremists, whatever their perverted ideology, can kill and maim but they can never destroy the human spirit. Our family knows the pain and anguish. We feel it still. But we also know that communities, by coming together, can deny the haters their wish to drive us apart.

Since my sister’s murder I have been inspired by the way in which people of different faiths and backgrounds can set aside their differences and say firmly evil is evil wherever it’s from.

Today our hearts go out to the people of Christchurch and to the victims, survivors and all those caught up in an attack on the Muslim community. It could have been any of us. Hatred doesn’t discriminate.

Six years ago I was lucky enough to spend several weeks travelling all across New Zealand.

It’s hard to imagine a more open, welcoming, generous country. Then Christchurch was rebuilding after the terrible earthquake. Today they are coming together again with the same resilience and determination never to be broken by tragedy.

We can’t take away their pain, but by letting them know we stand with them we can prove the haters wrong.