CHRISTCHURCH: ‘WE ARE ONE’ New Zealand pulls together after the massacre
In the aftermath of the shocking Christchurch massacre , Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern unites a nation in grief
Two days after delivering the horrific news that 50 men, women and children had been gunned down in New Zealand’s deadliest massacre across two mosques in Christchurch, a heartbroken Jacinda Ardern met with families of the victims, wrapping her arms around mourners as they wept into her shoulder. Making her way slowly through the group of Muslim mourners, the nation’s prime minister, dressed sombrely in dark hues and wearing a headscarf, was a picture of solidarity and compassion, whispering words of comfort as she hugged grief-stricken men and women. “The prime minister, when she came wearing her scarf, that was big for us,” said Dalia Mohamed, who was mourning the loss of her daughter’s father-in-law.
As New Zealand reeled from its darkest day, Ardern – who 18 months earlier had pledged “relentless positivity” in carrying out her duties as prime minister – was digging deep to keep that promise in the face of unfathomable horror and sadness. The nation she was appointed to lead back in 2017 was plunged into despair on March 15, when at 1.40pm New Zealand time, Australian-born white supremacist Brenton Tarrant entered Christchurch’s Al Noor mosque and opened fire on worshippers with a semi-automatic gun, killing 43 people. Tarrant, 28, who grew up in the northern New South Wales town of Grafton, livestreamed the shooting for 17 minutes before travelling across the city to the
Linwood mosque, where he reportedly killed another seven worshippers. In response to the attack, a shaken and stern-faced Ardern, 38, spoke to New Zealanders, delivering an emotional speech filled with compassion, calmness and more than a hint of steel. “Many of those who will have been directly affected by this shooting may be migrants to New Zealand, they may even be refugees here,” she said. “They have chosen to make New Zealand their home, and it is their home. They are us.” Further, she said, “the person who has perpetuated this violence against us is not. They have no place in New Zealand.”
Speaking with members of the Muslim community on March 16, a tearful Ardern told them the nation was united in grief. “This is not New Zealand. The only part of the incident we have seen over the past 24 to 36 hours that is New Zealand is the support that you are seeing now,” she said.
Adding to the families’ grief was the extended time required before the victims’ bodies were released and ultimately buried. Islamic custom calls for burial to occur as quickly as possible. Initial hopes that all bodies could be laid to rest swiftly were dashed, with authorities conceding preparations for a mass burial were proving an enormous task. As plans developed, volunteers from across New Zealand and Australia headed to Christchurch to help with the Islamic rites practised in the preparation for burial. Brisbane man Ali Armando, who travelled to Christchurch with a group of fellow volunteers, told The Australian newspaper the bodies needed to be washed, placed in a prayer position and their face covered with a shroud. “As Australians, we felt … if something so horrible and evil can come across the shore and do something like this, then I think surely we can come across and do something like this,” Armando said, adding he hoped his help would spare relatives from performing the distressing task themselves.
As the agonising wait continued,
“[The shooter has] no place in New Zealand” —Jacinda Ardern
details of the victims – from “energetic” 3-year-old Mucad Ibrahim to 71-year-old “beloved community leader” Haji-daoud Nabi – began to emerge. Many of the victims had moved to New Zealand seeking a better life. Adan Dirie and his family had fled the violence of Somalia in the 1990s. He and son Abdullahi, 4, who was born in New Zealand, died in the mosque. Another victim, Linda Armstrong, 65, who attended mosque every Friday, had moved from Auckland to Christchurch to be near her daughter and grandchildren. Armstrong’s friend, survivor Uddin Mohammed revealed she was strong in the face of terror and had tried to reason with Tarrant not to fire his weapon. “She tried to calm him down, she was saying, ‘Don’t shoot! Don’t shoot!’ ” he said. She died from a bullet wound to the chest.
Across town at the Linwood mosque where another seven worshippers were killed, Abdul Aziz was praying with his four sons. The Australian citizen, who lived in Sydney for 27 years after leaving Afghanistan as a refugee, had moved to New Zealand two years ago. Hearing gunshots during prayer time, Aziz ran towards the noise, throwing a credit card machine – the size of a large rock – at the shooter, who dropped his gun. The weapon was empty and Tarrant ran to his car where he had two more guns. Survivors believe Aziz’s actions prompted Tarrant to drive off. Within minutes he was stopped and captured by police, who found more guns and homemade explosives in his car.
Ardern’s response was fast and decisive. Declaring gun laws would be tightened, she took the proposal to cabinet on March 18 resulting in an “in principle agreement” to re-examine the laws surrounding semiautomatic weapons. Reforms were expected to be announced within 10 days of the massacre, she said.
As New Zealanders grapple with the enormity of the attack against people worshipping in what should have been the safety of their mosque, their leader remains steadfast in both her compassion and commitment to provide for religious and cultural diversity and freedom – and her condemnation for the man responsible for the atrocity. Says Ardern: “You may have chosen us, but we utterly reject and condemn you.” Ardern, who has not spoken Tarrant’s name in any of her press conferences, told media on March 19 that the alleged killer – whose decision to represent himself in court has sparked fears he plans to use the trial to promote his extremist views – would be denied a chance at fame. “We need to ... do what we can to prevent the notoriety that this individual seeks,” she said. “One thing I can assure you: you won’t hear me speak his name.”