It’s up to all of us to lead change
Our hearts have broken. We can patch them back together. But it feels like they will never be the same. Fifty innocent people were slaughtered. Young and old gunned down by an Australian white supremacist who streamed his hateful actions live.
The victims were engineers, students, doctors, teachers, students, sports stars, mothers, children, fathers, colleagues, friends and much more. The stories emerging of how they lived and faced the last moments of their lives are both inspiring and immeasurably sad.
At vigils in Nelson, the community reacted to the horror with an outpouring of love.
Two young girls drew colourful chalk drawings on the footpath so Muslims heading to Queens Garden for prayer would see it. It read: ‘‘Muslim friends we love you.’’
At the Church Steps, thousands gathered in solidarity to hear community leaders speak.
Inspector Paul Borrell of Nelson police urged Nelsonians to get to know their neighbours, especially those of different cultures. It was especially important to embrace the isolated. The more we talk, the more we will discover we have in common, he said.
On Friday, Nissa Mojwood said the Nelson Muslim community was shocked at the slaughter and were praying for the attack to be ‘‘the first and last incident in our peaceful country’’.
This is New Zealand’s hope, too. But after our immediate grieving, we must do more than pray.
We must remember how we are feeling; the shock, the disbelief and the stinging pain. We need to hold on to those raw emotions and use them to make meaningful change.
Some Nelsonians will not be as surprised at the depth of hatred expressed in Christchurch, for they hear and experience racism and bigotry regularly.
Ignorance and Islamophobia meant the New Zealand Muslim community was already under attack before Friday.
The media must play a role in this by not giving the shooter a further platform to espouse his hate. It must also help to connect the community and shine a light on the racism in a constructive way.
Media outlets must also provide a safe place to support people who speak out. But individuals must also speak up and denounce racism in whatever form they see it. This will make for uneasy conversations. But they are talks that must be held.
Last week, Russian feminist punk protest band Pussy Riot performed in Nelson. The Russian government stripped the band of its limited free speech and freedom following a political protest.
Friday’s attack showed that there are other ways to lose your liberty. Individuals can also take our freedom by spreading hate and fear.
We have shown we won’t let this attack divide us, but we cannot sit back and wait for this to happen again. As Jacinda Ardern said yesterday, New Zealand as a nation we must ‘‘confront racism, violence and extremism’’.
She said the outpouring of love and empathy in the form of love and flowers was lovely, ‘‘but we need to make sure everyone feels safe’’.
‘‘Every single one of us has the power to change that.’’
Some Nelsonians will not be as surprised at the depth of hatred expressed in Christchurch, for they hear and experience racism and bigotry regularly.