Six months on, faith is restoring
The 15th of March, 2019, will forever be remembered as one of New Zealand’s darkest days.
The events of that day, when 51 people lost their lives in the Christchurch mosque attacks, will always be etched in our collective memory.
Six months on, while many struggle to rebuild their lives, they still express thanks for the enormous outpouring of love, support and kindness.
From tens of millions of dollars raised for victims and their families to thousands of people turning up at mosques
to show solidarity, Kiwis met the tragedy that unfolded in Christchurch head on.
There’s still a long way to go in the healing process, and many are still in need of help, so do reach out if you are able to donate your time, money or any special services – or if you are in need of support yourself.
LOVE AND ACTION
Stories of bravery, heroism and compassion flowed following the shootings – tales of Abdul Aziz, the man who tried to scare the gunman off with a creditcard machine, and Naeem Rashid, who died after trying to tackle him to the ground at Al Noor Mosque.
It’s their names, and the names of the victims, that are still spoken in New Zealand today. Following the lead of Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, the name of the man accused of the crime is largely ignored.
Public donations poured in, with more than $22 million donated to local fundraising campaigns. This generosity was matched internationally – the Jewish community in the US city of Pittsburgh gifted almost $1 million to help “restore faith in humanity”, having received similar support from Muslims after an attack on a synagogue in the city last year.
The support wasn’t just financial. The king of Saudi Arabia offered to pay for 200 survivors and victims’ families to visit the holy land of Mecca.
But it was the coming together of New Zealanders that helped the healing begin.
Our response was praised internationally. Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg lauded New Zealanders and our prime minister for “outstanding leadership and courage”. An image of Jacinda was projected on the side of the world’s tallest building, Dubai’s Burj Khalifa, as a thank you from the United Arab Emirates for her “sincere
empathy and support”.
Ashburton Muslim Association chairman Mohamed Diab was moved when 300 people turned up to their small mosque in July for an open day.
“It was a big day,” he told a journalist. “The idea of the attack was to say we are in a minority and they don’t want us here, but they showed that it was different. We are part of the community.”
HEALING AND HOPE
While the pain of loss remains, there are signs of healing. Last week, Noor e Omar was born to Sanjida Jaman Neha (20), the widow of Al Noor victim Mohammad Omar Faruk. She is named for her father and the mosque where he lost his life.
There’s also been a growing effort to better understand Islam, with reports of libraries noticing an increased interest in the Quran, and more people asking imams about the faith, and even converting.
Imam Nizam ul haq Thanvi, who opened Parliament just days after the attack, says in the weeks following March 15, three to five people a day joined the faith at a Wellington mosque, with similar trends echoed around the country. While the attacks may have sought to divide, public feeling has proved this has failed spectacularly, with the refrain of “They Are Us” still resonating strongly with Kiwis.
Rajab Nuru, Secretary of the Ashburton Muslim Association, says things are slowly returning to normal, with the help of the incredible support they’ve received since the shootings.
“The response was just awesome,” he says. “You could not imagine – just awesome.
“If you start being negative and thinking about those things, you will not lead a normal life.”
WHAT’S NEXT?
A royal commission of inquiry is investigating the attacks, and is asking if relevant agencies knew about the gunman and could have stopped him. It is due to report back in December.
Gun law reform is ongoing, with gun buybacks happening the length and breadth of the
country. By August, more than 10,000 weapons had been handed in. (Within days of the attacks, Jacinda announced gun-law reforms that banned most semi-automatic weapons.)
While March 15 may be remembered as the day New Zealand changed forever, it seems we haven’t lost the core
of what it means to be a Kiwi.
In a recent study, researchers Simon Chapple and Kate Prickett found the attacks had made no difference to how much Kiwis trusted each other.
“If the goal of the shootings was to lower trust within New Zealand,” they concluded,
“it has failed.”