Students’ plea: ‘We need to call out racism’
Film out today records students’ reactions of the Christchurch tragedy. Ryan Anderson reports.
Hundreds of young Kiwi students have made a call for unity in the wake of the Christchurch terrorist attacks.
In a two-minute short film to be released today, 650 year 9-13 students from the North Island will reflect on last Friday’s massacre in which 50 people lost their lives.
Although some film participants only read and heard second-hand reports of what happened, at least one young girl accidentally watched the shooter’s live-streamed video.
‘‘I screamed to the top of my lungs, because it’s something that I never thought would have happened in New Zealand,’’ said the year 13 student.
World Vision New Zealand’s film aims to show how the students experienced the terrorist attack and how it affected them.
It was directed by Chris Graham, director of the 2006 romantic comedy Sione’s Wedding, who said he hoped older generations could learn from these teenagers.
‘‘Across the world, I have seen first-hand the strength that comes from working across ethnic and religious divides.
‘‘The things that unite us as people are stronger than those that divide us – the outpouring of love and solidarity we have seen since Friday is a reminder to me of this. World Vision believes in a world where love and community prevail. In the end, this is what our work is all about,’’ Graham said.
Every year World Vision creates a film ahead of its youth conference, and this year it was a last-minute decision to do something about how the students experienced the March 15 attacks.
Cameron MacCarthy, 18, said he was in Wellington when he heard the news. ‘‘It was a moment of disbelief.’’
MacCarthy said he refrained from watching the live stream as ‘‘it’s just another notch on the shooter’s belt.
‘‘It’s not what New Zealand stands for.’’
A few of his friends who did watch the video were ‘‘deeply affected’’.
Child psychologist Cherin Abdelaal Selim said the impact would vary between individuals, but any exposure to extreme violence could be traumatic.
‘‘They can’t un-see it; unfortunately, it is now just about parents being there to answer the questions openly and honestly knowing they have seen this brutal footage.’’
MacCarthy has seen changes following the incident, particularly in the way ‘‘casual racism in the playful jokes’’ had become much more noticeable.
‘‘I don’t think people say those jokes with the same intent as what this man has done, but as young New Zealanders it’s about making an individual choice not to make those snide comments.’’
When asked what we can do about it, he simply stated: ‘‘We need to call it out, because it’s not funny.’’
A year 13 student known only as Neheeda said that as a Muslim she had noticed that people look at her differently since the attacks. One friend had offered to walk her home because they were worried for her safety.
‘‘There’s much more respect, much more love. Now, we’re more like brothers and sisters, we’ve been closer than we’ve ever been.’’