Students salute love in face of hatred
Stirring haka and tearful waiata lit up a corner of Hagley Park in Christchurch yesterday afternoon to celebrate love and unity in the face of Friday’s terror attack.
Thousands of secondary school students from all over the city congregated in the park for the vigil, led by Cashmere High School head boy Okirano Tilaia.
Two Cashmere High School students were killed in Friday’s shootings, as were the father of a student and a former student. Another student and the father of a student were also injured.
At the vigil, Year 11 student Jarrod Gali from St Thomas of Canterbury College paid tribute to the Muslim man who greeted Friday’s gunman with the welcoming and peaceful words “hello brother”, before being gunned down.
St Margaret’s College head girl Sujean In brought hundreds of paper chains to the event to decorate the park’s fence.
The movement to make the paper chains, decorated in bright colours and carrying messages of support, started in St Margaret’s and then spread to several schools.
“The message behind the chains is that love does conquer hate and the youth in New Zealand and in Australia care about these issues, and we care about the affected communities from the events on Friday,” Sujean told the Herald.
Cashmere High Year 10 student Sayyad Milne and Year 12 student Hamza Mustafa were killed on Friday.
Cashmere Principal Mark Wilson has described Sayyad as “an awesome kid . . . with kind eyes, a big heart, a cheeky smile and a thick mop of black hair”.
“He was studying hard and was planning to be an engineer or an architect.”
Wilson said Hamza came to New Zealand after he and his family fled the civil war in Syria.
“He was an excellent horse rider and had ridden in equestrian events back in his home countries. He aspired to be a veterinarian, which reflects his love of animals . . . He was a great student . . . and a compassionate young man.”