New Zealand honours mosque victims

ABOUT 3000 people walked through Christchurch in a ‘march for love’ yesterday, honouring the 50 worshippers massacred in the New Zealand city a week ago, as the mosques where the shooting took place reopened for prayers.

Carrying placards with signs such as, “He wanted to divide us, he only made us stronger”, “Muslims welcome, racists not”, and “Kia Kaha” – Maori for ‘stay strong’, people walked mostly in silence or softly sang a Maori hymn of peace.

“We feel like hate has brought a lot of darkness at times like this and love is the strongest cure to light the city out of that darkness,” said Manaia Butler, 16, one of the student organisers of the march.

Security was heavy yesterday, with armed police officers and buses parked sideways across city streets to close them off for the march. Police were also at the al-noor mosque which reopened yesterday.

Police said they were reopening the nearby Linwood mosque as well.

“It is the place where we pray, where we meet, we’ll be back, yeah,” Ashif Shaikh told reporters outside the al-noor mosque.

He said he was there on the day of the shooting in which two of his housemates were killed.

Most victims of the country’s worst mass shooting were migrants or refugees from Pakistan, India, Malaysia, Indonesia, Turkey, Somalia, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. |