Venu Menon
Wellington, March 16,2024
A candlelight vigil to remember the victims of the 2019 Christchurch mosque shooting was held on Friday evening in Wellington.
Fifty-one people were killed when a gunman opened fire on worshippers at the Al-Noor Mosque and the Linwood Islamic Centre in Christchurch on March 15 five years ago.
The event to commemorate the fifth anniversary of the tragic incident, that spread shock waves around the globe, was organised by community organisation Ekta, in collaboration with the interfaith communities of Wellington, at the St Peter’s Church garden.
The programme kicked off with a video song “51 souls,” which was followed by a song by Mohamed Adam Haikal of the Wellington Malaysian Students Organisation, and a Karakia (welcome) by Jean Malcolm and Stephen King of the St Peter’s Church, Wellington.
“I was so proud that we, as New Zealanders, came together. And we said: ‘This act of hate is not us,’” said Andy Foster, New Zealand First MP and former Wellington Mayor.
Foster said New Zealanders needed to celebrate their diversity “of faith, of ethnicity, of belief.” He applauded the interfaith community for their efforts to foster unity among New Zealand’s rich diverse cultures.
Bridget White, former director of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, said many of the staff “have been supporting the implementation of the recommendations of the Royal Commission of Enquiry” into the Christchurch mosque shooting.
She said the horror of the Christchurch attacks “changed Aotearoa New Zealand forever.” But it was also a day when “we saw New Zealand united in compassion.” In the weeks afterwards New Zealanders displayed “kindness and respect for other cultures.”
White noted despite the attack on their way of life, New Zealanders “somehow became stronger because of it.” She quoted Farid Ahmed, whose wife was killed in the attacks, as saying at the remembrance service: ‘I don’t want to have a heart that is boiling like a volcano. I will pay no notice to anger, fury, rage. It doesn’t have peace. It has hatred. It burns itself within, and it burns its own surroundings…….. I want to have a heart that is full of love, care and mercy, and will forgive.’
Peter Burke, who spoke on behalf of the Ministry of Ethnic Communities, noted that the fifth anniversary of the Christchurch attacks was “happening at the same time as the situation in the Middle East.” It also showed that “we live in challenging times.”
The March 15 tragedy yielded some valuable lessons, which were reflected in the report of the Royal Commission of Enquiry. There needs to be more progress in the development of social cohesion in New Zealand, “to make sure that such a tragedy will never happen again,” Burke added.
Diversity can be sorely tested when views differ within communities, “but faith communities coming together and showing leadership is incredibly valuable, practically and symbolically. That is at the crux of diversity and inclusion,” Burke added.
Imam Shaikh Khaled Said recapped the scene inside the mosque in Christchurch as the horror unfolded on that fateful day. He cited the heroism of Farid’s wife, Husna, who ran “into the mosque to save lives as the shooting was going on.”
Khaled said New Zealand became a “great country globally by showing that hate will never win.”
Karuna Muthu, community leader and former National Party candidate from Rongotai, quoted from an ancient Tamil poem which said, “The whole world is my village. Humanity is my family.”
Calling himself a humanist, he said “we are all here to pay homage to those 51 souls that departed as a result of hate.”
Muthu described hate as “nothing but the shadow of ignorance.” He urged everyone to be vigilant every moment of the day in order to avert a repeat of “the darkest of days in New Zealand history.”
The event wrapped up with prayers and blessings delivered by representatives from different faiths, such as the Baha’i, Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Sikh, Jewish, and Muslim.
This was followed by the lighting of candles.
Venu Menon is an Indian Newslink reporter based in Wellington
