In yet another heart-winning statement, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says that the country has “a duty” to support its Muslim community.
She made these remarks while addressing an emotional memorial service marking the second anniversary of the Christchurch mosque attacks.
Attended by hundreds of people, the service was held amid tight security to remember the 51 people that were killed and dozens wounded when an armed white supremacist opened fire in two mosques on March 15, 2019.
Temel Atacocugu, who received nine bullets in the face, arms, and legs, wept as he recalled waiting to be treated with the father of three-year-old Mucaad Ibrahim who had died in the attack.
“Suddenly, my pain seemed insignificant,” he said.
Ardern, who was acclaimed globally for the compassion shown to survivors and the families of the victims of the shooting and her swift move to tighten firearms control in New Zealand, said ‘despite their healing power’ would never change what happened.
Men, women, and children … were taken in an act of terror. Words will not remove the fear that descended over the Muslim community. The legacy should be a more inclusive nation, one that stands proud of our diversity and embraces it and, if called to, defends it staunchly.
The prime minister admitted that the Muslim community of New Zealand had been ill-treated and looked down at even before the attack.
“Sadly, if we assume that before that day in our history our Muslim community hadn’t experienced hatred and racism, we would be very wrong. In the aftermath of the terror attack, I heard the stories of women who were frequently harassed because they were easily identifiable as Muslim.
She called for support of the Muslim community of New Zealand and urged the country to understand that grief takes time and that the scars that have been left are many.
It is our duty to listen hear and respond with words and deeds that support you [Muslims] while they heal but perhaps most important of all it means understanding that words will be one of the most powerful ways we can We must show that March 15 has changed us.
Atacocugu says it is a miracle that he is still alive.
I have since had seven major surgeries and there are more to come. I will carry lots of shrapnel in my body for the rest of my life. Every time I have an X-ray it lights up like a Christmas tree.
Another attendant, Kiran Munir, whose husband was killed in the attack, told the service that the best revenge was to “not be like the enemy. We are learning to rise up again with dignity and move forward as best we can.”
The attacker Brenton Tarrant was arrested soon after the assaults on the Al Noor mosque and Linwood Islamic Centre.
He faced open trials and pleaded guilty to 51 charges of murder, 40 of attempted murder, and one of terrorism, and was sentenced last year to life imprisonment without parole.
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