CHRISTCHURCH (AP) — Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Friday that New Zealanders have become more engaged with the Muslim community in the year since a gunman killed 51 people at two mosques.
Ardern was in Christchurch attending events to mark the anniversary of last year’s March 15 massacre, which she has described as one of New Zealand’s darkest days. On Friday she attended a special joint prayer with members of both mosques that were attacked, and on Sunday she plans to attend a national memorial.
Among those speaking during the prayer service was Al Noor mosque survivor Farid Ahmed, whose wife Husna was killed in the attacks.
Hate does not achieve any gain for the hater, or for anyone,” he said afterward. If there are any differences, there is another way, and that way is the peaceful way. We should talk, we should dialogue, we should ask one another questions, and we should not be afraid of one another.
Ardern said people had told her they had visited mosques for the first time in the wake of the attacks and had found themselves more openly discussing differences of faith.
A year on, I believe New Zealand and its people have fundamentally changed. I can’t see how you could have an event like this and not,” Ardern said. But the challenge for us will be ensuring that in our everyday actions and in every opportunity where we see bullying, harassment, racism, discrimination calling it out as a nation.
Some questioned why the memorial event on Sunday, which would pack thousands of people into an arena, was still going ahead after Ardern and other officials chose to cancel a festival in Auckland celebrating Pacific culture due to fears over coronavirus.
