Editorial: Christchurch mosque terror attacks 5th anniversary - Why we must never forget

EDITORIAL

New Zealand’s darkest day passed yesterday, leaving little mark on most Kiwis’ daily lives.

But for survivors, bereft family members, first responders and others directly affected by the terror attacks on two Christchurch mosques where 51 Muslim worshippers were murdered on March 15, 2019, the day will never slip by as any other.

It was the first time the anniversary landed on a Friday – the weekday the Australian terrorist opened fire on Al Noor Mosque and Linwood Islamic Centre during Friday prayer.

A special gathering was held at Al Noor last night, attended by Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and the local Muslim community still deeply wounded and affected by the attacks.

Some victims who still have poisonous lead from bullets inside their bodies wanted to be there and pray shoulder-to-shoulder with their brothers.

Others still can’t bring themselves to return to that mass murder scene.

And others wanted to pass the day by thinking of it as little as possible.

Rosemary Omar, who lost her 24-year-old son Tariq in the attacks, spent yesterday remembering how he lived, rather than died - and being grateful for the years they were together.

Linwood Mosque’s Imam Lateef Alabi, who escaped the slaughter, said it was always an emotional day.

Linwood Mosque Imam Alabi Lateef Zirullah recounting the terror attack. Photo / Mark Mitchell

But for most New Zealanders, the fifth anniversary would hardly have been given anything more than a passing thought.

The Australian terrorist has since admitted to murdering 51 people and has been convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment, with no hope of ever getting parole.

There has been a royal commission of inquiry, and an in-depth coronial inquiry is ongoing.

There have been reviews, recommendations and finger-pointing.

The role of social media and online platforms in harbouring extremism and Islamophobia have also come under the spotlight. The Christchurch Call was launched, bringing together more than 130 governments, online service providers, and civil society organisations to act together to “eliminate terrorist and violent extremist content online”.

The one tangible positive from the attacks was that they brought an outpouring of national grief and collective sympathy. Memorials were flooded with flowers and messages of aroha and support.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern in the days after the mosque shootings.

Jacinda Ardern was Prime Minister at the time and gained global admiration for the way she responded.

“They are us,” she said in the aftermath of the killings.

“The world has been stuck in a vicious cycle of extremism breeding extremism and it must end.

“We cannot confront these issues alone, none of us can. But the answer to them lies in a simple concept that is not bound by domestic borders, that isn’t based on ethnicity, power base or even forms of governance. The answer lies in our humanity.”

They are still us and just like the 842 Kiwi men who died in just a few hours at the Battle of Passchendaele – the World War I offensive coined New Zealand’s blackest day – we should never, ever forget.