Yesterday, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern came to the decision to cancel the Christchurch remembrance service for the terrorist attacks on 15 March, amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Without the remembrance service, Ardern took to social media to share a message from the Muslim community.
“One year ago today, our country changed,” wrote the Prime Minister. “Rather than share my thoughts on that day, or what’s happened since, I wanted to share the words of the two Imams of the mosques that were attacked on the 15th of March, who this week issued a simple request called the Christchurch Invitation. They said: “Within the Muslim community we have spent much time discussing our shared world. Our deep wish is that the March 15 flood of support builds into something lasting; something that benefits everyone.”
The message went on to explain the ways people can offer support for the victims of the attacks, and the wider Muslim community.
“It doesn’t have to be with big gestures. It can be small – maybe one small, clear change … What help could I give to someone? Who needs me? Who can I stand up for?
“Last year we witnessed beautiful intentions and actions when people saw past labels and differences, saw other people as human beings, and came together after that dreadful shooting. This is an invitation to remember what saw, to recognise that this was us, and to keep those intentions alive.”
“While there will be no memorial today, I hope we all hear the words of the Imams and community, and choose to act in honour of those we lost on March 15,” finished Ardern. “That is the least we owe them.”
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