We received an invitation to Participate in the Peace and Respect Programme this month.

The purpose of the programme was to encourage students to reflect on the lessons and wisdom that can be gleaned from such a tragic event and how we can offer an appropriate acknowledgement to the past whilst at the same time moving forward and looking ahead. By engaging in thoughtful discussions and creative expressions, students can contribute to fostering empathy, understanding, and unity within their communities.

History students were encouraged to submit entries in any form, including written pieces, artwork, poems, stories, songs, social media contributions, etc. Submissions had to focus on the lessons learned from the Christchurch Mosque attacks and how we can collectively work towards building a more compassionate and inclusive society. The focus this year is on the themes of peace and respect.

Szonja Wiedermann has submitted the following two entries. We wish her luck for the judging.

The attack that changed New Zealand

Christchurch Mosque Shootings

“This man is not one of us but that didn’t stop him from slaughtering us…He insulted the manaaki tanga of our country.” -Kyron Gosse

These powerful words were spoken during the trials against Brenton Tarrant who committed the unthinkable on 15 of March, 2019. He committed mass murder against the in Christchurch, attacking the Muslim worshippers who were praying in the Al Noor Mosque, and then he stormed to the Linwood Islamic Centre. He cold heartedly murdered 51 and caused serious injuries to 41 innocent people. We reflect on this sorrowful event with a heart filled with grief towards the victims of the attack, and a mind focusing on a brighter future while also learning from the mistakes of the past.

The hateful discrimination against the Muslim community all around the world has been present for centuries. The unreasonable stereotypes and categorisation created through media and history itself influences our everyday life and outlook on this community. In the result of these factors, Branton felt superior enough to take the lives of people, thus crashing and traumatising countless unfortunate families. However, remarkably the attack had a positive effect which highlighted New Zealand coming together creating one strong bonded whanau. As one of the victim’s family members said during the trials “This tragedy has brought the world together and marked history. There was no ethnicity, race or creed. We stood as one family.” This quote perfectly captures the after cause of the shootings. People protested, fundraised and did everything in their power to help the people affected by this tragic incident. The world -or at least New Zealand- was able to look past our differences and cooperate with one another for a better cause. The impact of the shootings was great not only in a personal sense but also on a national scale. The New Zealand Parliament made many regulations on the topic reading gun laws which could resolve any similar event happening. Sadly however, no number of laws, policies and judgements made upon the terrorist will bring back the people who passed away. The most heartbreaking part is that these people’s only “fault” was that they had a different belief and religion than the man committing the crime. He did not know any of them personally and they did not commit whatsoever against him -of course nothing gives the right for a person to take another’s life-. The amount of rage and hate this man felt towards the Islamic community only because he had a different religion which led to the murder. Keeping this in mind, we can see how these negative feelings directed the actions of Brenton, who eventually got rightfully imprisoned.

To me the message that can be received is pretty crystal clear. As a society we need to look

into our hearts and deeply think about the effects that prejudice can cause on other people. We must not judge or discriminate against people based on their religion, race or sexuality. We must respect each other since we are all human beings and we all are worthy of love. Without respect we can never have peace. And without peace…our world will be troubled and unpleasant. We, ourselves can bring an end to this kind of outcome just by being loving. Since one person can start a little flow which by other people joining can become a giant wave.