CHRISTCHURCH - About 3,000 people walked through Christchurch in a “march for love” as the city seeks to heal from its tragedy.
Carrying placards with signs such as “He wanted to divide us, he only made us stronger”, “Muslims welcome, racists not”, and “Kia Kaha” - Maori for ‘stay strong’, people walked mostly in silence or softly sang a Maori hymn of peace.
“We feel like hate has brought a lot of darkness at times like this and love is the strongest cure to light the city out of that darkness,” said Manaia Butler, 16, one of the student organisers of the march.
New Zealand and Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern have been widely praised for the outpouring of empathy and unity in response to
the attacks.
Dubai’s ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, thanked Ardern on Twitter late on Friday. He posted a photo of Dubai’s Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building, lit up with an enlarged image of Ardern embracing a woman and the Arabic word “Salam” and the English translation “peace” above them.
“Thank you @jacindaardern and New Zealand for your sincere empathy and support that has won the respect of 1.5 billion Muslims after the terrorist attack that shook the Muslim community around the world,” he said on Twitter.
Muslims account for just over 1 percent of New Zealand’s 4.8-million population, a 2013 census showed, most of whom were born overseas.
Shahadat Hossain, whose brother Mojammel Haque was killed in the attack, said he would bring his body back to Bangladesh. “I don’t know when our family will be able to come out of this grief,” he said.
