In The Wake of Terror: A Tragedy that Has Forever Changed us / A.J. Hendry

This piece was written the day after the terrorist attack in Christchurch on March 15, 2019. It was originally published in Newsie.

It feels like the death of a dream.

New Zealand was meant to be safe. A haven from war, a shelter from the far-off evils of hate and terror.

But, today I woke up to messages from family overseas.

“We’re praying for you!”

“Hope you’re ok!”

They shouldn’t have been sending me those messages.

But they were.

Because Friday happened.

Because, a terrorist saw fit to choose Aotearoa New Zealand to send his message of hate and division to the world.

Because, in Christchurch, the New Zealand we knew, became no more.

I grieve for those who are gone. For the families that wait in a hospital lobby, hoping their loved one will return to them. To those who already know they will be going home alone.

I grieve for my friends in Christchurch. Those who have endured so much already. Who have survived the trauma of earthquakes, and a crumbling city, who have fought to reclaim their home and rebuild their city, only to once again see their hope for normality crumble around them.

And I grieve for my 10-month old son. And for all his generation. For they will not know the New Zealand I grew up in.

Never be able to find security in the belief that this “sort of thing never happens here”.

Because, now it does. It did.

We say that this will not change us, but it will. In fact, it already has.

The New Zealand of my childhood is no more.

We will never be the same.

The question for us to ask is not if we will change, but how.

Will we become more divided, more driven by fear, more insular and closed to the suffering of others not “like us”?

Or will we fight to place the values of Love and compassion at the centre of who we are?

Choosing to care, choosing to Love in the face of fear, choosing to tear down the boundaries between them and us, accepting all people regardless of who they are, or where they’re from?

Only time will tell.

But, one thing is for sure.

We here in New Zealand have been far too complacent.

For years we have allowed ideologies that feed off fear, promoting hate and discrimination to become normalized and accepted aspects of our public dialogue.

We have stood by and offered our support, and even at times our encouragement, to politicians who would push anti-immigration and anti-muslim agenda’s.

We have allowed this rhetoric to have a place within our political discourse. Laughing at the extremists, while nodding in agreement to the moderates who feed them.

We all have a part in this.

Every time we dismiss casual racism against immigrants or laugh at jokes which demean and dehumanize those different from us, we promote and condone the very ideologies of hate which influenced this horrific event.

By ignoring, and even legitimizing, racist politics and ideologies, we have created the ground for this evil to grow.

I hope Christchurch can serve as a warning, not just for us in New Zealand, but for all of us around the world.

Ideas have consequences.

And whether you are the sort of person who would kill someone for your beliefs or not, almost doesn’t matter.

If your politics and beliefs are centred around division and bear the taint of white nationalism, then take a good hard look at Christchurch.

Because, this is the ugly fruit that these beliefs bear. The evil consequences of these twisted ideals.

If we are to end the rise of white nationalism globally, then it is time we recognized and acknowledged its existence.

White supremacy is the foundation which the Western Empire is built upon.

It is the rot at the core of our civilization.

Many here in New Zealand have ignored – even rejected – this reality.

And we have paid the price.

It is time we changed this.

Our Prime Minister has said, “this is not who we are”.

Let us make those words true.

Let us become a people – both in New Zealand and globally – who value and cherish the sanctity of all human life.

Whether it be the Mexican kid at the border, or the Muslim sister traveling to evening prayers.

Let us remember that no matter who you are, no matter your sexual orientation, nationality, religion, or belief, we are all here on this planet together.

New Zealand has changed forever.

It will never be the same.

My prayer is that this change will be defined by Love, not hate. By acceptance, not fear.

By unity, rather than division.

In the words of Martin Luther King Jnr, “Hate cannot drive out hate, only Love can do that.”

For only Love has the power to truly heal, cleanse and restore.

A.J. Hendry