​Kia ora koutou katoa

Assalum Alaikum Peace be upon you.
 
The Council meeting of 10 March 2022 is reconvened.
 
Today marks the third anniversary of the terrorist attack on Al Nur Mosque and Linwood Islamic Centre where members of the city’s local Muslim community were at prayer. It is a day we will never forget.

I acknowledge the 51 shuhada, their families, the injured survivors, and all those who were witness to or affected by the attack.
 
We are not holding a civic Remembrance Service as we have previously – the bereaved families and those who survived the attack have asked that there is a different way to commemorate the day.
 
They want us as a city and as a nation to always remember the 51 shuhada – to never forget who they are and what they meant to those who loved them.
 
And they also want us to come together in Peace, Love and Unity – a reflection of the way we came together as a city and a nation at that time.
 
Remembering that time for peace, love, and unity, helps us all to remember what is important in life, even when we are confronted with the very worst of man’s inhumanity to man.
 
And at the same time it challenges us to ask whether we have lived up to our commitment to become a more inclusive society.
 
I attended the launch of Islamic Awareness Week which has focused attention on Love Peace and Unity and which concludes today, a day that also marks the beginning of Unity Week.
 
I want to acknowledge in particular the 15th March Whanau Trust and the Sakinah Community Trust for reaching out into the wider community in the spirit of cooperation to create a meaningful role that everyone can play to promote unity. I also acknowledge Mahia Te Aroha and InCommon. Thank you all for your wisdom, your courage and your leadership. These are groups that have been born of tragedy, inspired by compassion and empowered by generosity – the essence of what we commemorate today.
​
This afternoon at 1:39pm, again at the request of the families, Radio New Zealand will broadcast nationwide the Adhan, the Call to Prayer. Other radio stations will also play the Call to Prayer during the day.  I wish to thank them all for doing so.
 
I will visit Al Noor Mosque today to welcome Temel Atacocugu as he completes his Walk For Peace. I want to honour him for his courage and tenacity for reclaiming the route from Dunedin to Christchurch for peace.
 
What a powerful act.  
 
At the launch of Islam Awareness Week I quoted a message that one of our residents posted in response to the announcement about Islam Awareness Week and Unity Week being led by the Muslim community.
“I’m happy that the bereaved families have made their voices heard and been listened to. I don’t yet have the words apart from saying I am here and I stand with you.”
 
I am here – says I am present, I empathise with you, I recognise your humanity and I love you as a brother or a sister. And I stand with you – says I support you, I will walk alongside you, I will defend you, I have got your back.
 
And as we reflect on that time three years ago, for me those words are reflected in the actions of those who turned up for the Call to Prayer one week after the attack.
 
The wider community wasn’t asked to come – they just came – in their thousands. It was the most powerful expression of solidarity I have ever witnessed.
 
So let us all say ‘I am here and I stand with you’ today and every day. We are here and we stand together.
 
I now invite everyone to join me in observing a minute’s silence to acknowledge the victims of the 15 March 2019 terrorist attack.
 

​Kia ora koutou katoa
Assalam Aleikum

Can I begin by acknowledging the 51 shuhada, their families, the injured, and all those who were witness to or affected by the terrorist attack of 15 March 2019.

I also acknowledge Members of Parliament, Ibrahim Omer and Sarah Pallet, as well as my colleague Cr Anne Galloway.

I acknowledge our local Muslim communities in Ōtautahi Christchurch, and all those who have joined us on the livestream.

And finally, can I also acknowledge the important collaboration between FIANZ, the Muslim Association of Canterbury, and the 15th March Whanau Trust that has brought us here today. Thank you for your work.
I am incredibly proud to be here as the Mayor of our city as we come up to the third anniversary of the 15th of March.

The reason that I am proud is because of the way the community has invited us all to reflect on that time in Love, Peace & Unity – Aroha, Rangimārie and Kotahitanga - values that bring meaning to and enrich all of our lives
Islamic Awareness Week, which is designed to showcase the real meaning and teachings of Islam, encourages us all to cultivate connectedness and a sense of community – that is kotahitanga in action.

When we, as a Council, placed a message on Facebook to say that we had heard from the community how you wanted to lead this year’s commemoration, with Islamic Awareness Week leading to the 15th March and a Unity Week leading from the 15th March, one of the messages we received back said this:
“I’m happy that the bereaved families have made their voices heard & been listened to. I don’t yet have the words apart from saying I am here & I stand with you.”

And that represents the feelings of so many people. The words ‘I am here & I stand with you’ somehow feel inadequate.

However, when we think about what they mean, they are powerful words, because they are literally what love, peace, and unity stand for. I am here & I stand with you.
When I reflect on that time three years ago, for me those words are reflected in the actions of those who turned up for the Call to Prayer one week after the attack.

The wider community wasn’t asked to come – they just came – in their thousands. It was the most powerful expression of solidarity I have ever witnessed. We could all feel it.

I am here – says I am present, I empathise with you, I recognise your humanity and I love you as a brother or a sister - and I stand with you – says I support you, I will walk alongside you and defend you, I have got your back.
And we heard the powerful words of the Imam, with Masjid An-Nur as a sombre backdrop –
"This terrorist sought to tear our nation apart with an evil ideology that has torn the world apart. But instead, we have shown that New Zealand is unbreakable, and that the world can see in us an example of love and unity."

Remembering that time for peace, love, and unity, helps us all to remember what is important in life, even when we are confronted with the very worst of man’s inhumanity to man.

I want to thank the 15th March Whanau Trust, along with the other community-led groups that have formed as a result of what happened on that day, for your wisdom, your courage and your leadership.

Each of these groups has been born of tragedy, inspired by compassion and empowered by generosity.

And it is in the spirit of reciprocity that I acknowledge the work we all have to continue to do to keep the essence of that compassion alive.

​Thank you again for inviting us to share this special occasion as you launch Islamic Awareness Week in Love, Peace and Unity.
Assalam Aleikum

have been given two minutes to say a few words, but that is plenty as all I want to say is thank you.

Two years ago, we were about to go into lockdown. I got to explore the city. With no cars, no noise and beautiful clear blue skies.

I have a photo collection of street art, which has come to define our city post the trauma of the earthquake.

Len Lye, an inspirational sculptor, took his inspiration for his lifelong love of art, from a moment in time. As a boy he was kicking a kerosene can around the backyard here in this city on a sunny day – he caught a flash of light and he heard a loud clap like thunder. He later said of that moment that he was literally ‘Stopped Short by Wonder”!

I want to pay tribute to everyone who has created the opportunity for us all to be stopped short by wonder.

Thank you to all the local artists, those who have come from all around New Zealand and Japan.  Thank you to the whole team, the volunteers – for the mentoring, creative thinking, connecting, improvising – I am in awe of you all.

And finally a huge thank you to the SALT District and ARCC (Arts Reaction Christchurch Central) and all the sponsors who have ignited the Flare Street Art Festival.