Lianne - One City Together
  • Home
  • About
    • About Lianne
    • My Priorities
  • Speeches
  • Gallery
  • Contact

Civic Commemoration of the February 22 Earthquake

23/2/2015

 
I wish to begin by acknowledging all who have gathered here today to grieve for a loved one who died or was injured here in Christchurch on the 22 Feb 2011; and everyone who feels the sense of loss that we collectively experienced in the aftermath of that day.
 
International experience tells us that years' three to five are very hard for a city that has experienced trauma in the way that we have.
 
We think of today as the fourth anniversary but given that the last of the large aftershocks occurred on the 23rd December 2011, we are really at the beginning of year three.
Picture
As a city we need to continue to be looking out for each other. Some people will be at the end of their tether; that they can't see a resolution in sight.
 
Many will be at the other end of the spectrum – a new home and a sense of hope for the future.
 
As I said last year when a city experiences a traumatic event, people respond and recover in different ways.
 
And that we must be respectful of the fact that not everyone is able to 'move on', which has become the phrase we use to describe those who have resolved or at least accepted their situation.
 
Others cannot 'move on' for a variety of reasons – for some it is unanswered questions about what happened on that day, or the lack of resolution of their claim, for others it is the ongoing impacts of serious injuries, or the disruption to their lives and the loss of a sense of power or control over what has happened.
 
I am confident that the overwhelming generosity that the city displayed after the earthquakes will enable all of these challenges to be overcome.
 
The sense of unity that came with the outpouring of support for those affected by the earthquakes is my constant memory of that time.
 
I also remember a minister speaking at an outdoor service saying how much people all over the country wanted to help, but feeling helpless.
 
He said those who were able to help were the privileged ones and that is true, but at the same time they are the people to whom we owe a debt of gratitude that cannot be readily expressed in words.
 
It is this that gives me such hope and optimism for the future.
 
Last year I talked about the beauty of this place and how meaningful the chime of the World Peace Bell at the exact time that the earthquake struck would be.
 
Our Peace Bell like the original is cast from the coins of the nations that make up the UN – so its sounding reminds us of all the nationalities who have experienced loss in our city.
 
Let us take comfort from each other, while at the same time lifting our spirits with the sense of possibility our city holds.
 
This morning I read a poem by Samuel Butler for the memorial service for the families whose lives were lost and I thought it was appropriate to conclude with these words.
 

I fall asleep in the full and certain hope
 
That my slumber shall not be broken;
 
And that though I be all-forgetting,
 
Yet shall I not be all-forgotten,
 
But continue that life in the thoughts and deeds
 
Of those I loved.
 
 
 
 
 
 

    Speeches

    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    June 2013

    Categories

    All
    Speeches

    Social Media