In Christchurch, a city that was slowly rebuilding itself after the 2011 Earthquakes, a lot of people had learned not to be complacent about the possibility of another disaster. Nobody expected however, that it would come at the hands of man and not nature.
On the 15th of March in 2019, New Zealand faced a tragic, brutal assault — the kind that most New Zealanders never imagined they would see in their lifetimes. A gunman walked into two mosques in Christchurch, killing 51 people and injuring 40.
The victims of this assault were unknowing worshippers, gathered at two different mosques for their Friday prayers. They were born in places all over the world; Saudi Arabia, the Philippines, Jordan, Turkey, Indonesia and Bangladesh to name a few. But they all called New Zealand home, and like a lot of people, never expected an attack of this scale on the small island country.
The Attack
The shooter started a Facebook livestream before driving to the first mosque he intended to attack, Masjid Al Noor. Armed with a semi-automatic shotgun and an AR-15 rifle, he entered the mosque, recklessly shooting those in his sight. He had attached a portable speaker to his vest and a GoPro to his helmet, and played anti-Muslim propaganda and military music while he streamed his attack on Facebook. He left after a few minutes, driving to a second mosque, Linwood Masjid, to continue his gruesome onslaught.
The gunman was well-equipped, not only with a large number of weapons, but also with a sprawling manifesto, the links of which he shared online before starting his attack. He outlined his cruel and murderous plans, and aligned his actions with far-right ideologies.
The police stopped the shooter, apprehending him before he could continue to a third location. His livestream died 17 minutes into the attack as Facebook scrambled to take it down. Unfortunately, the damage was already done as the clip spread across the internet like wildfire.
For the survivors, their families, and the Christchurch community, the horror of the afternoon settled in slowly. The shock that reverberated throughout New Zealand and the rest of the world however, was nothing less than expected. Gun violence was a rarity in this part of the world. New Zealand had also just been ranked the second most peaceful country in the world by the Global Peace Index that same year.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern called it “one of New Zealand’s darkest days”.
This attack highlighted some of the more insidious ideologies that unfortunately persist in the region. Dr. Paul Spoonley, a sociologist and author of Politics of Nostalgia: Racism and the Extreme Right told Stuff NZ that “Christchurch has long been a hotbed for white supremacists and the extreme nationalist movement.”
Spoonley also added that this is a response to multiculturalism, that people with these extremist ideologies feel as if they are losing their place as the dominant group in society. The gunman, originally from Australia, evidently shared these views, describing them in his 74-page manifesto.
The Response
In the time following the 2011 Earthquakes, it became clear that the people of Christchurch had embraced the importance of community and togetherness. Regardless of the pockets of hatred and violence that had seemingly cropped up in the city, the people of Christchurch showed resilience and came together in support of the victims, their families, and the wider Muslim community.
The victims of the event were remembered and celebrated, the perpetrator reproached with a solemn promise many New Zealanders vowed to keep — there will be no mention of his name. The media too, agreeing to avoid printing his name as much as possible.
Ardern was swift in her duties as Prime Minister; condemning the attack, urging internet providers to suppress the circulation of the video and proposing changes to national gun laws. In the days and weeks that followed, she met the families of the victims and those affected, showing the world that she would not shy away from standing in solidarity with the Muslim community.
The people of Christchurch shared stories and posts about the victims online, uplifting them and their acts of bravery and heroism during the attacks in an attempt to suppress coverage about the perpetrator. Many victims, like Naeem Rashid and his son, Tahla Naeem, lost their lives in an attempt to overpower the gunman and protect those around them.
Christchurch mayor Lianne Dalzier told Guardian that she did not want the South Island city to be defined by the attacks, instead, it should be the defiant response to the attacks that the city should be remembered for.
“The response was so overwhelming that he hasn’t achieved what he intended,” Dalzier said, referring to the gunman. “He has drawn people together.”
Christchurch has experienced and overcame a great deal of loss in the past decade. The mosque attacks in 2019 gave the city an opportunity to show the world its resilience in the face of tragedy, and show it did.
