Standing Together

I had intended to start writing this article on Friday. Friday March 15th – yes, that Friday – and I had it in my mind to summarize the financial year, including the current marketplace. All of this felt like familiar territory, able to be constructed in a light and engaging manner, neither difficult nor challenging. But that article never got written because the world changed for our city in a horrific and deeply disturbing way on that day.

Our beautiful city and a large congregation of fellow citizens became the victims of a terror attack. 50 people lost their lives and many more were injured, including women and children, whilst they worshipped at their local mosques.

In the shell-shocked days that followed, and as the community came together in grief and kindness, many questions were asked.

How best to help the victims and their families, and everyone connected to the tragedy? What to do? What does it mean for Christchurch? How do we move forward as a united group? How do we foster tolerance and acceptance of all creeds and cultures? How does this happen in a city as safe as we believed ourselves to be?

Nationally and internationally, the fabric of our city and our sense of peace and safety was shattered. As it happened, I was at Christchurch Hospital at the time and throughout the lockdown period that followed, when the Armed Offenders Squad stood around the hospital with large guns at the ready, leaving the enormity of everything that occurred ingrained in my psyche. It was surreal, incredibly scary and most of the information we got about what was happening was streaming from the internet. 

On reflection, all of us are now wondering: where to next?

I don’t have all the answers, although I do know that because of this deep tragedy Cantabrians everywhere have gathered as a committed force to embrace everyone that needs help. It’s said that the quakes hardened our resolve and opened our hearts, and it seems they left memories which came to the fore when the attack happened. We reached out to each other, neighbours checked in on one another, flowers, mountains of flowers, were left in commemoration, good deeds were done … Givealittle pages, food drives … it’s all happening.

As a Cantabrian I’ve felt proud of us. I know our hearts are in the right place. I know our city is evolving and emerging from the kinds of stress you associate with other countries and not ours.

We will continue to move gently forward. I’ll keep thinking and working and writing, but hopefully never in a manner such as this.

We live in a very special city.

Atua Haere Tahi Koutou