Unbreakable

It has been more than 2 weeks since 50 people were killed in Christchurch. In the past 18 days, I have been thinking about whether I want to write a blog post about it. At the beginning, when we received many inquiries here, I had too little knowledge to provide a meaningful assessment of the events and to report on what is happening here. After all, we are in a tourist bubble here.
On 15.03., we did the Tongariro Crossing, the 20km long volcano crossing, so we were completely offline and didn't hear about the attack. Only when the first inquiry came from Germany did I start reading on the internet. We have now spoken to New Zealanders, read newspapers, read New Zealand contributions on the internet, and also German ones. (For those who are more interested, I recommend Der Spiegel).
As Europeans (after Sweden, London or Paris) or even as Germans (after the Breitscheidtplatz was also associated with Christchurch), we can say with a cool head that we are 'terrorism-experienced' and expect attacks... Government, police, hospitals are prepared for it. And one may find it naive (or sympathetic?) that people here were not so cool and prepared.
But for me, this mass murder (I adopt the term from Sascha Lobo because I think it is the only appropriate term) took on a new dimension through the live streaming on Facebook. And to experience how many of the New Zealanders individually, as a society and how the politics reacted to it, is particularly interesting for us as travelers. We as Germans and Europeans can learn from it.
I leave the classification and interpretation of the crime, the approach and the intentions of the perpetrator to more experienced people. I can refer to Der Spiegel, for example: www.spiegel.de/netzwelt/web/christchurch-wie-der-troll-terrorist-sein-attentat-im-netz-bewarb-a-1258272-amp.html
But what I want to highlight as a reaction to this mass murder and in terms of social interaction in the article is the following call-to-action:
- Avoid everything that supports the narrative 'Us (Whites) against Them (all Muslims)';
- Do not distribute the video recording of the crime;
- Do not classify and communicate the shock as an isolated case, but as a result of a dangerously widespread ideology;
- Do not casually distribute the name and photo of the racist mass murderer.
And I think the New Zealanders are doing exactly that. The name of the perpetrator only circulated on the day when nobody knew what had happened yet and there was still talk of 4 arrests, on the internet. Now, nobody mentions it anymore. Of course, people here also refer to him as crazy or insane, and the wish that only people with a sick mind could be capable of such an act is understandable. But it also remains wishful thinking and so there were always contradictions to the theory of the act of a single madman and the call for a thoughtful and calm justice. And such a sense of shock and condemnation of the act, as I have not yet perceived in Germany. In New Plymouth, a few days after the act, a young man with his bike stopped in front of us on the beach promenade. He wanted to thank us for visiting his country and for staying despite the attack. (By the way, an Indian, who has been in New Zealand for 10 years). He is a nurse and immediately packed his backpack when he heard about Christchurch and wanted to go there to help. When it became clear that the hospitals were coping with the injured, he decided to ride through the city and talk to people. To express his concern, to make it clear that there is no 'Us against Them' for him, to keep the conversation going.
After the Prime Minister set an example, many women here wore headscarves as a sign of solidarity. There are signs of mourning and solidarity everywhere. Condolence books are available in city libraries, supermarkets express their sympathy in leaflets and illuminated advertising ('Christchurch - we are with you'), there are entire walls of condolences, memorial sites for flowers, stuffed animals and posters... And again and again a 'You should have been safe here'.
There were rallies, memorial ceremonies, moments of silence. People voluntarily handed in their weapons (300 people!).
And the politicians reacted quickly, the gun laws were tightened, Turkey was put in its place with its wild demands.
Sure, there is racism here and right-wing movements, especially in Christchurch. But we should not respond to this with revenge motives (like Mr. Erdogan), with tightening of all security measures for all mosques (like in Germany), with the critical search for errors and faults (very German 😉), but with an emphasis on community and common values. I think that's great! The imam of one of the two affected mosques is quoted as saying, 'We are brokenhearted, but we are not broken. We are alive. We are together.'