CW: Islamophobia, violence
On March 19, hundreds of students, faculty and staff filled the McMaster University Student Centre courtyard to mourn the victims of the Christchurch massacre.
The terrorist attack was committed on March 15 by a white supremacist who opened fire in two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, killing a total of 50 people and injuring 50 others.
The attack was considered the worst mass shooting in New Zealand’s recent history.
The vigil was organized by the McMaster Muslim Students Association in collaboration with the McMaster Muslims for Peace and Justice and the McMaster Womanists. The three groups brought 15 speakers from various parts of the community to speak.
The vigil began with a recitation from the Quran.
In a particularly poignant moment following the recitation, the organizers honoured and read out the names of the 50 who died due to the attack.
A theme echoed throughout the vigil was that the attack reflected a larger movement of white supremacy, Islamophobia and bigotry across the globe.
“White supremacy exists, toxic masculinity exists, misogyny exists. Xenophobia, racism and Islamophobia exist. These things exist in New Zealand, in the United States. They also exist right here in Canada, in Ontario, in Hamilton,” said Khadijeh Rakie, a staff member of the McMaster Equity and Inclusion Office.
Rakie encouraged Muslim people to grieve freely.
“I don’t think our strength or grief must be looked at in one way, or need to be performative or palatable or always available for public consumption,” said Rakie.
Speakers pointed out the connection between Christchurch and the 2017 Quebec mosque attack, completed by a white supremacist, which killed six people in prayer.
“Far-right populist leaders around the world and false media narratives have stoked the fires behind the dehumanization and demonization of Muslims worldwide, causing events like the one in Christchurch,” said one student speaker.
Many speakers also expressed appreciation for other faith groups who have supported and stood in solidarity with them since the attack.
Other speakers encouraged Muslim and non-Muslims alike to actively stand against discrimination in all its forms.
“As different societies face all forms of prejudice, persecution and rhetoric against immigrants, refugees, visitors and worshippers of all kinds of faith, backgrounds, and communities, we must all stand together against all forms of violence, ignorance and hatred,” said another student speaker.
Mahmood Haddara, the president of McMaster MSA, called for compassion and unity.
“We need at times like these to build those connections with each other, to turn towards each other, to remind ourselves of that love and that connection, to look at the person next to you regardless of their skin colour or their belief and remind yourself that they are your brother or sister in humanity,” said Haddara.
Following the speeches, the organizers held an open prayer in the MUSC atrium.
Gachi Issa, one of the organizers of the vigil, said she is grateful for the support from the McMaster community and hopes the vigil will also spark discussion about discrimination and Islamophobia in Hamilton and on the McMaster campus.
“The message is first and foremost to mourn these [50] and counting victims in New Zealand, but it’s also to localize it,” said Issa. “The same thing that has killed them affects us here.”
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As anyone who knows me well can attest to, I have an inexhaustible, uninhibited, all-consuming desire to travel. And while my modest means can’t currently match my wanderlust, I am determined to see the world – sooner rather than later.
So when I read about the recent tragedy in New Zealand, it hit close to home. As you can read in detail on A5, recent Mac grad Joanna Lam and her boyfriend Connor Hayes lost their lives in a freak accident on a beautiful Fox Glacier highway, when it appears that a sudden landslide sent their rented car over a cliff into a river, and their vacation prior to starting new jobs to a horrible end. So far, only Ms. Lam’s body has been found.
It’s stories like that that make me wonder. Make me anxious to travel, to explore, to go on adventures.
It’s not just sudden natural disasters; it’s Kenyan mall shootings and London bus bombings and Boston Marathon terrorism that make it easier and easier to find excuses to retreat back into the comfort of home and the safety of the familiar.
Contrast that with the international study/volunteer abroad fair held in the student centre atrium on Monday. There’s a wealth of opportunity at McMaster students’ fingertips, be it in the form of eight-month exchanges to summer abroad research scholarships to even part-time campus jobs to put towards a post-grad travel fund. I have yet to meet a person who has said their travels were time and money ill-spent.
It is through travelling that we learn the most about other people, other places, and most importantly, ourselves.
If I had never gone to Europe, I wouldn’t know what it feels like to sip beer in a real German biergarten (table dancing and all), or to sit spellbound as Judi Dench commands the London stage, or to lay in wonder in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower.
I also wouldn’t know that I’m capable of taking planes and trains in foreign countries on my own; of getting lost where no one speaks English and finding my way; of realizing that if I save and plan and just go, I don’t have to wait for anybody - I can make my own adventures.
Like Joanna Lam, I’m a recent Mac grad. I’m also in my early twenties. And I have often talked with my own boyfriend (who patiently humours my itch to travel) about spending time in Australia and New Zealand, and seeing all the wonders of that amazing corner of the world. In some ways, that couple could have - or could be - us.
But thinking like that is no way to live. Certainly, travel requires one to be savvy, street-smart and to plan for the unexpected. Travel also requires one to let go of the fear of fate.
While I cannot speak for Ms. Lam, I would bet that she wouldn’t advise her McMaster peers to stay home and let the world pass them by.
Neither would I.
Aurora Coltman
Silhouette Intern
The wreckage of a rental car belonging to 24-year-old McMaster alumna Joanna Lam and her boyfriend, Connor Hayes, 25, was discovered in a gorge off the Haast Pass road, towards the western coast of South Island in New Zealand on Sept. 10. The investigation is on going, but one body, presumed to be Lam’s, was discovered near where the car’s fuel tank washed up.
Bad weather near the time of their disappearance has left the police suspecting that the vehicle was hit by a landslide and swept away in high-moving waters. A reporter for Radio New Zealand, Ceinwen Curtis, is covering the case. She reported seeing boulders the size of houses that were left behind from the landside on the same stretch of road where the couple had been travelling.
However, police spokeswoman Barbara Dunn told CBC Hamilton, “Until we get some evidence, we don’t know; we’ve got a serious crash investigation underway, but at this stage… we are keeping very much an open mind as to what’s happened.”
The rescue team, now consisting of a heat-searching helicopter, a specialist search dog, and a search and rescue boat is attempting to find Hayes.
A friend of Lam’s, Tamara Sagadore, told CBC, “I think it’s just really difficult because everything’s so unknown, especially because it’s from such a distance. I spoke with her right before she left, and she was just so excited and optimistic, and now this happening. It’s almost unfathomable.”
The families say it was especially unfortunate as the couple was in New Zealand on their way to Lam’s new position as a medical imaging specialist for the radiology department at Nelson Hospital. Lam graduated from McMaster in June 2010 with a degree in Medical Radiation Sciences.
The search continues, but police have yet to find any clues as to Hayes’ whereabouts. The families await official news from the Tasman District New Zealand Police on both Hayes’ whereabouts, and the official medical records.
