Temel Atacocugu, right, who survived being shot nine times during the attack on the Al Noor mosque, cries as he speaks at the National Remembrance Service in Christchurch. Photo / AP
Temel Atacocugu, right, who survived being shot nine times during the attack on the Al Noor mosque, cries as he speaks at the National Remembrance Service in Christchurch. Photo / AP
Editorial
EDITORIAL
March has an infamous reputation as a month for significant events, going back to ancient days.
And there have been some very grim disasters at this stage of the year in recent times.
A sudden flood of significant anniversaries in the past week has brought back some difficult memories.
In New Zealand, today, March 15, will always be the day of the Christchurch mosque terror attack which took 51 lives in 2019.
On Saturday a national remembrance service was held in the city with a theme of unity.
Tributes to the people lost and those left behind have been made in photographic displays and other expressions of art.
Last week marked 10 years since the start of protests that spawned Syria's civil war - a soul-destroying conflict that has killed nearly half a million people and displaced millions. Bashar al-Assad remains in power.
It is also a decade since the triple disaster of an earthquake, tsunami and nuclear plant meltdown struck Fukushima on March 11, 2011. A terrifying wall of water swept across the Japanese coast, killing thousands.
On Friday - March 11 local time - United States President Joe Biden both signed his US$1.9 trillion recovery bill into law and then marked the year since the pandemic began in a first address to the nation.
Exactly a year earlier, the World Health Organisation officially declared the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic, and former President Donald Trump addressed the nation.
The first known case of the 1918 "Spanish Flu" pandemic in the US also occurred in March.
An earthquake-triggered tsunami sweeps along Iwanuma, Miyagi prefecture, in northern Japan 10 years ago.
March 11 appears to be a particularly eventful date in recent years - the Madrid train bombings of 2004 occurred then, killing 191.
The month is named after Mars, the Roman god of war, and today is the "Ides of March".
Julius Caesar was betrayed and murdered by Brutus and other Roman senators in 44BC on March 15. In Shakespeare's words, Caesar is told to "beware the Ides of March" before he is assassinated.
Although recalling dark anniversaries makes us think about things we would rather not, there's good reasons to do so.
Time can act as a measuring stick. Milestones allow comparisons to be made and give us a chance to assess whether any progress has occurred - or not.
And also - have we learned any lessons?
Some past events serve as a warning of future disasters. They can happen because they've happened before.
Anti-coup protesters hold makeshift shields during a demonstration in Yangon, Myanmar.
With Syria, aside from its own story, there are echoes of the conflicts in Yemen, Libya and Myanmar. From small beginnings, the war crushed cities, drew in foreign fighters and countries, caused migrants to flee, and inspired terror attacks.
There is often a point very early on in conflicts where quick outside intervention has the potential to stem a worsening situation, but the moment passes. Ruthless rulers who can see they can carry on, will do so. It then spirals.
The Myanmar junta's brutal approach - at least 80 people have been killed since the military's full takeover - can probably be traced to the fact that they previously got away with slaughtering Rohingya Muslims.
Remembering events acknowledges sorrow - on the way to accepting a new reality.
Biden has said about losses from the pandemic: "To heal, we must remember".
An Italian tribute to coronavirus victims in the town of Vo carries the inscription: "A man never dies if there is someone who remembers him".
Remembering can highlight people's resilience in overcoming adversity and sheer will to survive.
And it can remind us of the good we are capable of - to feel empathy and support others.
The community spirit stirred after the Christchurch attack was still fresh in the memory when the coronavirus challenged us a year later.
