Editorial: Multicultural festivities back in full colour this weekend

Opinion

COMMENT:

It takes time to recover from a blow to society such as a gunman dealt to us in Christchurch three weeks ago today. The blow to the city's Muslim community was felt by Muslims throughout the country and the world, but also by other ethnic minorities in this country and all New Zealanders who imagined such a crime would not happen here.

The events postponed that weekend included several annual celebrations of the multicultural diversity of New Zealand today. Among them were the Auckland Pasifika Festival, Polyfest, the Wellington Pride Festival and Out in the Park. But this weekend in Auckland, our ethnic minorities are being celebrated again.

The Diversity Festival in Manukau tomorrow and the Auckland International Cultural Festival at Mt Roskill on Sunday will show that terror cannot prevail for long. The chairwoman of the Otara-Papatoetoe Local Board, Lotu Fuli, says, "By celebrating these cultures, we are reminding and reassuring our communities that they are, and will always be, part of us."

She does not deny the attack on the Christchurch mosques is still having an effect. The police presence at the events will be heavier and more visible than it might have been. Some Muslim groups have pulled out of the festivities this weekend, finding it still too soon to be celebrating. But the Anak Malaysia di New Zealand is one Muslim nationality that plans to attend the Sunday event, seeing it as "new beginning".

Flowers on a wall at the Botanical Gardens in Christchurch, New Zealand. Photo / AP

"Most of us still feel sad about what happened in Christchurch," said their deputy chairman Rasli Ramlan, "but we are feeling safe because the police and New Zealanders have made us feel safe."

Until three weeks ago, there was no reason to doubt they would be safe and it needs to be said, there is not much reason to doubt it now. One man will make his second appearance in court today charged with murder in Christchurch on March 15. One man.

We should not inflate a lone gunman's importance by suggesting he represents any threat larger than himself. Too much conjecture of that kind has been heard in the aftermath of the massacre. It is one of the ways that this sort of horror damages the whole community.

But it especially hurts Muslim communities that are naturally fearful of copycat attacks. It takes time for everyone to realise how unlikely those are. In the meantime, it is only prudent for security to be heightened around possible targets. But it is also wise, and brave, for groups such as Anak Malaysia to refuse to be cowered now.

As they say, "The police and New Zealanders have made us feel safe." The place of Muslims in this country is more secure now than before one man tried to scare them away.

They are standing up proudly for themselves in their traditional attire and they know they are more widely accepted than before. The rest of New Zealand has admired their response to adversity as much as they have appreciated the country's embrace after this outrage against them.

As normal life returns it is already possible to say New Zealand is not the same, it is better.