As regular readers of my blog will know, I don't usually mention current world events on my blog ... but sometimes something happens that is so terrible that I just cannot refrain from making a comment.
Today is one such day.
Almost every morning, after getting up and making Sue a cup of tea, I sit down at my PC, read and answer my emails, and then see what is being reported on the news. This morning I did that ... and was confronted by headlines about the terrorist attack on two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand.
At present the details are still very sketchy, but the news reports indicate that at least forty innocent people have been shot and killed in two separate but linked attacks that took place on Friday, the day when Muslim men and women will always try to go to the mosque to pray.
I know that there are many people who follow my blog in New Zealand, and that some live in or near Christchurch. I would like to offer my condolences, sympathy, and moral support to all the people affected by what has happened, be they the family of one of the people who has been killed or wounded, a member of the emergency services who are dealing with what seems to be an ongoing incident, or anyone who lives in New Zealand in general and Christchurch in particular.
Today is one such day.
Almost every morning, after getting up and making Sue a cup of tea, I sit down at my PC, read and answer my emails, and then see what is being reported on the news. This morning I did that ... and was confronted by headlines about the terrorist attack on two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand.
At present the details are still very sketchy, but the news reports indicate that at least forty innocent people have been shot and killed in two separate but linked attacks that took place on Friday, the day when Muslim men and women will always try to go to the mosque to pray.
I know that there are many people who follow my blog in New Zealand, and that some live in or near Christchurch. I would like to offer my condolences, sympathy, and moral support to all the people affected by what has happened, be they the family of one of the people who has been killed or wounded, a member of the emergency services who are dealing with what seems to be an ongoing incident, or anyone who lives in New Zealand in general and Christchurch in particular.
Thanks Bob - I live in Auckland and heard the first reports of this about 1330 NZST as I was on the way to a meeting - came out about 1500 and it has been saturation coverage ever since - as you can imagine. I just posted some newly painted figures on my blog and wondered if I should mention it but decided not to.....
ReplyDeleteRross,
DeleteThe news was so horrifying that I felt that I could not let the day go by without communicating my thoughts and feelings viamy blog. I know that I have a lot of regular blog readers in New Zealand, and I wanted them to know that they and their country were in my thoughts,
All the best,
Bob
Cheers, Bob, and thanks for your good wishes -
ReplyDeleteThis one was pretty close to home: I live just two minutes' walk and just off the same avenue (Linwood) from where one of those massacres took place. It was formerly a Baha'i' Community Centre, and where I was married just over 29 years ago, and where, subsequently I used to take my toddler daughter to 'play group'. It is opposite the service station where I get my regular supplies of bread and milk.
Our PM called this 'unprecedented' by which one takes the meaning 'unprecedented in New Zealand'. It is hard to take in the scale of this murder - unprovoked, unreasoning and inexcusable. 49 deaths and 29 injured at the most recent reckoning.
I think there will be some serious questions asked about how the perpetrator(s) got by under the security radar, but I'm hoping there will not be any kind of knee-jerk over-reaction by Government. My sympathies go out to the Muslim community in this country, the families and friends of the murdered and injured, who in no way deserved what happened to them.
All the best,
Ion
Archduke Piccolo (Ion),
DeleteI guessed that you might live near to where these events took place ... but not that close.
The impact of the sheer number of people killed and wounded as a percentage of the population of both Christchurch in particular and New Zealand in general makes it an even worse tragedy. I doubt if there are many people in Christchurch who won't know someone who has been directly impacted by what has happened.
For a country like New Zealand - which has a reputation for being a happy and safe place to live - this must have been devastating, and will have a long-term effect on New Zealand's society for years to come.
I wish that I could personally express my sympathy to everyone who has been effected by what has happened, but I cannot. What I can hope is that this is in every sense a one-off.
All the best (and I hope that you and your family keep safe),
Bob
Hello Bob,
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely Terrible. There has to be a call for 'The Death Penalty' for the captured Terrorists- a jail term isn't the answer. Regards. KEV.
Kev Robertson (Kev),
DeleteIf I thought that the return of capital punishment would stop future attacks, I'd be willing to pull the lever myself. Unfortunately, as we have learned in the UK from bitter experience, the death of a terrorist only serves to create another 'martyr' for the cause they espouse.
I don't know what the answer is. I wish that I did ... but I agree that letting perpetrators spend the rest if their lives in prison doesn't seem a just punishment for such a terrible crime.
All the best,
Bob
Hi Bob and Kev -
DeleteI am puzzled to know why I am less angry about what happened here than, say, Israeli attacks on Gaza or the US siege of Venezuela. I do hope the perpetrators get caught and jailed.
Death penalty? No. But I won't have any sympathy if for any reason they, like Anders Breivik, think their human rights have been violated for any reason. Such fanatics had no regard for anyone else's rights.
What I'm feeling is contempt: the treachery, bigotry and ignorance; the unreasoning inexcusability of it all.
But, for mine, it is so much the worse when governments behave in exactly the same fashion, with even less excuse or reason. Individuals may be brought to book, and executed or incarcerated according to the laws of the land. Who will bring to book governments that claim immunity for their crimes?
Cheers,
Ion
Archduke Piccolo (Ion),
DeleteYour feelings might well change over the next few weeks as the full impact of what has happened begins to make itself felt on the society in which you live. At the height of the IRA bombing campaign in the UK I think that most people I knew felt a mixture of ongoing resentment, defiance, and resignation ... with a touch of anger in the immediate aftermath of an attack.
In my opinion, individuals like Mr Breivik gave up their rights when they chose to do what they did. They should be allowed to live out the rest of their natural lives in conditions that remind them every day of the results of their actions. It might drive them insane, it might make them realise the consequences of what they have done, and it might even make them express true regret and contrition.
Governments can write their own rules, and when asked to account for their actions, will 'sacrifice' a convenient scapegoat, usually an individual or group that will not have the resources to defend themselves adequately in court.
All the best,
Bob
My sympathies go out to all affected and to all the Kiwis in bloggerland. I have been to Christchurch, and in spite of the lingering effects of the earthquake some time ago I thought it was a pretty city and a friendly one.
ReplyDeleteFitz-Badger,
DeleteAlthough I haven't been to Christchurch (or New Zealand, for that matter), my brother and sister-in-law have, and they loved the place.
It seems to have been hit hard over the past few years, and one hopes that its people will show the same resilience after these events as they did after the earthquake.
I wish them all well.
All the best,
Bob
It seems a dark world at present Bob
ReplyDeleteYou echo my feelings and sentiments
:(
Geordie an Exiled FoG,
DeleteThe world can be a very dark place at times ... but luckily it isn't like that all the time.
All th best,
Bob
We are all so much more the same than we are different. The very thought of slaughtering people who are literally your neighbors because of their faith, their language, the color of their skin, or other perceived differences is a rejection of our common humanity, and cannot be sufficiently condemned.
ReplyDeleteGonsalvo,
DeleteI totally agree.
All the best,
Bob