The `darkest day’

New Zealand Prime Minister  was stately and firm in the hour of great tragedy that had visited her country when a white racist killed 49 Muslim worshippers in two mosques in the tiny island of  Christchurch on Friday-March 15. It was a rare display of courage of human emotion empathizing with the victims and their families and an unwavering commitment to uphold the values that her nation cherishes .

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern ‘condemnation of the attack was unequivocal . She did not leave any gaps in her words  when she called the March 15 as ” one of New Zealand’s darkest days.”

   

Dark day is a symbolic of the times when the human values are trashed under the  violent acts of terrorism driven by hatred of the communities .This heart-wrenching definition breaches the soul of the nation , because it describes the act of terror as  a nightmare that darkens the lives of the survivors of the victims , the place where these atrocities occur , but what she meant that her nation has been darkened across the communities . She did not look for alibis to denounce the act of the terror .

Ms. Arden not only  talked of the darkness, but also held out a promise of a light when she told the terrorist and his sympathisers that , “You may have chosen us — but we utterly reject and condemn you.” It requires guts  to say so , and  she meant it , too . The leaders of this class are rare but they are committed to what they say.

And some of the skeptics who may conclude that it was her duty to say so  is a very simplistic way of avoiding the references to the complexities of the polarized world in which we are living in .Our religious and ethnic identities matter  more to us than the values to which we pay our lip service .

She was  real and she sounded and acted real. It was clear from her expressions  wherein she moderated her anger with the sense of duties that a head of the government has toward her people of all communities. This stood illustrated , when she said ,” Christchurch was the home of these victims. For many, this may not have been the place they were born. In fact, for many, New Zealand was their choice. ” And she went  on to add  with a great message that should serve as a lesson to many leaders in the  world ,” For those of you questioning how this could have happened here, we — New Zealand — we were not a target because we are a safe harbour for those who hate. We were not chosen for this act of violence because we condone racism, because we are an enclave for extremism. We were chosen for the very fact that we are none of these things. Because we represent diversity, kindness, compassion, a home for those who share our values, refuge for those who need it. And those values, I can assure you, will not, and cannot, be shaken by this attack.”

We are a proud nation of more than 200 ethnicities, 160 languages. And amongst that diversity we share common values. And the one that we place the currency on right now  is our compassion and support for the community of those directly affected by this tragedy. And Secondly, the strongest possible condemnation of the ideology of the people who did this.”

This should serve as a synopsis for the world leaders who are often confronted with this kind of situations, but the choice of their words is different, and often wrapped in ambiguities. Many a times, they are looking for escape routes to avoid the outright condemnation. At times, there are leaders who say that they can understand the pain of those families who lost their near and dear ones  in the violence. This is not even lip service but a way of  assuring the perpetrators of the acts of terrorism, that they treat it as a routine tragedy and not an act of terror that deserves condemnation . The condemnation in such situations  is much more than uttering the 11-letter word , it shows how much the bloodshed is despised and rated as despicable .

In immediate analysis , it is obvious that the gunman who committed the atrocity in Christchurch was full of hate for the immigrant Muslims . This has made many to conclude this was an assault on Muslims all the way  for the simple reason that they were shot dead in mosques, their places of worship. This is true. But the truer fact is that it is the hate among the communities that is driving the extremist elements to go in for such horrible massacres. We have seen it  in our state, in our neighbouring country, America , France , U K . It is time for the leaders to echo in chorus what New Zealand Prime Minister has said. That may dampen the hate-mongers across the world.

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