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City to jump on the peace train

Jonathan Guildford

Christchurch, its citizens and several community groups have been honoured with bravery awards for their response to the mosque attacks.

The Royal Humane Society of New Zealand presented the awards at a ceremony launching the Christchurch Invitation: Mahia Te Aroha at the James Hay Theatre last night.

The city was also given a Peace Train from British singer-songwriter Yusuf Islam, better known as Cat Stevens, who announced the special gift in a video message.

The battery-powered, ride-along model Peace Train, a reference to his 1971 hit of the same name, has four carriages to carry children and families, and operates without tracks.

The locomotive is often used at festivals and special occasions as a way to spread the message of peace and inclusion to children, Islam’s charity website states.

The Press understands it is expected to arrive in the city in the coming months and will be operated from a public space, free for all to use.

The Christchurch Invitation comes from members of the city’s Muslim community and is described as a pathway of hope in the wake of the shootings that claimed 51 lives on March 15, 2019.

Governor-General and the society’s patron Dame Patsy Reddy presented seven awards. The recipients of those were: Masjid An-Nur and the Linwood Islamic Centre and their communities, St John, Canterbury District Health Board staff, Union and Community Health Centre Piki Te Ora, New Zealand Police and to the city and citizens of Christchurch.

The society’s president, Austin Forbes, QC, earlier said the gold medal awards were only given in exceptional circumstances. Just two had been awarded in the past 50 years. The other one also went to Christchurch and its citizens following the February 2011 Christchurch earthquake. The sold-out event also featured several key speeches from prominent community leaders such as Dame Reddy, Christchurch mayor Lianne Dalziel, the Christchurch Invitation co-founder Anthony Green, Dr Te Maire Tau, U¯ poko of Nga¯ i Tu¯ a¯ huriri, Imam Sheik Gamal Fouda, and other young representatives of the city.

Green, speaking at the event, said Christchurch had a unique opportunity to build on the extraordinary acts of aroha and support that unified the city in the days and weeks following the attacks.

‘‘Something powerful happened here – in the midst of tragedy, we saw our shared humanity and came together in ways that reverberated around the world. Christchurch and New Zealand chose compassion over hate and that resonated with people everywhere.’’

Sara Qasem, daughter of shooting victim Abdelfattah Qasem, read a poem named Labels in honour of her father.

She hoped by doing this it would encourage others to ‘‘choose courage’’.

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2021-07-24T07:00:00.0000000Z

2021-07-24T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://fairfaxmedia.pressreader.com/article/281603833492006

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