15.03.2019, Covid-19 et al

In the aftermath of the events which took place in Christchurch on 15.03.2020 I added a new page to this site, to consider issues which are hard to make sense of. My reflections have currently extended to embrace Covid-19 (novel coronavirus). 

Anzac Day 2020 - remembering Ann: a day with a difference

(Saturday 25th April – day 31 of level 4 lockdown)

Every other Anzac day I’ve spent in New Zealand (or in Australia) has felt very different to this one, with a huge focus on remembering the events in Gallipoli in 1915 – 15. Under normal circumstances every place, large or small, comes to a halt when dawn services are held on Anzac day. Each year folk remember or acknowledge the sacrifices made by so many people for their countries, particularly those during WW1. Anzac day itself is the anniversary of the day in 1915 when thousands of (mainly) young soldiers landed on the beaches there. Australia and New Zealand have embraced this date as a key one in their identities as nations. Many more soldiers died in other battles during WW1 (e.g. on the battlefields of the Somme) than in those which took place on that peninsula in Turkey however, and this is also beginning to be recognised.

This year I have seen a few poppies outside houses, some of which have clearly been made by children (who are currently being home schooled). Anzac biscuits in commemorative tins are on sale in supermarkets, but poppies have not been on sale. The battle this year is against coronavirus, with the nation tuning in to daily updates from the war on Covid-19 cabinet at the Beehive [parliament building in Wellington].

Very early this morning I heard about the death of one individual who may have succumbed to the virus last week in Scotland. Ann was my stepmother. She was 82. She married my father on her 65th birthday, a month before I moved from Caithness to Dunedin – for both of them this was their 2nd marriage. Ann spent 4 years happily married to my father (who was 10 years older), until he died.  Ann missed him terribly. She subsequently developed dementia, and moved to a care facility in Edinburgh. There were some cases of coronavirus in the home where she was living, but Ann had not been tested.

I’ll always remember Ann for her strong personality and particularly for the interests we shared – the arts, reading, singing (especially choral music), green politics and (unsuccessfully) trying to put the world to rights.  Ann was a member of the Green Party in Stirling, which is where she met my father – Dad (a retired engineer) was energy spokesperson for the Scottish Greens. They lived together in Stirling for several years. They enjoyed some National Trust for Scotland cruises together – especially one to Italy. Earlier in her life Ann had lived in France for a time and was a Francophile, attending meetings of the Alliance Française when she could. She took great pleasure in slowly cooking French recipes - to my father’s annoyance as he enjoyed the meals (and the wines) but not waiting for them! Ann had a laid back mañana attitude to life which I appreciated and share as my timing has also always been terrible (i.e. we also both specialised in taking our time / being late!).

Ann’s ex husband and her daughter (my stepsister) live in France. Most of her family live in southern England. Only Thomas (my stepbrother) and his family live in Edinburgh.  It’s so hard at present for families and friends when saying goodbye to people, planning funerals, acknowledging passings. The funeral will be in Edinburgh on Monday. So much falls on Thomas’ shoulders as he plans for this. I’d love to be there too, to stand with the family to say farewell to a lovely person.

No figures in this email. Instead I’ve talked about one individual who was a very significant figure for part of my life.

16.04.2020

More musings on changed ways of doing things as we launch into day 22 (week 4) of NZ's shutdown

Who can go to the supermarket?

Single parents who go with their kids to the supermarket have had abuse hurled at them as only 1 person is supposed to be going to the supermarket from each household - but what else are they supposed to do? Similarly folk with intellectual disabilities often need to be accompanied if they go to the supermarket. It’s so easy to point the finger unfairly, & so difficult to come up with fair guidelines! 

Taking exercise locally?

There are no precise guidelines on what is considered local. As a cycle nut who doesn’t own a car I would normally think nothing of cycling to the other side of town by bike – for me that would be a local journey, but many other people wouldn’t take the same viewpoint! So it’s hard to know if my cycle trips or daily walks since the shutdown (which have always been local, in that I’ve started from and finished at home) have been strictly within the “local” guidelines. I’m currently limiting my trips to a much narrower geographical area than I usually would but I enjoy being out & about & I tend to cycle or walk further / for longer than many other people would do. The advice the public has been given is that “using private vehicles for transport is only allowed if you are accessing essential services, shopping for food or medicine or if you’re an essential worker travelling to, from or as part of your essential work”. I don’t take my bike to other places on the back of a motor vehicle, or head off in a car to go for a walk [or whatever!] as I often see other people doing, but I’m not going to “dob them in” for their prohibited trip, and ask whether their journey is really necessary. I don’t think that close surveillance is helpful at a time when many people are feeling very stressed. After all, taking exercise is important to maintain physical and mental health, and under more normal circumstances most people would be applauding others for taking exercise, or trying to emulate them, not hounding them.

I’m still continuing to periodically find new lanes and connections between streets during my daily hill walks. I now always take a receptacle of some sort with me in case I come across any brambles, as there are still a few around, and they are always a colourful and flavoursome addition to my home made breakfast muesli.

Hatches, matches & dispatches (et al) – connecting virtually?

Rites of passage are particularly difficult at present with the prohibition on social gatherings. Virtual gatherings enable people to keep in touch, but they’re not a patch on the real McCoy, and it’s important to remember that not everybody is online. Education has currently shifted online here, which significantly discriminates against poorer households and Māori or Pacifica communities. The gap will widen between the haves and the have-nots with each additional week the shutdown lasts.

The more marginalised members of society are always the ones who are hit hardest. It’s harder for these people to keep up to date with the latest advice about Covid-19. These people are also the ones who’re more susceptible to the virus.

Buying the Saturday paper

Something I like to do is to buy a paper on a Saturday – I don’t buy a daily paper. The papers here have slimmed down greatly since the shutdown came into effect, which shows how much of their bulk is supported by advertising. But I still like to continue my ritual. This proved to be a less easy process on Easter Saturday morning (day 17 of shutdown here). The supermarkets had been closed for one day: Good Friday is a public holiday here, as is Easter Monday, but this year because of the limited outlets for buying essential items supermarkets only had to close on Good Friday. I ended up cycling a 16 km circuit and returning without a paper (or anything else) as I wasn’t prepared to wait in a long queue. I cycled past 3 supermarkets, all of which had long queues (exacerbated by the 2 metre physical distancing rule, and the one in, one out policy), & I also tried the 3 dairies (corner shops) which were on my route home after the third supermarket: 2 dairies had no queues but had run out of papers, and the other one had a queue ☹. Oh well, it was a nice autumn day to go cycling! If I had remembered my work ID I could have queue jumped as health workers, being essential workers, are currently permitted to go to the front of the queue in supermarkets. Amazingly on all of the occasions when I had previously visited supermarkets since the shutdown started there were no queues, so Saturday provided a hard earned lesson – that I need to take my work ID card with me when I go shopping.

(To conclude this tale - after I had had lunch, read more of my whodunnit, done some gardening, & had been for a walk I headed out again – by 6 pm there were no queues in either of the 2 supermarkets I visited, and my ID was unnecessary 😊).

Social versus physical distancing

I prefer to use the term “physical distancing” because it’s really important to maintain social contact with other people at all times, but particularly now. It’s interesting how hard it is to maintain a 2 metre physical distance from other people (roughly my late father’s height, if he was lying down) - the people I work with have intellectual disabilities and normally it’s extremely difficult for them to understand not to burst other people’s bubbles and that everyone likes to have some personal space. The current Covid-19 restrictions go too far in this respect – being 2 metres apart is a huge bubble and is uncomfortable for everyone. I wonder what the optimum physical distance for people to be apart while connecting socially with others is – a couple of feet, perhaps? It is different in different cultures – for example here the hongi [touching noses] is a key form of greeting used particularly by Māori people; in France people often greet each other by kissing. These forms of connecting with others are currently off-limits. 

The numbers game: is NZ’s early shutdown paying off and “flattening the curve”?

A preamble: although we’ve all been looking at the daily figures and trying to interpret them this isn’t a game - we’re talking about people’s lives here!

The figures to date appear to indicate that the strike hard & early approach is paying off, if I again compare NZ and Scotland’s figures:

    NZ (on 15.04.2020) – 1386 cases [confirmed + probable], 700 recovered, 9 deaths

    Scotland (on 15.04.2020) – 6478 cases, 699 deaths

These figures have to be interpreted cautiously by laypeople, however. Covid-19 arrived here on 26th February (from Iran) and in Scotland on 1st March (from Italy), but the speed of the governments’ responses has been different. Here the amount of community transition of the virus is low, and has ostensibly remained steady at about 2% - however, 11% of cases here are currently of unknown origin, and are being investigated. There has also not been widespread testing of the population – testing has been restricted to those with some symptoms. The investigation of cases and following up of contacts is a very important part of the measures to counter Covid-19: without this we won’t know the true amount of community transmission. If NZ’s rate of community transmission is as high as 13% (which is possible if the cases of unknown origin resulted from community transmission) the current strategy clearly isn’t working, and the rate of infection will increase when the period of shutdown ends. Currently 39% of the cases here are linked to overseas travel, and 48% of cases were close contacts of others who had the virus. Some clusters of cases have been traced back to large gatherings of people (including weddings, a conference, group travel, and a school). Sadly, four residential facilities for elderly people now have had clusters of the virus: two of these are in Christchurch, and six people from one of the Christchurch rest homes have now died. All of the people who have died here and elsewhere have been elderly, but that doesn’t mean that their lives were less important than those of younger people. We can’t be complacent as more people in their 20’s have been infected with the virus in NZ than in any other age group – and Queenstown, a magnet for young people and international travellers, has had a much higher rate of infected people than the rest of the country. Also more females here have contracted the virus than males – is that something to do with females being more physical in how we interact with others? And Interestingly it’s also apparent that (so far) in Aotearoa Asian, Māori and Pacific people have been less affected than others...

Because of the length of time it takes for an infected person to show symptoms the numbers of cases we’re seeing now reflect what the policy was 2 – 10 days ago. Today’s figures represent the infection rate from about a week into the shutdown period. To date only 1 – 2 weeks’ worth of the effects of the shutdown is reflected in NZ’s figures: that is a very short time to make major decisions from. The logistics of how NZ will come out of shutdown, and when, is a huge question, as yet unanswered.

Because of the lag factor between infection and showing symptoms I anticipate that quarantining of anybody coming into the country will continue to be mandatory for some time, and that it will be a long time before international travel (especially long haul travel) picks up again – possibly 18 months to 2 years? This will have a huge impact on NZ’s economy, which is heavily reliant on tourism and on overseas income from the education sector. Time will tell.

Creativity

Afterthought

The last time when I saw lots of chalk messages and pictures on the streets was following the mosque shootings last year. That was on 15th March - 13 months ago. The world was different then, but to put things in perspective last year 51 people died from the shootings and 20 from the eruption on White Island, whereas so far 9 have died from infections by Covid-19. Memories are short, but the implications for those affected by the shootings or by the eruption on White Island (and on their families and friends) haven’t gone away: many lives were permanently changed by these experiences. One bit of news which has been overshadowed by Covid-19 coverage is that last week the remaining burns victims who survived the White Island eruption were discharged from hospital. But unlike the mosque shootings or the eruption on White Island, which directly affected a small number of people, the current pandemic is forcing everybody to think about fundamental issues like life and death. The Covid-19 restrictions directly affect us all: this feels so much more real. Because of this, and because many folk now have more time to do so, it is possible to bypass the superficial and to have deeper conversations with people. Try it!

Conclusion: another song

This is a wonderful a cappella version of “Bridge over Troubled Water”

https://www.facebook.com/TheVoicePlay/videos/218713779047699/

Enjoy

Thursday 9.04.2020  

Miscellaneous thoughts at the start of day 15 of NZ's shutdown!

I’ve been adding to this hotchpotch of thoughts over the last week. They’re a bit random, and are in no particular order, as thoughts tend to be!

Covid-19 & comparisons

It is difficult to escape from conversation about the virus here or anywhere! As an update on my last email, as of 8.04.2020 there have been many fewer [confirmed + probable] cases (1210) and deaths (1) here so far than in Scotland (4565 cases, 366 deaths), but when making international comparisons it is important to start from the same point, to compare the same variety of apples with the same variety of apples, and to do so in the same way. The numbers of folk affected here are still increasing, but the rate of increase may be lessening – it’s still a bit early to say, however. NZ’s first cases came later than in the UK, and the government here imposed shutdown at an earlier stage than many other countries did because it has seen & learned from what has been happening overseas. As every country has been counting [or not] the people affected, or who they believe have been affected, differently, caution is needed when making comparisons – e.g. there has been some community transmission among people here who have been asymptomatic - few of these individuals will have been tested, so these cases won’t show in the figures. The rate of community transmission does appear to be lower here though (approx. 2%) than in many other places.

Can fallible human beings really keep safe?

Fear is palpable here – one of my work colleagues is driving me nuts (even more so than usual!) with her over reactions... but precautions can only go so far. Every human being makes mistakes sometimes, and being suspicious of other people or condemning them for what we perceive to be their shortcomings is easy to do but is unhelpful and unfair.

Technical changes and challenges; changed ways of doing things

The shutdown experience has shown me that I’ll never be a convert to online church or other activities which are conducted only online – I prefer the real McCoy, although I think that I / you already knew that! I’ve had a lot of difficulty & have wasted a lot of time trying to download Zoom, which is how church is doing Homegroups & the after church service chat bit;  other things which I enjoy – e.g. singing events – are also using this medium. My notebook is Windows 10S & won’t accept Zoom, but fortunately church services are via YouTube which the notebook tolerates. Besides, as I’m now spending all day in front of a computer at work instead of getting out & about to see people I find it difficult to get enthusiastic about online church activities, with yet more time in front of a screen. We can’t do everything we want to do in life anyway!

I’ve continued with my household rearrangements by banishing my notebook to the study (last week I had online connection in the lounge, but my tablet has now died!) - I’ve made my study the only place where I have online connections in my house. I’m listening to CDs more – and am putting ones I no longer wish to keep into a box of items to give to a charity shop when they are able to resume taking stuff again [but please note that charity shops are not essential services - they are currently shut and are unable to accept stuff at the moment].  I guess that I’ll be reading (yes, real books!!) more in the weeks to come rather than doing church or other activities online – and I’ll be mainly be doing this in my kitchen or in the lounge. Have just finished reading a whodunnit – enjoyable escapism.

Looking outside our bubbles

It’s easy to keep looking inward during these times, to focus only on our own concerns and to forget about the wider world. Donations to charities have plummeted (both financial and in physical assistance – the former because people are forgetting about others or are now financially unable to assist; the latter because physical assistance is currently not possible).  The needs are still out there – we appear to have forgotten about people in refugee camps or people who are still struggling after recent earthquakes, bushfires or other disasters. One of the few countries in the world which hasn’t yet been affected by Covid-19 is Vanuatu – one of our friendly Pacific island neighbours, which I had the privilege of visiting a few years ago. This week however Vanuatu was struck by Cyclone Harold – an immediately devastating event which has had minimal coverage in the media because of the dominance of Covid-19 in the news currently.

Surreal society?

A few days ago I was speaking to an elderly lady when out on one of my evening walks - she said that life is currently weird & it’s a bit like living in something out of “Apocalypse Now”! Pretty accurate! Christchurch has previously coped with large scale disasters but people were able to connect physically and socially at these times, and to help each other. Now it’s a very different situation as people have been told not to do many things, are more suspicious of others and are afraid that they might burst other people’s bubbles. Will these ways of thinking and acting linger when shutdown ends?  I sincerely hope not. 

Losses

Last week Radio Sport folded. A number of NZ magazines bit the dust last week as a result of the lockdown – all the NZ Bauer media publications, which include long loved Kiwi favourites like “North & South”, “NZ Women’s Weekly” and “The Listener”... these are some of the first big casualties of many in the changed society we’re moving into.

Waste

Fruit & veg shops & butchers which have been forced to close for now have had to throw out a lot of fresh stock, & have been unable even to give it away because the normal channels for doing so aren’t available; there are also many food suppliers who now have no outlet for the food they have produced – so much waste! There’s also all that waste from personal protective equipment, including masks (many of which are being worn unnecessarily by members of the public), gloves, empty plastic bottles of hand sanitiser etc etc. I expect that very little of all this stuff will be recycled – or even be able to be recycled, given the concerns re contamination & NZ’s [& other “developed” countries’] poor record of recycling, & because much of this waste is comingled & therefore can’t be recycled anyway. Most councils in NZ aren’t accepting stuff for recycling during the “State of Emergency” – everything is going into landfill. Perhaps now is a good time to relook at which type of rubbish goes in which bin. Remember that only a small percentage of rubbish is actually recycled - bottle lids or soft plastics should not be put into our recycle bins (these can’t be recycled in NZ) and only loose items should be placed in the recycle bin – i.e. don’t put your recyclable rubbish into the bin in plastic bags (https://cccweb.cwp.govt.nz/services/rubbish-and-recycling/yellowbin/). And don’t flush wipes down the toilet – they won’t biodegrade, but will only generate more work for plumbers (and more expense for you).

What I am enjoying 😊 😊 😊

Fewer cars around

A less polluted & quieter environment

Seeing more cyclists, especially more female cyclists

Seeing more walkers, joggers, runners, skateboarders... even a young unicyclist!

People’s creativity when connecting – e.g. seeing folk catching up with their neighbours while sitting on chairs at the opposite side of the street

Still being able to connect with others by email, phone or by sending and receiving real letters

Teddy spotting

Seeing a home made placard on my way to work each day which thanks essential workers

Saying “Hi” to others

Acknowledging bus drivers whose jobs here must currently be particularly tedious with so few passengers (due to strict rules about who can currently use buses, the spacing required & the bureaucracy involved when travelling by bus)

Radio NZ (& other folk working in the media) – many broadcasters are now working from home but the programmes they put together are still great!

My new routine of daily after work walks up & down the hill – getting to know adjacent parts of the city better

Not getting chlorine damaged hair when I exercise (no broken teeth on combs!)

Picking brambles while I exercise – yum, free refreshments (which also provide an opportunity for practising handwashing afterwards to remove the telltail stains!)

Reading about other people who have imaginative exercise routines – e.g. running a marathon in their back yards or trekking to Everest Base Camp using the stairs of their house (https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2020/apr/03/trekking-to-everest-base-camp-mountain-climbing-the-stairs-at-home) also provides great entertainment!

What I’m not enjoying ☹☹☹

My usual face to face activities being currently suspended – especially church, choir and swimming

Changes to my exercise routine

Physical distancing

Seeing so many folk on bikes in the dark without lights

Most of society going online

Seeing the effects of all this on everyone, particularly on marginalised members of society

Economic uncertainty

The bramble season coming to an end

A short video to watch

https://www.facebook.com/voicesrockcanada/videos/654821622007448/

This video is a tribute to all healthcare workers helping people get through this crisis. It was created by a Canadian friend’s Women Physicians RockChoir.  

I don’t belong to Facebook but could view it – very moving.

Easter

This must be the strangest Easter yet – certainly in my lifetime! Normally it is a highlight of the Church calendar, with contemplative music and services; in recent years I have spent Easter with friends at the national Folk Festival in Canberra, which has still given me the opportunity to sing Easter songs lustily with others on Easter Sunday, and to reflect more privately on what Easter is about – remembering Jesus’ resurrection. This weekend Easter will be less publicly acknowledged as its significance will be overshadowed by news of Covid-19’s effects on the world. But as individuals we can still celebrate Easter as we read the Bible and thank God for what He has done in our lives. If you’re not a Christian or if you’re an essential worker you can still appreciate Easter over the public holidays this weekend: I’m certainly ready for a short break, and am looking forward to briefly pressing the pause button!

Pause for thought

A friend from choir who has a strong Christian faith shared this:

Meditation based on the "chorus" of Psalm 46

Be still and know that I am God

Be still and know that I am

Be still and know that I

Be still and know that

Be still and know

Be still and

Be still

Be still

Be

More resources

If you’re stuck for things to do, here are some adventure films you can view from your armchair at no cost: https://explorersweb.com/2020/04/03/another-100-adventure-films-to-stream-for-free/, or if you’re concerned that you’re losing fitness you can participate in active workouts inside your house using these free online training programmes: https://netfitnetball.com.au/ or https://www.snow.org.au/snowactive/.

That’s all for now. Keep in touch, and enjoy those hot cross buns and / or Easter eggs after your exercise sessions! 

Thursday 2.04.2020

The shutdown continues. One week in, at the start of day 8 of lockdown... 

I’ll start with technical bit - the numbers game - but will keep it short as you’re probably also suffering from Covid-19 information overload.  I’ll compare the figures for the end of February with those at the end of March. On 29^th February NZ had 5 cases of Covid 19, all connected with foreign travel (mainly from travelling, & one was a close contact of a recent traveller). Roll on a month to the end of March & NZ has had 647 cases, with one death – the majority of cases are still connected with foreign travel or are close contacts of recent travellers, but some pockets of cases have emerged following some social gatherings  - I.e. there is now some evidence of community transmission.  The extent of this is unclear as many people who have been infected with Covid-19 have been asymptomatic, so there may currently be more community spread than there has appeared to be to date. The figures will continue to rise for some time because of the long incubation period and because more people are now being tested. NZ’s approach has been to try to contain the virus earlier on than other countries have done. Time will tell whether this approach is effective. Being a Scot, and as Scotland’s population is similar to NZ’s, I’ve been comparing Scotland’s figures on 31^st March – 1993 cases and 60 deaths. Ouch.

After a week of lockdown the country is settling into a new norm – well, sort of, as there are regular updates to accommodate, and frequent changes of direction for those of us who are “essential workers”. Living under a “State of Emergency”, with so many constraints on social contact, is something which is alien to most of us.  As a single person I’m used to being in social isolation each night, but my usual routine consists of a busy social life outside work (e.g. Monday night choir practice, Tuesday night church home group, Wednesday night attending talks & / - going for a swim etc etc), and that social life has temporarily gone.  I still have the routine of work, but work has changed too, with no home visits, and half of the community team being redeployed to work on the ward; those of us who’re still following up community clients are now following up people on our own & our colleagues’ caseloads by phone or by telemedicine (“Zoom”) meetings – so a rapid change to new ways of working, more time in front of a computer, and our building is locked so there is no mingling with our colleagues who’re working on the ward. These measures are designed to maintain the integrity of our “bubbles” and minimise the chance of spreading the Covid-19 virus. Next week we’ll learn how to use PPE – Personal Protective Equipment – i.e. masks, gowns, gloves, eye shields... it’s an emotionally draining and ever changing landscape.

So what am I doing to maintain some semblance of sanity when I’m not at work? Given that I can’t let off steam in the pool & as I need fresh air in my lungs, each day since last Monday (the first day when choir was cancelled) I’ve been going for walks up the hill after work (or for longer walks in the afternoons at weekends). My house is near the Heathcote River, at the foot of the Cashmere Hills, so there are lots of places to explore. Currently I’m trying to suss out where there are connections between cul-de-sacs and reserves up the hill,  using a bit of guesswork when looking at my street atlas (yes, I don’t have a smartphone & I prefer to work from real maps!)... I have found some nice paths & steps - my walks have generally been for over an hour (e.g. my first one in April was for 1 hour 50 minutes). I’m on a bit of a mission because the clocks go back this weekend & there will then be fewer hours of daylight after work, so my after work walk options from next week will be more limited (to places with better street lighting etc). Walking uphill & downhill doesn’t only stretch one’s legs but also gives time to reflect, to listen to the birds & to enjoy the quieter city, to look for teddies, to communicate with other people, to become more familiar with the local environment, to sample brambles when I need refreshment, or to compare houses as many / most of the houses up the hill are much posher than mine! And the weather has been lovely on some of these evenings – sunlight on the autumnal foliage and lots of leaves underfoot to scrunch on.

Yesterday I also noticed a sign saying that dog walkers should keep their dogs on a lead to minimise the chance of spreading Covid-19  - very few people were paying any attention to that – but I’ve only seen one of those signs so far! It has been nice to see more people walking or going for a run. Lots of bikes must have been brought out of garages or garden sheds over the last week as there are more cyclists about – it is particularly noticeable that there are more females on bikes than usual – possibly because the roads are so much quieter they feel more confident when cycling? While out & about I have also noticed that the local duck population hasn’t been observing social distancing...

I have also learned over the last week that it’s important to switch off from the news! I’ve moved my main laptop into the lounge instead of the kitchen, so that I have a break from it, and I’ve been reading more (I mainly read in the kitchen anyway so that I have easy access to supplies of coffee or tea). I’ve repaired some clothes, and I’ve also been listening to CDs from my collection – usually I mainly listen to Radio NZ. I’ve made some greetings cards too – but I’ve still neglected to do any house cleaning, so no change there!! 

Hang on in there!

Friday 27.03.2020  Nearing the end of NZ's 2nd day of lockdown...

It has been an interesting week, for sure – very different to the norm.

My house is near the foot of the Cashmere Hills so since Monday I’ve been going out for walks up the hill each evening because I have no choir practice, swimming or my other usual evening activities.  No problem with physical distancing although the numbers of walkers and cyclists have been gradually increasing over the course of the week, while the number of cars has been decreasing.  On Monday night the local hairdresser was doing a roaring trade & shops like takeaways were open, taking their final orders before they closed up shop on Wednesday night for 4+ weeks.... One of my colleagues attended his father-in-law’s funeral on Wednesday, the last day when funerals could be held until we’re back down to level 3 – only 4 of the family could be there because of the safe distance bit. Bye bye weddings etc! Tough stuff.

NZ shifted from level 3 to level 4 at 23.59 hrs on Wednesday – shutdown, with only essential services functioning (supermarkets, banks, medical services etc but not bike shops, to my extreme annoyance – what are those of us without cars supposed to do if our bikes break down?).  Only essential workers are out & about, travel out of region is now a no-no, and more people are working from home. Most buses are empty – they’re now operating on a Sunday timetable - & they can only be used for essential travel. Things have become much much quieter – like in the early hours of Christmas Day, but much more so! It was a lovely afternoon on Thursday though, and lots of folk were out walking or jogging when I got back from work. Lots of dogs with wagging tails. A few people are wearing masks now.

I haven’t had 4+ paid weeks off (drat!) because I’m an essential worker. At work some of the community team has been redeployed to work on the ward, but I’m still based with the community team which now = manning phones & doing phone updates with clients etc. We’re working very differently as the building is kept locked, we have to keep 2m apart (so only 1 person at a time in the kitchen), we can’t sit together at breaks & at meetings we are spread out in our large meeting room... Practically zilch visits – too risky for our vulnerable clients. Internet appointments with the consultant are an option for some. New norms!

There is now a shortage of workers to pick fruit crops, as many of these workers were formerly recruited from overseas – so some crops will go to waste... and the financial position for many people here is precarious as we lurch into recession. Many other people will lose their jobs, and it will be a very different country when NZ emerges from lockdown. NZ will not be able to rely so heavily on international tourism.

Covid-19 cases here are shooting up daily (now 368 cases in NZ with 8 in hospital, one critical) but large daily increases are to be expected over the next week or so – if the lockdown is effective hopefully the rate of increase should then slow down. Most of the cases so far have been linked with international travel – either those who travelled or those who have had close contact with travellers – although there has been a little community transmission.

Amidst all the dominance of Covid-19 news there has been some good news – the mosque shootings gunman admitted his guilt in court on Thursday 😊 -  there has been little coverage of this however.

There have been some positives from an environmental point of view too – very few flights are operating, it’s quieter & much more pleasant when I’ve been on my bike going to work. I can breathe freely & don’t have to gulp and rush when crossing some intersections. More people of all ages are cycling or walking. Families are communicating with each other. Birdsong can be heard more clearly – and I was delighted to see a fantail on returning from my walk tonight – not a bird I’ve seen a lot of in Christchurch.

Places look very different without tourists :

https://theconversation.com/friday-essay-the-uncanny-melancholy-of-empty-photographs-in-the-time-of-coronavirus-133615?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=The%20Weekend%20Conversation%20-%201568415013&utm_content=The%20Weekend%20Conversation%20-%201568415013+CID_aa003952550ad7e93899af118f4d4263&utm_source=campaign_monitor&utm_term=Friday%20essay%20the%20uncanny%20melancholy%20of%20empty%20photographs%20in%20the%20time%20of%20coronavirus

People are also acknowledging each other more – not everyone, of course, but a smile or a wave goes a long way. The “student army” has been helping some people who live alone, as social isolation is a major issue – 4+ weeks without physical contact – including that basic, touch – is a huge ask for many people. I’ve offered my services if anyone locally needs a dog walker for the next few weeks – it’ll be interesting to see if anyone takes me up on the offer!

I’ve received some delightful daily emails from NZ Geographic: https://www.nzgeo.com/together-at-home/ which should appeal to all ages.

And finally I like this picture which is from Scotland – a shot of Gourock’s “Wee Annie” statue:

Keep safe  😊

Friday 20th March, 2020    A year on, a week on - our rapidly changing world!

The mosque shootings took place in Christchurch on 15 March 2019. 51 people died, but many more people were directly impacted by these events. Earlier that day young people had been marching in central Christchurch because of their concerns about climate change. Forward on a year and the circumstances here and worldwide are very different!

A week before the anniversary of the mosque shootings here life was going on much as usual, apart from some restrictions faced by travellers travelling to or from some countries which had experienced rapid spread of the novel coronavirus, Covid 19. These places included China, Iran, South Korea & Italy. Despite this a National Memorial Service was planned here for the anniversary of the shootings, as many of the people who survived the shootings are still struggling from their injuries or from their changed circumstances. Many Cantabrians want to support members of the Muslim community here in their grief. Not everyone thinks this way – racism and white supremacism still exists here, and the gun lobby is still out there – but overall people here have become more willing to talk about these thorny issues over the last year, and many people were intending to show solidarity for their fellow human beings in Hagley Park last Sunday afternoon.

Then things changed. Very rapidly!  Daily! The Memorial Service was relocated to an inside venue, and then it was canned the day before the event. Security fears and fear of Covid 19 escalated.

Borders are closing, here and internationally. 14 day self isolation periods have been brought in for people arriving here from overseas. Now only citizens of New Zealand, and people who are New Zealand residents, are allowed to enter this country. Worldwide, people are stuck in the wrong country. International flights will soon be a thing of the past, for an indefinite period. People are panic buying, emptying supermarket shelves, stocking up on food and toilet rolls – fighting over them. Hand sanitiser stocks are low and some people are profiteering from people’s fear. Countries have gone into lockdown, schools have gone online, elderly people are being told to stay at home. Globally markets are plummeting and countries worldwide are going into recession, and are borrowing heavily to try to lessen the impact. More restrictions are being announced daily. There are similarities to Climate Change anxiety as there is considerable fear of Covid 19.

People are now indicating their concerns about climate change or are showing support for our fellow citizens of Christchurch online, because mass protests are no longer possible here, or in many other places. In New Zealand gatherings of more than 500 people outside and social gatherings of more than 100 people inside have been prohibited. Social media is the new norm for communication for many, and 24/7 news coverage isn’t helping folk, apart from fuelling fear. A year ago the gunman live streamed the shootings in 2 of Christchurch’s mosques. A more recent example of how unhelpful our electronically connected world is, and of how misinformation can be shared instantly online, can be illustrated by the occasions when a prominent world leader has referred to Covid 19 as the “China virus".  Chinese people have been on the receiving end of racial abuse here and worldwide since the virus’ origins have become known. When comments like this are not corrected more hate is generated.

Where will it all end? Normality seems to be elusive as we adjust, or try to adjust, to a rapidly changing world. Kindness is less evident, selfishness has been getting the attention of the media.

But there are things that you and I can do to change this. We can show concern for our elderly neighbours by visiting or phoning them to check that they are OK and by helping them to get things they need if they are unable to do this themselves. We can shop normally instead of panic buying, but we can also spend time with our marginalised neighbours. We can turn off our devices rather than follow the news 24/7, and instead use the time to connect with others face to face. We may not be able to travel internationally for a while, but we can go for a walk and enjoy the slightly less polluted air in our towns and cities during this time of change.

And if we have faith we can thank our Creator for making us and for the beautiful world he has placed us in. In the words of my favourite psalm:

³ When I consider your heavens,
    the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
    which you have set in place,
⁴ what is mankind that you are mindful of them,
    human beings that you care for them?

⁵ You have made them a little lower than the angels
    and crowned them with glory and honour.
⁶ You made them rulers over the works of your hands;
    you put everything under their feet:
⁷ all flocks and herds,
    and the animals of the wild,
⁸ the birds in the sky,
    and the fish in the sea,
    all that swim the paths of the seas.

⁹ Lord, our Lord,
    how majestic is your name in all the earth!

Psalm 8 vv 3  -  9, New International Version

Hang on in there, stay in touch, and don’t forget that smiles cost nothing! 😊

Monday 16.12.2019  Thoughts - contrasting circumstances, 9 months or 1 week on 

Just over 9 months ago (on 15 March) the mosque shootings took place in Christchurch, & 51 people died. Last Monday the volcano on White Island, in the Bay of Plenty, erupted, with 16 fatalities so far (likely to increase, given the extent of the burns people received). 2 bodies have not been recovered. There has been a lot of debate about the rights & wrongs of adventure tourism over the last week, & whether people should have been visiting NZ's most active volcano in the first place. As you may know, I lived in Whakatane for 3 years (until I moved to Christchurch in 2013), & I went a boat tour from Whakatane to White Island in February 2011. It was well organised & excellent briefings were given prior to the trip, so everyone was aware of what to expect. The tour was run very professionally, so my heart has gone out to those who were caught up in this event  Visiting White Island isn't an everyday activity - it's something you think about before doing it, as it involves visiting an active volcano: not everyone chooses to do this, or can afford to do it. In contrast worship is an everyday activity for many people, and you do not expect to be shot when you visit your place of worship, whether this is a mosque, a church or a synagogue. 

Sunday 15.09.2019  Tributes of Aroha (6 months on) et al...

“Our survival as a species depends on our ability to recognise that our well-being and the well-being of others are in fact one and the same”

 Marshall Rosenberg

Six months have now elapsed since the shootings in Christchurch which resulted in the deaths of 51 people, and which continues to impact hugely on the lives of many more. This artwork, “Unity”, was created by Rebecca Parnham and Simone Johnstone using wrappers from the many bunches of flowers which were placed outside Al Noor Mosque, Linwood Mosque and the Botanic Gardens after the events in March. It was on display this weekend in the exhibition “Tributes of Aroha” at Christchurch Art Gallery, together with some of the other written tributes, artworks and items which were placed outside the mosques and in other public places in response to the attacks.

One step forwards

There have been some encouragements since I last sent out a group email six weeks ago, including that in May more than NZ$1.1 million was donated by the international Jewish community to help to support the long term needs of those affected by the attack. 

Two steps back

There has also been a lack of progress towards countering hate, both here and overseas:

On a number of occasions various people in prominent leadership positions here and overseas have attributed the reason for mass shootings to mental illness. This is unhelpful and is untrue: some people hate other people, for a multitude of reasons - their views don’t mean that they are mentally unwell. Ill-considered statements like these only serve to stigmatise people with mental health problems, who are more likely to be hurt by others than they are to hurt other people. In contrast, there is a correlation between gun ownership and mass shootings. 

In the US many more of the mass shootings which have taken place since 9/11 have been perpetrated by white supremacists and other far-right extremists than were perpetrated by Islamic terrorists. Despite this the current administration has withdrawn most of the funding which was given to counter neo-Nazis, white supremacists and antigovernment militants. Funds have been directed instead towards fighting Islamic terrorism. The ongoing rhetoric of intolerance of people because of their race, ethnicity or immigration status has been unhelpful. This rhetoric is not unique to the US: similar views have been expressed by leaders of other countries. 

Has empathy fatigue set in here in New Zealand? Islamophobia is an ongoing concern, including public abusive rants, racist comments, taunts over clothing and threats of violence (particularly directed towards women). Vitriolic comments have been been made online towards Muslim candidates who are standing in next month’s local elections, in Christchurch, Lower Hutt and elsewhere. 

Hamimah Tuyan’s husband Zekeriya was the 51st person to die following the Christchurch shootings. Earlier this month Hamimah left Aotearoa with her children to return to life in Singapore. She received a lot of love and support after the shootings, but she had to leave for financial reasons. She was also concerned about a study from Victoria University of Wellington which found that about half of New Zealanders believe that Muslims’ values are incompatible with New Zealand values, that Muslims practice unacceptable customs and that they have negative attitudes towards women. Many also felt threatened by Muslims - Hamimah found this hard to reconcile with Kiwis’ initial solidarity with Muslims in the immediate wake of the attacks.  

Earlier this month the leader of the NZ National Party stated that New Zealanders don’t care about the Christchurch Call (the international dialogue in May 2019 which attempted to eradicate online extremism and terrorism). Simon Bridges’ comments were ill-judged as there have been several incidents internationally, largely directed against Muslims, where the perpetrators’ actions have been “inspired” by the manifesto of the Christchurch shooter.

Recently there have been several occasions when the name of the Christchurch shooter has been broadcast by the NZ media. I acknowledge that there is a very fine balancing act here - there is a right for free speech and the public does have a right to know, but as misinformation can be rapidly shared considerable caution is needed....

The shooter’s case will not been heard in the courts until next year, and it has been postponed by a month (to June 2020, after Ramadan). 

Gun reform, including the buyback of illegal weapons, is gradually happening here. Opposition towards this continues to be voiced by a small element of the population. There are also inconsistencies - e.g. kits that convert a standard pistol to work similarly to the banned semi-automatic firearms are still legally on sale. And a massive new “Gun City” superstore recently opened in Christchurch - it is sited prominently on one of the main routes into the city. 

Following the shootings the “Christchurch Response visa” offered permanent residency to victims and their family members if they were already living in New Zealand at the time of the attacks. 25 women were widowed as a result of the attacks, and many of them are now struggling financially (as well as emotionally). In order to support their families a “Christchurch Family Support visa” was proposed, which would have allowed the widows to nominate one overseas family member of their choice to apply for permanent residency. However, the proposed new visa failed to get the necessary backing in parliament. 

How inclusive are we really?

A popular song by NZ musician Dave Dobbyn, “Welcome Home”, includes these lines: 

Tonight I am feeling for you

Under the state of a strange land

You have sacrificed much to be here

There but for grace as I offer my hand

Welcome home, I bid you welcome, I bid you welcome

Welcome home from the bottom of my heart...

There’s a cloud the full length of these isles

Just playing chase with the sun

And it’s black and it’s white and it’s wild

All the colours are one...

Those colours clearly aren’t as inclusive as the song indicates. 

Yesterday I was introduced to a poem and to a picture which provide a lot of further food for thought.

REFUGEES

They have no need of our help

So do not tell me

These haggard faces could belong to you or me

Should life have dealt a different hand

We need to see them for who they really are

Chancers and scroungers

Layabouts and loungers

With bombs up their sleeves

Cut-throats and thieves

They are not

Welcome here

We should make them

Go back to where they came from

They cannot

Share our food

Share our homes

Share our countries

Instead let us

Build a wall to keep them out

It is not okay to say

These are people just like us

A place should only belong to those who are born there

Do not be so stupid to think that

The world can be looked at another way

Brian Bilston

Now read the poem from the bottom up. 

This poem really should challenge attitudes, but I was talking about it with a woman yesterday after we had contemplated it. She believed that “Christchurch is filling up with refugees and asylum seekers”, and that they’re not the same as us, and “never will be”. This is factually incorrect: proportionately New Zealand takes a much smaller number of refugees per head of population than many other countries, including Australia... and New Zealanders are not a clone, but we’re drawn from many different backgrounds. The diversity here is part of what makes New Zealand unique. 

Her comments reminded me of a quote from George Orwell’s Animal Farm “All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others”...

LAST SUPPER

Sam Wortelhock was a passenger in a car travelling over Sydney Harbour Bridge when her version of The Last Supper appeared to her:

She had closed her eyes feeling sleepy and saw a scene of the final meal on earth. The journey home felt long as she knew that the mental image she had seen was going to be her most exciting painting to date.  What the painting shows us is a gathering with the powerful backdrop of Uluru (the name in Pitjantjara means Meeting Place). An Elder has gathered together the last remaining members of the wild animal kingdom.  He is the only man willing to own the demise of our natural world, mainly because like the animals he has gathered, he too understands what it is like to have your land and traditional lives taken away.  It is through his suffering and loss that he understands.   For most of the animals their habitat has been taken and given to cattle and sheep.  The subsequent loss of biodiversity has meant that much of the herbage has died and soils have eroded and become dust to be taken away by the wind.  Therefore the final meal is a feast of hamburgers.  The homogenisation of our produce, our land, our choices has come to this table in what the poem calls “A shameful spread”.   In the background of the painting we see a kangaroo boxing a cow, wanting his land back.  On the cave walls we see a painting of a Thylacine.  The thylacine lived at Uluru and predates the dingo by 2000 years.  Man brought the dingo just like man brought the cattle and sheep.  The thylacine is an example in history of how interfering with nature can be dangerous and how by observing nature’s nuances can be useful.  It is nature showing us something and it is up to us to listen and learn.

Sam’s description of the feast is below:

The last individual survivors of twelve species arrived to hear a great Elder speak.

“Our land of the Big Red Rock was passed over to the many edible creatures who were put here in great numbers in the hot cruel sun to dig and trample our soil.  Only the wind has the land’s ashes and dust to fall in vast valleys far under our seas.

Our land is so fragile that the Great Spirits knew that we were to touch it lightly.  So they created animals that hop with soft paws barely touching it nightly.

But it is so hard for the greedy to listen when all they do is to need.  So great farms are built, trees flattened, fences made for the containment of edible breeds.

But they miss the point of why we are here: that we are all sacred and depend

Upon each other to hold up the Great Living Web; one we now cannot mend.

And so it is sad, my fellow land lovers, that tonight we sit here at vast Uluru

A meeting place of great dignity

A symbol of Nature, of timelessness and spiritual gravity.

While we share a meal, this shameful spread.

A symbol of cultural depravity.”

Look closely at the picture and you’ll see that the food they have been given to eat is inappropriate to feed them. 

Rawa [= finally], this is the end of Māori language week and a Māori proverb sums the Australian Last Supper up well:

“Nā tō rourou, nā taku rourou, ka ora ai te iwi”

“With your food basket and my food basket the people will thrive.”

We need to cooperate more, and to work harder at sharing resources, if we are to make progress at addressing these inequalities, and if we are to accept and understand each other better. 

Here endeth today’s ramblings. 

Tuesday 6.08.2019: Change - me? Isn't that a bit radical?!

A lot can happen in 144 days. Or not! There has been some progress in NZ since the events of 15th March, but in some areas the progress made has not only been slow, but has been in a reverse direction. The main gain is that, overall, people are more willing to talk about some of the thorny issues around race and discrimination in Aotearoa. Words alone don’t lead to change, however. We have to act on our beliefs if the status quo is to change. 

One step forward, two steps back:

5 days after the Christchurch attacks a student at Auckland university expressed his extreme views on immigration and colonisation. It took the university almost a month to formally take action. The university does not appear to have got the right  balance between free speech and hate speech yet. 

A 44 year old white supremacist businessman spread the original livestream video of the Al Noor Mosque attack (which he thought was “awesome”) and another version of it which added a “kill count”. He continues to have “strong and unrepentant views towards the Muslim community”, and was jailed for 21 months. 

An application was made to review the classification of the March 15 terror attacks livestream video as objectionable. The livestream video is still classified as objectionable material, because it depicts and promotes extreme violence and terrorism .

A 34 year old man who shouted abuse at Muslims outside Al Noor mosque in April (while wearing a Donald Trump T-shirt) was recently sentenced to 10 months of supervision. 

The gun buy back period is now under way - until December there is an amnesty period when illegal weapons can be handed in anonymously. Those with prohibited registered firearms will receive financial compensation. New firearm legislation will be introduced later this month, including introducing a firearms register and increasing licensing fees (which have not been increased for years). Some gun owners have questioned whether a register will be helpful, and have opposed the increase in fees. 

Despite these changes there is still an appetite here for buying guns. NZ’s largest gun retailer has just opened a new mega store in Christchurch, directly opposite schools and homes. The company has opened three new mega stores nationwide so far this year, and another one is due to open later in the year. Consent for the Christchurch store was granted in January, but local householders were not consulted.

The gun lobby here, in the USA, and elsewhere, continues to be dominated by white males. White males are the main perpetrators of mass shootings. White male voices dominate politically, worldwide. They are often privileged males too, who have no understanding or experience of the situations faced by their constituents. So nothing changes! You may consider this a simplistic view, but things are unlikely to change until we have more diverse governing boards and governments which really reflect the people they represent and who did (or didn’t) elect them. When there is a fairer balance of genders, ages, ethnicities, religious backgrounds, educational and social backgrounds etc things can happen. We have seen this in Aotearoa, even though recent progress has been halting.

The news about further shootings in the USA at the weekend was galling. The shootings in El Paso, near the Mexican border, were the 250th mass shooting in the USA this year. The gunman reputedly approved of the shootings in Christchurch. He made a 9 hour drive to perform his deed, in a place where Mexicans have lived (and have dominated numerically)  for over a hundred years. This year there has now been more than one shooting a day of more than 4 people in the USA. Those numbers are hard to digest, aren’t they? No gun law reform there, and the frequency of these events in the USA hasn’t changed.

What about the victims? Putting names to the numbers. 

When details are given of the people who are represented in statistics news headlines become more meaningful. In a few short moments in March many people’s lives were changed forever. When 25 year old Sazada Akhter was shot she was paralysed from the chest down, and had severe internal injuries. She has undergone several operations but remains in hospital, nearly 5 months after the attack - she was one of the most seriously injured people in the attacks. Mohammed Mashud, her husband, was also unable to return to work. 

Positives:

Pat Campbell drew a cartoon for the “Canberra Times” which has gone viral. It is a silver fern, with the silhouettes of 51 people praying. “I did the image, I guess, for myself, but it has resonated with others as well. I’m glad if the image brings comfort or poignancy to people,” he said. “For me, it was about people doing their own thing, not harming anyone. The fern is about people coming together, as one. The fern tied to New Zealand, and they weren’t just Muslims, they were New Zealanders.”

A nine year old boy, Harry Tayler, was a close friend of 14 year old Sayyad Milne. Harry raised $420 and bought 51 kowhai trees - these were planted at Cass Bay last month as a colourful and lasting tribute to Sayyad and the 50 other people who died in the mosque attacks.

Sunday 16.06.2019: The long road to justice; the thorny issue of institutional racism & ethnicity

The Muslim community here continues to struggle following the shootings. There was an article in yesterday's paper about one of the doctors who saved the life of a four year old girl who was severely injured in the shootings. She has already had multiple surgeries, and will need many more in future. It was particularly hard for the doctor because he has children of his own, and he worships at the Al Noor Mosque. The community team I work with had our first referral of someone who was in the mosque at the time of the shootings a month ago - many of those who were injured will continue to face surgeries or mental trauma for years to come. 

Institutional racism is also still alive and well here. One story in the news on Friday concerned a six-year-old Pākehā (i.e. a white / "European") girl who was removed from her Samoan foster parents with very little notice. She had been in several homes before arriving to live with this foster family a year ago. Her Samoan foster mother has worked with new foster parents and has won awards for helping vulnerable people in the community, and the girl thrived under her care. The girl's foster mother and her husband tried to become her permanent carers, but were told that they can't because their background isn't ''European''.  The girl's biological family and her school are also unhappy about the negative impact on the girl of removing her to live with new permanent foster carers. Surely in this case the stability and love which the girl was experiencing should override ethnicity, particularly in today's society when inter racial families aren't uncommon? Time will tell as this is investigated by the Family Court here. 

This case has parallels to what was accepted practice in the past, with the "stolen generation" in Aotearoa & also in Australia, when Māori or Aboriginal children were taken from their communities and brought up by "white" families. 

I'm never comfortable with using the term "NZ European" here because many "NZ Europeans" were born here and have never lived in Europe. "Pākehā" is perhaps a better term in Aotearoa - it means literally "non Māori" - but of course people who are not Māori are drawn from many different ethnic groups, including people of colour - e.g. Pasifika [Polynesians], Asians, Africans, Arabs - not just people from European countries. However, many people consider that Pākehā refers only to European / white people.  That is a narrow viewpoint, and does not reflect modern society in Aotearoa: the population is ethnically diverse: it is changing rapidly, and is becoming less "European". At one stage most migrants to Aotearoa came from the British Isles, but this is no longer the case. 

There's a Māori proverb which beautifully sums up the respect we should have for one another: 

He aha te mea nui o te ao. He tāngata, he tāngata, he tāngata

What is the most important thing in the world? It is people, it is people, it is people.

Sunday 26.05.2019: "The Christchurch Call" summit et al

A little over 10 weeks has elapsed since the shootings in Christchurch. In that time a number of things have happened within Aotearoa and further afield. 

In April there were several attacks on places of worship. Islamic State claimed responsibility for bombs which were planted in 3 churches and several hotels in Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday. These resulted in the deaths of 258 people, including at least 46 foreign nationals and three police officers. Over 500 other people were injured. Not long after that a gunman shot one person and injured several others at a Jewish synagogue in California. Apparently he was inspired by the actions of the gunman in Christchurch. 

In May a meeting, “the Christchurch Call”,  was held in Paris, co-hosted by Jacinda Ardern and the French President, Emmanuel Macron. This aimed to “bring together countries and tech companies in an attempt to bring to an end the ability to use social media to organise and promote terrorism and violent extremism.” Some commentators maintained that the Christchurch Call was symbolic because of its narrow focus. Hence tech companies probably won’t view dehumanising language as violent language, and the threat will remain while the opinion of “the other side” is allowed and accepted. The Christchurch Call needs to be reinforced with how we treat white supremacy in every sphere - not just on social media. 

The shootings in March weren’t the first time when social media platforms were implicated in terrorism, but they were the first time when a terrorist attack in a western country was broadcast via the internet. Facebook played a significant role in the genocide of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar, & studies have shown a link between Facebook use and violence against refugees in Germany. Online communities whose primary purpose is to terrorise the people they target have existed for many years, and social media companies have ignored them. The underlying business model of social media platforms is part of the problem - the pursuit of profit has also fuelled radicalisation towards white supremacy by pushing people towards more extreme content. Are social media companies going to become more open and accept being scrutinised?  

The man accused of the Christchurch massacre is the first person to face prosecution under New Zealand’s terrorism legislation (which was enacted by the NZ parliament in response to the 9/11 terror attacks in the US) - but there are concerns that this will give him the opportunity to talk about the extremist beliefs which he expressed in his manifesto. 

How much have we learned from recent events? Not much, it seems: some members of Christchurch’s local rugby union team (the Crusaders) have made some inappropriate remarks about others while touring overseas. Since the shootings there has also been public debate about whether the team should change its name and branding. The team’s branding and pre-game mascots features knights riding on horseback in chainmail, waving swords and with crosses on their chests. This is seen to be insensitive because of its associations with the military campaigns by Christians against Muslims in medieval times.

There has been ongoing discussion about the lack of ethnic diversity in NZ media & local government. This week 2 Muslims announced that they will stand in Christchurch’s local elections this October. One of them wears the hijab. Good on them!

On Friday school students marched again in Christchurch to express their concerns about climate change - this time their actions weren’t sidelined because of other news.

Today I took part in the Peace Train Bike Ride - a leisurely 9 km bike ride to remember the 51 victims of the mosque shootings, and to promote the message of peace, acceptance, understanding and kindness. 250 cyclists participated. The ride started at the Al Noor mosque, then visited the Buddhist temple, the Hari Krishna temple, the Jewish synagogue, St Mary’s cathedral (Roman Catholic), Oxford Terrace Baptist Church, the Transitional Cathedral (Anglican), the mosque in Linwood & the Salvation Army citadel in Linwood.  

So the journey which started over 10 weeks ago continues. 

Friday 12.04.2019: Stormy weather exposes rubbish...

Following severe storms in the W Coast of S Island last month some landfills were exposed by the flooded Fox and Cook Rivers. Large amounts of rubbish were deposited over miles of beaches - including lots of single use plastics, packaging which is a trademark of our modern unsustainable lifestyles. Many of the places where the detritus has landed are difficult to access, so the cleanup process is problematic. It is likely that some of the rubbish will end up at the bottom of the 4 km deep Cook Canyon, which lies about 4 km off the coast.  The ecological repercussions of this are likely to be felt for many years. 

Similarly, the events of 15th March have had a lasting impact on Aotearoa. The country's security levels remain on high alert, which will affect events like the Anzac Day commemorations later this month. Some services have been cancelled.

The government has now  approved the Arms (Prohibited Firearms, Magazines, and Parts) Amendment Bill, which outlaws most semi-automatics, magazines and parts that can be used to assemble prohibited firearms. Only one MP opposed the bill. The legislative changes have however led to some vitriolic comments online from members of the gun lobby (predictably largely from white male gun owners). They maintain that they have the right to own guns - this is untrue, as in this country it is a privilege to own guns, not a right. They will still be able to own guns, but not semi-automatic guns. Those who own illegal firearms have been given an amnesty until 30 September to hand over the weapons to police.

There is an ongoing debate in Aotearoa now about free speech versus hate speech. It is interesting that no right-wing extremist or white supremacist is listed on the United Nations' register of terrorists. The list includes 1962 people and 455 groups, almost exclusively Al Qaeda and Islamic State-linked individuals and organisations. Since the global financial crisis there has been international growth in nationalist politicians, and white supremacists with extreme views on immigration have been increasingly voicing their opinions, or sharing their views on online forums or social media. The events in Christchurch last month were a consequence of this. 

Saturday 30.03.2019: Bouquets and Brickbats 

Less than a week after I photographed them, the chalked drawings near the local pool have rubbed off the tarmac. The flowers in Rolleston Avenue are no longer fresh. Our memories are short, but the repercussions of the mosque attacks will be lifelong for many individuals, particularly members of the local Muslim community... Husbands, wives, brothers, sisters, parents, children and friends have been lost. 29 children under 18 are now without a parent. Several families have lost more than one member, or have more than one injured member. Two high schools have lost pupils, or have injured pupils (including my local High School). People have been physically or mentally scarred, and will live with these wounds for the rest of their lives. Others (e.g. refugees) who had felt safe here no longer do, jumping at loud noises or panicking when they hear sirens or see helicopters overhead. The post traumatic stress side of this will be a biggie for those of us working within the mental health sector for some time to come... one of my (intellectually disabled) clients insightfully referred to the events of 15 March as "that other earthquake".

In all of this mess there have been moments of encouragement and moments of discouragement, times when people have led by example and other times when love has shown through. 

Bouquets (leading by example)

Those who tried to deter the gunman or who died while trying to protect others.

A 95 years young man who caught 4 buses to attend a march against racism in Auckland. 

Builders and painters who quietly donated their time, their skills and materials to repair the Al Noor and Linwood mosques. 

The Muslim man I saw who attended the service in Hagley Park a week after the shootings - he was pulling a pram filled with headscarves, packets of Oreo biscuits and bottles of water to give to others. 

The non Muslim women who wore headscarves at the public gatherings and at other times in support of their Muslim friends. 

Those who have stood outside mosques in this country and elsewhere while people have been worshipping. 

Marae and churches whose doors have been open as safe places for Muslims to meet.

Those who have donated food or money, who have spared the time to hug others or to check how they're doing. 

Reza-Abdul Jabbar, a dairy farmer from Southland & the imam of the Invercargill mosque, is one of many Muslims from outside Christchurch who have graciously supported people in Christchurch following the attacks, without seeking revenge. 

https://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/countrylife/audio/2018688779/farming-and-faith-southland-dairy-farmer-and-spiritual-leader-reza-abdul-jabbar

Brickbats (could do better)

There have been many public demonstrations of love and concern for Muslims, but racism and Islamophobia is alive and well in Aotearoa. A few examples follow:

A week after the shootings a Kiwi bloke was verbally abusive towards a colleague who was wearing a headscarf when she was in the supermarket. 

In the days following the attacks a swastika was sprayed on a fence near where the gunman was arrested, and there has been an increase in racist graffiti in the city.

Three days after the mosque attacks a bus stopped in Christchurch and a white woman boarded the bus. A young woman wearing a hijab was behind her, but the driver slammed the door in her face and took off. The bus wasn't full. 

You can make a difference!

Three teenage schoolgirls saw what the bus driver did, and reported the driver to the bus company - video footage confirmed what they observed, and the driver has been disciplined. 

Did you know?

Muslims first set foot in Aotearoa in 1769, and have lived here since the 1850's.

https://www.victoria.ac.nz/news/2019/03/the-history-of-nzs-muslim-population 

Thursday 28.03.2019: "We are broken hearted, but not broken"

Imam Gamal Fouda (of Al Noor Mosque) spoke to a crowd of 20, 000 people (including many non Muslims) at Hagley Park on Friday (22 March), a week after the shootings. He thanked New Zealanders "for your tears, your haka, your love and compassion"... He went on to say that the Muslim community was "broken hearted but not broken".  It was a moving speech - revenge has not been part of the response of the Muslim community. As I was retrieving my bike to leave Hagley Park three Muslim gentlemen who were standing nearby thanked me for coming. My response to this was to express my sorrow about what had happened and to apologise for the actions of the gunman, and for white supremacy. 

Hate speech / racism / the politics of hate

There has been a lot of coverage in the media about hate speech, acts of racism and where intolerance springs from. The line between freedom of speech and causing offence is a fine one, and can be illustrated graphically by the hate pyramid or white supremacy pyramid. These show how negative, life-threatening actions (the ones higher up the pyramid) stem from the tolerance of behaviours and attitudes which become accepted as normal. The more widespread these beliefs become, the more likely that the next level on the pyramid will be reached. 

One of these models is the Pyramid of Hate:

A similar model is the Pyramid of White Supremacy:

It has been said that 55% of what we communicate is conveyed by our body language, and that a further 38% by our tone of voice - the words we use only convey 7% of our opinions. So how we act towards others is crucial if we are to form positive relationships with them. The seeds of hate are often small and pass unnoticed initially, or are ignored.

The Islamic Women's Council of New Zealand was formed in 1989. In Aotearoa, as elsewhere in the developed world, women wearing the hijab are often on the receiving end of hard looks, of inconsiderate actions or of hate speech. Members of the IWCNZ repeatedly reported the increasing levels of discrimination they were subjected to, but no action was taken prior to the attacks.  

The wall of flowers [photographed on 24.03.2019]

A focal point for many people is at the main gate outside the Botanic Gardens beside Canterbury Museum. A constant stream of people has been visiting this spot and they have been placing flowers, drawings, written tributes and toys there. At all times of day locals and others from further afield have been walking slowly past, looking at the tributes, hugging each other, shedding tears and talking together. This is not a permanent memorial, nor is it a wailing wall, but a place to reflect quietly on the enormity of what has happened.  

The paper chains have been made by students in Aotearoa & Australia: "paper chains of love". Each link has a message of support written or drawn on it. 

The power of flowers [photographed on 23 & 24.03.2019]

On the first anniversary of the earthquake in February 2011 Christchurch's traffic cones were filled with flowers to remember those who died (at that stage road cones were a common sight in the city). On Saturday 23rd I was a volunteer steward on Colombo Street during "Le Race" (annual cycle race from Christchurch to Akaroa). I noticed some road cones were filled with flowers on one side of the road. Near to where I was standing there was also a road cone with a dried up flower in it. When the nearby florist opened up shop he removed the dying flower and replaced it with a small posy - this was still there when I passed that spot again the following evening. There were also cones containing more longlasting (plastic) flowers outside Christchurch Hospital today. 

Photos - Christchurch responds by chalk & talk [photographed on 23.03.2019]

Many messages & drawings can be found chalked on pavements throughout the city. These ones are near Pioneer swimming pool. Some themes recur in pictures and images. "Kia kaha" means "Stand strong". Another common image is of a human chain of relationships - that we all need each other - hence the drawing "One chain that can never be broken". 

Friday 22.03.2019: He waka eke noa [we are all in this together]

What a difference a week makes! Last Thursday I attended my next door neighbour’s funeral - Julie was a social worker who found that she had cancer very soon after she retired last year. Those who attended scattered fern leaves from Julie’s garden onto her coffin after the service. 

Last Friday morning young people took to the streets in Christchurch and other towns and cities in NZ, asking politicians to work harder and faster towards lowering greenhouse gas emissions and to implement legislation to act on Climate Change. Their attempts to be heard have been sadly overlooked because of the subsequent events that afternoon in the two mosques in Christchurch. 

28 of the 50 people who were injured in last Friday’s shootings are still in Christchurch Hospital, with six in critical condition in intensive care. A four year old girl remains in critical condition in Starship Children’s Hospital in Auckland, and her father is in a stable condition in Auckland City Hospital. Many New Zealanders, and other people who live further afield, have shown considerable generosity, support and concern for those who were affected by this event. Members of the local community have been rallying around: volunteers are creating food hampers and offering to drive around those who feel uncomfortable using public transport, or to accompany them if walking to school etc. However members of some Muslim families (particularly women) haven’t left their homes since the Christchurch shootings. Some people were seriously injured in the attacks, but are too frightened to seek medical attention. It is also extremely concerning that some women wearing the hijab have been subjected to racial abuse since the event, both in Christchurch and elsewhere in New Zealand.

Māori leaders are calling on New Zealanders to reject the widely shared view following the attacks that "this is not us". There has been a lot of discussion about love, and the need not to hate but to support and respect one another, but there is also a growing recognition that what happened does reflect the view of a minority of people - opinions which may not be openly voiced but which have bubbling beneath the surface for some time. White supremacy is an issue in New Zealand - attitudes which may have been growing since the time when New Zealand was first colonised. In recent years the pattern of immigration has changed, with more immigrants coming from countries where Christianity is not the predominant religion. Some sections of society, including politicians and media like “Talk Radio” (a platform for people to vent) have spoken about where they would prefer immigrants to come from. Despite being a secular country racial intolerance is seen in NZ - e.g. on several occasions since I first moved here (in 2002) swastikas have been painted on Jewish gravestones, and verbal abuse of minorities is not uncommon. Disrespectful things have also been said about Māori (NZ’s first people). 

Thus lots of issues are being debated by people here. The event has also had an impact on physical health (sleeplessness, being in "flight mode" etc) and mental health (e.g. post traumatic stress and anxiety), compounding the effects of the earthquakes.

I emailed every MP in NZ on Monday night about the need for tighter gun control, and on Thursday afternoon Jacinda Ardern (Prime Minister) announced that New Zealand will ban all assault and military-style semi-automatic weapons. :-)

After work yesterday (Thursday) I attended an interdenominational service to remember the 51 people who died as a result of last Friday’s attacks, their families, the injured and others who have been affected by this event.  The focus was on celebrating how we can support one another and overcome hatred. Some members of the Muslim community also spoke, very respectfully and with considerable dignity. Towards the end of this evening’s service people placed fern leaves at the base of a tree. Very different circumstances to the placing of fern leaves at Julie's funeral the previous week. Today, a week after the events, people are being encouraged to pause for reflection for 2 minutes at 1.40 pm (roughly a week after the shootings). Other events are planned for the weekend - including a "March for Love" on Saturday morning, which is being led by the young people who organised the Climate March last week.