Vigil to be held for victims of Christchurch attack outside Hastings Mosque on Friday

Hastings Community of Sanctuary, Hastings Supports Refugees and Hastings and Rother Refugee Buddy Project have organised a vigil outside the mosque in St Leonards on Friday 22 March. Nick Terdre reports.

The organisers invite everyone to join them to show solidarity with the victims and survivors of the dreadful attack in Christchurch last Friday, and their families, and to repudiate the widespread Islamophobia and other racist discourse which has been revealed in its aftermath throughout so much of Western society.

“The Imam has already told me that he is receiving many messages of support, and I myself, as a New Zealander and as representative of Hastings Community of Sanctuary, took flowers to the Mosque last Friday, as soon as I could after hearing about the attack from my family in New Zealand, where tens of thousands of people have been standing up in sorrow and solidarity in vigils across the country,” Felicity Laurence, chair of the Hastings Community of Sanctuary, told HOT.

“We hope that people from all kinds of backgrounds, faiths and political beliefs might feel able to make this expression of sympathy and solidarity with this group of our fellow beings who are suffering right now in our midst.”

The vigil will be held between 1 and 2pm outside the mosque in Mercatoria on Friday 22 March. Those who can’t make it are invited to leave candles, flowers and messages at the mosque.

See the Hastings Supports Refugees Facebook page.

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