City College Comes Together to Commemorate for Christchurch Victims
By Mukta Ahmad| February 23, 2019
Manhattan, New York — “We have to prove that we are human. We have to prove that we are worthy of safety, worthy of being called American,” said Hebh Jamal, a member of the CCMSO and WII.
Students and faculty of different religious beliefs and backgrounds gathered around the NAC (North Academic Center) front entrance at City College to commemorate Christchurch victims.
The first speaker, who wore all black, started the event with a recital of a section from the Quran, the holy book of Islam; as usual, any Islamic event starts that way — followed by five minutes of silence.
For some, it was a way to mourn. As members of the crowd came up to the podium to read names of the fifty people killed in New Zealand, many started crying.
“I didn’t realize how much I needed this until I was here,” said Zeinab. “I feel like there’s a lot of emotion we as Muslims bottled up, like anger and sadness, and fear, and I feel like this is a good space to bring that out without us knowing we even needed to take it out.”
For others, it was a process of healing and understanding that they are not alone.
“It also is very healing to be able to cry and not just see that our community is here as Muslims but to see the non-Muslim members of our community,” Sanjeeda said. “So when I see these same faces walking through campus, I will feel safe, I will feel secure, and I won’t feel [targeted].”
The gathering also gave some people hope. “But from this hate, we can see there is a lot of love,” Wilbert Pacheco, an attendee, said, “Love will always persist and even though there’s hate in this world, there will always be love.”
The event organizers posted the names and pictures of the victims that died on the wall for people to see.
Most victims of the terrorist attack in Christchurch were immigrants and refugees. Hebh Jamal, a member of the CCMSO and WII, who also wore all black, said they left their home because of colonialism, war, and to escape “the same racist institution that plagued their society.” They came to New Zealand looking for safety, but that safety was ripped by hate.
In it, “white supremacy is a danger to every community, including the Muslim community,” said Nahal Naser.
