New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern visits members of the Muslim community at the Phillipstown Community Centre on Saturday 16 March 2019. Photo: Christchurch City Council Newsline/Kirk Hargreaves via Wiki-Media Commons
"Known as one of the safest and most isolated countries in the world, New Zealand has experienced its darkest day, a terrorist attack perpetrated by a lone gunman against Muslim citizens in Christchurch in two mosques during Friday prayers. For us, in this antipodean part of the world, it is our 9/11 reckoning."
"Leadership matters especially in times of crisis: New Zealand is lucky to have a PM who is a model of leadership. Jacinda Ardern has been decisive – immediately rallying her government to tighten existing and to institute new gun laws and to assist the victims. She has also shown compassion – listening to and empathizing with the families and communities of the victims, as well as their cultural and religious needs. She has proven that typically feminine behaviuor is powerful, and – echoing Martin Luther King – Ardern has shown that only light can drive out darkness, only love can banish hate", writes Jacqui True in this blog post.
Read the full blog post here.