Maven | Manurewa
“I was at the bus stop yesterday and I noticed a little Muslim lady coming towards me, so I stopped myself and said, good morning – how are you coping after last Friday?
And, I thought, yeah that’s the one thing I can do to care and show her that I am thinking of her and the community that she belongs to.
It’s very, very sad, and sad and sorry and perhaps angry for the perpetrator. I said hello because I felt for her, and for the community that she belongs to. Yes, I thought I was aware, and I am, I am thoughtful towards cross-cultural situations/scenarios, but now in New Zealand, because of this horrible happening, I feel more empowered, perhaps bolder to say hello, and feel with other people in their grief.
I was born in Christchurch, and grew up there, trained to be a primary teacher, and taught profoundly deaf children for two years, then went overseas to Singapore. We lived there for 27 years, and I taught English as a second langue to foreign students coming into Singapore. So, we’ve been back in New Zealand for three years, and still trying to make this our home.”
