Human Rights Defender Responds to New Zealand Terrorist Attack

A letter to Prime Minster Adern from Salem-News.com's Human Rights Ambassador

28-year-old Brenton Tarrant has been charged with murder. Photo: 4bc.com.au

(YORK, UK) - Rt. Hon. Jacinda Ardern
Prime Minister
PO Box 18888
Parliament Buildings
Wellington
NEW ZEALAND

Dear Madam Prime Minister,

I am William Gomes, Human Rights defender and freelance journalist based in York, United Kingdom.

Like many other British citizens around the country, I was appalled to wake up to news of the terrorist attack on two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, that killed and injured so many people, including children.

You have rightly stated that "what has happened here is an extraordinary act of unprecedented violence," and "They have no place in New Zealand."

I extend my deepest condolences to the families and friends who lost their loved ones in this senseless tragedy.

I stand firmly with the people of New Zealand and with the Muslim communities across the world: you are in my heart and my thoughts. I join in your grief at this tough time.

This event reminds us, again, that we must face Islamophobia and work to create a world where all people--no matter their religion, where they live, or in which they were born--can feel safe and secure.

Finally, in this challenging time, I remember what the great British parliamentarian, Jo Cox, has said in celebrating diversity, "We are far more united and have far more in common with each other than things that divide us."

Yours sincerely,

William Gomes
Journalist and Human Rights Activist
York, United Kingdom