March 18, 2019
Ōtautahi lock down brings back quake fears
Ngāi Tahu has offered its marae around Ōtautahi to be used if needed in the aftermath of Friday's mosque shootings in the city.
Kaiwhakahaere Lisa Tumahai says the iwi is working with officials, community leaders and the Muslim community to ensure the Māori response is coordinated with the wider response and is guided by the need to show support and respect for the Muslim way of responding.
She says the Ngāi Tahu Rūnanga offices are close to one of the mosques, and it was immediately locked down.
For some that was very distressing.
"It would have brought back reminders of earthquakes when children are held in schools for two, three, four hours sometimes so it will have brought back a number of feelings around how people were feeling back then. But this is very different. This is quite significant to where that first priority is ensuring our people are safe," Ms Tumahai says.
She says no matter how angry or scared people feel, they must come together as a strong community.
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