Those were the last words uttered by Daoud Nabi the week before last. He was welcoming a man inside the mosque he and his brothers called home in Christchurch, New Zealand. That terrorist went on to shoot him, and 49 other people, in a hate filled attack against the Muslim community. Another 50 victims were also wounded, with many of them still in critical condition.
Following the attack, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern immediately promised a thorough review of New Zealand’s gun laws. New Zealand’s Prime Minister has been a shining example of how to address these acts of terrorism, having responded with empathy towards the victims and their families, and effective action.
However, changing gun laws in one country is not enough. Access to weapons must be controlled and limited, but the real battle should be against racism in all its forms and in any context.
The Christchurch attack is not an isolated incident. This week alone, a terrorist opened fire in the Dutch city of Utrecht. Similar attacks have been reported throughout Europe.
We have to face the fact that the so called alt-right, which is nothing but rebranded fascism and extreme right ideology, is growing.
In the UK, for instance, 94,000 hate related crimes were reported in 2018, a whopping 17% increase over 2017. Discrimination against the Muslim community is also rife, for instance, especially against women and their choice of dress.
The motivation behind these attacks are not unfamiliar to us Maltese either. The shooter’s ‘manifesto’, which he posted online minutes before the attack, used phrases and ideas which are uncomfortably close to home. Its use of anti-immigrant rhetoric paints imagery of foreign, dark-skinned ‘invaders’, ready to push us out of our homes and replace us all.
Make no mistake, there were Maltese extremists who cheered when they heard of the attack. Within minutes of reporting it, the Times’ comment board was filled with hate speech which will not be repeated here. If we want to avoid a tragedy, we have to recognise that these extremist ideas are also finding root in our homes. Only by accepting this reality can we address it and eradicate it.
Our first concern should be the information we absorb and share, especially on social media. With the advent of ‘fake news’, the probability of reading inaccurate content online is higher than ever. For the past year, Facebook has been heavily criticised for its inability to moderate the kind of content being posted on the platform. The far right is making the most of this, sharing various articles casting minorities and ethnic groups in a negative light, and fuelling anger towards these communities. The Christchurch attack itself was broadcast live on Facebook, and the graphic video quickly went viral.
Local media also needs to be mindful of the way it shares news. Clickbait articles misrepresenting foreigners in Malta just to increase revenue is irresponsible and unethical. It misinforms our society, and negatively impacts the way we interact in our day to day life.
As politicians, then, we have the difficult task of understanding the roots of extremism. Research has shown that most terrorists have a common background of social exclusion, lack of education, and poverty. Rather than adequately addressing this social alienation, the anger is instead directed towards minorities; not just the Muslim community, but also dark skinned people in general, or women in domestic spheres, or members of the LGBTIQ community. We need to work on those people who fall through the cracks of society and address their needs before they turn into violence.
We grieve with New Zealand, but more importantly, we need to take a hard look at our own societies, and address the growing extremism within them.
Josianne Cutajar is Partit Laburista candidate for the European elections