Listening in to parliamentary broadcasts (radio and TV) does have its benefits...chiefly upon those reasonably rare occasions when a disaster (whether manmade or natural) occurs...
And so I dedicate this blogpost to a plethora of (individually) unlikely recipients...who have indeed risen to the occasion in this most unpleasant of times...
But first, let me suggest that the folk who've shown the most sterling quality throughout this entire sorry saga...which seems to be universally agreed upon, in fact...are
the members of the New Zealand Muslim community, or more precisely, those in Christchurch who either lost relatives or were injured or miraculously survived the ordeal but witnessed others not as blessed...for the degree of forgiveness, mercy and love shown has been exemplary, worthy indeed of the very best traditions of my own, i.e. the Christian religion...whose adherents, not excluding myself at times I must concede, have fallen far short of the superlative example set by our Model and Mentor....
Followed by the nation's 'first responders', i.e. our police, hospital and ambulance staff...who have conducted themselves admirably - with flying colours - going way beyond the ordinary call of duty...
And among those may I single out Police Commissioner Mike Bush himself...someone who has shown his own quality at this most difficult of times...fronting press conferences on an ongoing fashion in a totally undefensive way, explicating in great detail each and every possible nuance of concern or detail and doing so invariably with great panache, grace and the utmost sensitivity...
Among parliamentarians during yesterday's 'Motion of Condolence', following the previous afternoon's equally solemn and sobering initial parliamentary mention and discussion thereof - which included the reflections and heartfelt feelings of the leaders of all our elected representatives - I at least was especially touched and moved by a number of National Party MPs, and more specifically ones hailing from that most tragic of New Zealand cities, Christchurch (my birthplace).
And that makes perfect sense, as Christchurch- (and Canterbury-) based members of Parliament obviously have a lot more experience than most other MPs in living and surviving through what would now have to be deemed our nation's two worst 'disasters' (at least in terms of numbers of people killed, injured and otherwise affected) - this recent atrocity and of course the earthquakes (both initial and unrelenting, successive aftershocks) that began/reached crescendo proportions on September 4th, 2010 and February 22nd, 2011...(along with the Kaikoura Earthquake a few years on).
And so naturally these folk have some on-the-ground understanding for what their fellow Christchurchers (and Cantabrians) have been going through - many themselves going through similar stuff (though oftentimes keeping fairly mum thereabouts, rather than selfishly draw peoples' attention
to their own very real sufferings). And so it's hardly totally unexpected that the likes of (former Earthquake Recovery Minister) Gerry Brownlie, (former Speaker) David Carter, the longserving Ruth Dyson, or the (relative newbie M.P.) Matt Doucie, among others, might have something more than worthwhile to say when Parliament set aside two hours yesterday (for 24 speakers) to address a 'motion of condolence' thereabouts...
I suppose I could quote various lines of special note - if I'd managed to jot them down (but in this instance, and despite viewing said debate twice yesterday, I was too gripped by the various speeches to (properly) do so)...but hey, you yourselves can (try to) access the on-line parliamentary Hansard, which I believe is ever available, hopefully at no cost, to any comers...
...but nevertheless, may I simply shower profuse praise upon these four speakers in particular, and Judith Collins - as well as David Seymour, but for different reasons (to be cited on another occasion) - and say that their emotions came over as raw and thoroughly genuine (though initially with one person I was a bit suspect till I saw her on TV later on)...right from the (very bottom/s of) their hearts...with no needless airs and graces (except admittedly Ms Collins to begin with)...
...revealing their unforgettable interactions with individual Muslims in particular in the immediate aftermath of the massacre and/or their utter amazement at the level and depth of forgiveness shown by those deeply affected by those tragic events...
Yes, as Samwise Gamgee might have put it, you (all) showed your quality, Messrs and Madames...
And so I dedicate this blogpost to a plethora of (individually) unlikely recipients...who have indeed risen to the occasion in this most unpleasant of times...
But first, let me suggest that the folk who've shown the most sterling quality throughout this entire sorry saga...which seems to be universally agreed upon, in fact...are
the members of the New Zealand Muslim community, or more precisely, those in Christchurch who either lost relatives or were injured or miraculously survived the ordeal but witnessed others not as blessed...for the degree of forgiveness, mercy and love shown has been exemplary, worthy indeed of the very best traditions of my own, i.e. the Christian religion...whose adherents, not excluding myself at times I must concede, have fallen far short of the superlative example set by our Model and Mentor....
Followed by the nation's 'first responders', i.e. our police, hospital and ambulance staff...who have conducted themselves admirably - with flying colours - going way beyond the ordinary call of duty...
And among those may I single out Police Commissioner Mike Bush himself...someone who has shown his own quality at this most difficult of times...fronting press conferences on an ongoing fashion in a totally undefensive way, explicating in great detail each and every possible nuance of concern or detail and doing so invariably with great panache, grace and the utmost sensitivity...
Among parliamentarians during yesterday's 'Motion of Condolence', following the previous afternoon's equally solemn and sobering initial parliamentary mention and discussion thereof - which included the reflections and heartfelt feelings of the leaders of all our elected representatives - I at least was especially touched and moved by a number of National Party MPs, and more specifically ones hailing from that most tragic of New Zealand cities, Christchurch (my birthplace).
And that makes perfect sense, as Christchurch- (and Canterbury-) based members of Parliament obviously have a lot more experience than most other MPs in living and surviving through what would now have to be deemed our nation's two worst 'disasters' (at least in terms of numbers of people killed, injured and otherwise affected) - this recent atrocity and of course the earthquakes (both initial and unrelenting, successive aftershocks) that began/reached crescendo proportions on September 4th, 2010 and February 22nd, 2011...(along with the Kaikoura Earthquake a few years on).
And so naturally these folk have some on-the-ground understanding for what their fellow Christchurchers (and Cantabrians) have been going through - many themselves going through similar stuff (though oftentimes keeping fairly mum thereabouts, rather than selfishly draw peoples' attention
to their own very real sufferings). And so it's hardly totally unexpected that the likes of (former Earthquake Recovery Minister) Gerry Brownlie, (former Speaker) David Carter, the longserving Ruth Dyson, or the (relative newbie M.P.) Matt Doucie, among others, might have something more than worthwhile to say when Parliament set aside two hours yesterday (for 24 speakers) to address a 'motion of condolence' thereabouts...
I suppose I could quote various lines of special note - if I'd managed to jot them down (but in this instance, and despite viewing said debate twice yesterday, I was too gripped by the various speeches to (properly) do so)...but hey, you yourselves can (try to) access the on-line parliamentary Hansard, which I believe is ever available, hopefully at no cost, to any comers...
...but nevertheless, may I simply shower profuse praise upon these four speakers in particular, and Judith Collins - as well as David Seymour, but for different reasons (to be cited on another occasion) - and say that their emotions came over as raw and thoroughly genuine (though initially with one person I was a bit suspect till I saw her on TV later on)...right from the (very bottom/s of) their hearts...with no needless airs and graces (except admittedly Ms Collins to begin with)...
...revealing their unforgettable interactions with individual Muslims in particular in the immediate aftermath of the massacre and/or their utter amazement at the level and depth of forgiveness shown by those deeply affected by those tragic events...
Yes, as Samwise Gamgee might have put it, you (all) showed your quality, Messrs and Madames...
No comments:
Post a Comment