Renowned ecologist S Faizi wrote a letter to New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern offering solidarity with the people of the country in the wake of the dastardly terrorist attack.
Trivandrum: Renowned ecologist S Faizi wrote a letter to New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern offering solidarity with the people of the country in the wake of the dastardly terrorist attack.
S Faizi is an ecologist specializing in international environmental policy, a member of the Biodiversity Convention’s Expert Group on Poverty and Biodiversity and President of the Ethnological Society of India.
He wrote that the mortal remains of one of the persons, Ms Anzi, who had fallen to the bullets of the terrorist in the Al Noor Masjid, had reached her parental home in Kerala yesterday and was buried in the graveyard of the 7th century Cheraman Perumal Masjid in the presence of a huge gathering of people.
“The greater part of humanity is touched by the resolve with which you handle the terrorists and the compassion with which you stand by the victims. And as a tiny part of that humanity please accept my compliments. Your empathy and support to the Muslim community would go a long way in saving the world from the scourge of Islamophobia,” he wrote in his letter to PM Ardern.
“I had invested a lot of hope in you- quite rightly, as it turns out- when you became PM in the October of 2017, touched by the courage with which you identified the failure of capitalism. When the earth is being made uninhabitable by the forces of capitalism, gifting us death and destruction as happened in Kerala in August last year and as is happening in Mozambique right now, challenging the capitalist system of economy is a pious act. Replacing the avaricious capitalist system is the only certain way to effectively address the accelerating global warming. Can we look forward to your leadership in this mission,” he wrote.
“Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, I believe, didn’t just happen. Many years ago, Prime Minister David Lange had valiantly faced the US in pursuing the Nuclear Free New Zealand policy, as detailed in his book by the same title a copy of which was gifted to me by his former advisor Ms Katie Boanas at her home (besides an affectionate lunch). The US has enough nuclear bombs to destroy the world several times over. And in South Asia, the two clandestine nuclear powers are eternally at loggerheads. Don’t our children have a right to live in a world free from the threat of nuclear weapons. Is it too much to ask you to lead the world in walking towards a nuclear weapon’s free world, in line with Article VI of the NPT?” he wrote.
“I was fascinated by the rich birdlife of your country, I have travelled through most of the coast of the North Island. And the country appeared to me also to be a huge geological laboratory. And the land of the finest people, a culture led by the Maori values. However, I had to annoy my wonderful hosts when I protested the participation of delegates from the Apartheid South Africa in the International Ornithological Congress where I was invited to speak, at Christchurch in 1990. The Forest Dept people have been so kind and generous to me until I raised protest in line with the UN GA resolution on Apartheid, and I can very well understand their annoyance at disturbing such a huge international event in the making of which they have worked so hard. But then l was ‘adopted’ by the HEART, the anti-apartheid group, and was tossed around the country for talks. Those were some of the wonderful people I have ever met. It was not only the NZ govt but also its people who were fighting for the cause of justice,” he wrote.
“I cannot think of Aotearoa (Maori name for New Zealand) without the feeling of love and affection. How elevating it is to write to you in a world where we have Prime Ministers who are made so simply due to the genocides on innocent citizens they have committed and the bigotry they hold,” he wrote.
PM Ardern’s cabinet office responded to his letter. “The Prime Minister has been deeply moved by the support and compassion shown in the wake of the attack in Christchurch, and by the thousands of people who have taken the time to share their condolences,” they wrote back.
“She has asked me to pass on the following statement: My thoughts are with the families who have lost loved ones and who are now experiencing unimaginable pain and grief. While I can’t take away this pain, I send the Muslim community my love, as so many New Zealanders have, and the reassurance that I will do all I can to support them. My focus is on ensuring those who have been affected have the care and support they need – not just now, but in the coming months and years. This is a tragic time, and all of New Zealand is feeling the impact. While we as a nation grapple with a form of grief and anger we have not experienced before, the compassion and kindness that has been expressed at community events, on social media, and by people right across the country show us who we are as a nation. Going forward, I know those are the values we’ll all work hard to protect. Thanks again for getting in touch,” they responded.