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A “shocked” mayor approached the victim of an alleged racist spiel and offered to drive her to her family home and offer an apology.
Aya Al-Umari, whose brother was shot and killed in the March 15 mosque attacks, was shopping with her mother Janna Ezat at the Farmers branch in Rangiora when she was confronted by an older couple in an incident captured on video. .
Al-Umari, who was asked if he was “born and raised” in New Zealand, has reported the episode to the police.
A police spokeswoman confirmed today that they have received a report and are now making inquiries.
“The police take seriously all reports of hate speech or behavior that concern our communities,” the spokeswoman said.
“Hate-driven speech, violence or threatening behavior is not acceptable and no one should tolerate it, whether online or on the street.”
Now, the mayor of the Waimakariri region, the country’s whitest district, with 95.22% of the population identified as European, according to the 2013 census, has contacted Al-Umari to express his dismay at what he called a “racist incident.” “.
“I sent a message to Aya Al-Umari and her family to let them know how shocked I was that they were subjected to totally unacceptable behavior,” Waimakariri District Council Mayor Dan Gordon said on his Facebook page.
“I can comfortably say that Waimakariri is a welcoming community and our residents would be surprised to learn that they have been treated that way.”
Gordon added: “I have extended an invitation to welcome Aya Al-Umari back to our community and have the family at my home to show them how welcome they are in Waimakariri and offer an apology.”
Al-Umari says she was touched by the mayor’s offer and overwhelmed by the support she received.
“It really restores faith in humanity,” he said.
Al-Umari described the incident on social media two days ago, writing that the problem started when she and her mother were at the store’s makeup counter, speaking in Arabic.
“We were standing at the lipstick counter. Since we are in a pandemic, Mom does the sensible thing and tests lipstick * on her sanitized hand * and then applies it to her lips,” Al-Umari said.
Then they noticed a couple next to them. “They were looking up at us,” Al-Umari said.
He heard the woman tell her husband “you shouldn’t be doing that.”
Al-Umari asked the woman if she wanted to say something to them directly.
“She pretended not to listen to me and then told her husband, ‘Okay, it won’t be long before they leave our country.’
She then had to decide whether to ignore him or call the woman for her comments, Al-Umari said.
“I asked him what his problem was and he said that if we were in Europe they would fine us, which was weird because how else were we supposed to test it?
“Then he asked me if I was born and raised in New Zealand and decided to start recording.”
His brother, Hussein Al-Umari, 35, was killed in the Al Noor Mosque on March 15 last year.
“If it had happened before my brother’s death, I probably would have kept quiet, but the hatred is increasing, it needs to be stopped because we have seen what happens if it doesn’t.”
Al-Umari took to social media after the incident and told the story of what happened along with posting the video he took.
All the love and support they have received has not been replaced by hatred, he told the Herald.
“It’s been a bit overwhelming, we’ve gotten a lot of messages of support. It’s been really great to see.
“Restore your faith in humanity.”
A passerby in the store told the woman that she should be ashamed of herself.
“It was amazing to see other people yell at it too.”
Al-Umari said she was happy with the way Farmers staff handled the situation.
“They escorted the man out of the store and the woman opened it immediately after that.
“It’s like she’s in denial. Once they called her, she ran away.
He feels sorry for the woman “because of her ignorance,” Al-Umari said.
“I was more upset about how it would make my mother feel because I didn’t want her to be upset.
“Over the past year my personal stamina has skyrocketed and this was just one more thing we had to endure.”
Al-Umari said he would encourage anyone who is a bystander in a similar situation to “report him.”
A staff member at the Farmers store in Rangiora told the Herald they had been ordered not to comment to the media, but said the staff member seen in the video had done “an excellent job.”
