Support for Syrian family clear at Mosgiel event

The message from the community in Mosgiel is loud, clear and printed on the back of their hoodies — "Zero tolerance for hate crimes and discrimination".

Hundreds of members of the Mosgiel-Taieri community and the wider Dunedin community gathered at Peter Johnstone Park, in Murray St, to show their support for a Syrian family who recently had their shed deliberately set alight after facing two and a-half years of harassment and racism.

Former neighbour Natalie Sinclair worked with the Mosgiel Fire Station, a youth group called Tamariki Together, and many other organisations to put the event together.

"Through all of the events, not just these latest ones, I’ve supported them, but when it’s got to the point where they are being physically attacked and their house and property is being set on fire, that’s when I was like, this can’t keep happening.

"I just wanted to show them that they had support and there are more good people out there than there are the ones doing this to them," Mrs Sinclair said.

Everybody was on board straight away to help make the event happen and the entire community did their wee bit, she said.

"The Maori resource teacher at the Taieri school donated some money to me yesterday to put on the ice cream truck so people could get free ice cream.

"People could pre-order hoodies that also had love in different languages printed along with the message, ‘Zero Tolerance For Hate Crimes and Discrimination’ and all the proceeds from them would go to the family."

Dunedin Syrian Society president Wasim Askar said the event was about raising awareness about what was happening to the family and other families that had a similar background.

"There needs to be education for the new generation, either from schools, parents or from the community like we’re doing now."

However, Mr Askar said he was not surprised with the response from the community at the event.

"We thought that since the moment we arrived to Dunedin airport, we felt how much warm hearts were around.

"It’s cold weather but warm hearts all the time."

Dunedin city councillor Carmen Houlahan said the Syrian community requested security lights and judder bars to slow people who speed down Murray St, and she said she would advocate and lobby to help them.

Cr Houlahan also apologised to the family for what happened to them and assured them that the rest of the city was welcoming.

"I actually wanted to come sit outside their house and protect them — do an all-nighter.

"I was ready to ring some of the councillors and say right, lets do shifts outside the house because I thought how dare they do that to people in our city."

mark.john@odt.co.nz