During the week of March 25th, students could be seen wearing bracelets with Arabic script. The bracelets sold for $2 each during lunch periods, and proceeds went to a very important cause.

On March 15th, a gunman claimed 50 innocent lives from 2 different mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand. Before the shooting, the gunman posted a manifesto illustrating his Islamophobic beliefs and praising extremist right-wing mass murderers. The attack took place on a Friday, which is Jumu’ah, when Muslims gather for congregational worship.

The Prime Minister of New Zealand, Jainda Ardern, continuously provided support for her people, even going as far as wearing a black headscarf when meeting with Muslim leaders to learn what else she could do to help the community. She referred to the attack as “one of New Zealand’s darkest days.”

These shots were heard across the world, bringing communities together. Here at North Allegheny, juniors Sakeena Badrane and Meryem Marasli decided to take action and help the mosques that were affected in this tragic incident. They came up with the idea from past fundraisers for the Tree of Life shooting, where they saw the massive response from students and teachers alike.

“Well, I just find it disappointing that it took just one mass shooting to make the New Zealand government pass effective gun legislation,” said Badrane. “The US has mass shootings often, and we still haven’t done anything about it. So many rose in protest against the current state of our gun laws, and the government failed to do anything. After the Parkland shooting, I remember thinking that the government was just waiting for the American people to forget about the gun issues, and that’s what they did. We forgot, and they didn’t do anything despite the shocking prevalence of mass shootings in America.”

Badrane and Marasli felt it was necessary to help out.

“I wanted to fundraise because this shooting left me heartbroken,” Marasli said. “Fifty lives were taken due to hate and the belief that certain races are better than others. This shooting personally affected me because it left me realizing that the New Zealand mosque could have been my mosque, and the people I grew up with could have been the victims. After this shooting, I do not feel safe going to places that are meant to be peaceful. This realization left me with a sense of urgency to try and do something to help. This fundraiser is my way of giving support to the mosque and the family of the victims.”

Badrane believes that New Zealand dealt with the tragedy in an effective way.

“It took New Zealand just one to do something about it,” she explained. “I just think it’s a testament to how ‘American exceptionalism’ is a figment of our imagination. The shooting of two mosques just sort of zapped me back to reality. For a while, I stopped acknowledging that Islamophobia existed, which I know is naive. But this just reminded me that we have a long way to go to eliminate this form of hate. 

Proceeds form the sale went to the Jewish Federation of Pittsburgh, who will in turn support those affected by the tragedy.