The image of Amna Ali telling her five-year-old son that his father is in heaven will forever be etched in my memory.

Mohammad was six months old when his dad Syed Jahandad Ali was killed at Al-Noor mosque.

As Amna sat there bravely telling me her story, a little voice said “Mama”.

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Her son had been upstairs playing with his granddad while his mother talked to the strange lady who he’d never met before.

Clearly, his patience had run out.

She wanted to tell him to be quiet, but I asked her to bring her son down instead.

I had never met Syed, but had seen pictures of him.

Spitting image
Mohammad is a spitting image of his father.

He sat in Amna’s lap as she explained to him she was telling me about his “Baba”.

And then she told him is Baba is in heaven, “he’s in the best place” she told him to repeat.

Since Syed’s death Amna has completed two diplomas, travelled alone with her three children and is planning to start an IT career.

Ironically, her graduation ceremony is on March 15, and she planned to receive her diploma in person.

Even as she looked back at the most painful years of her life she didn’t shed a single tear.

On the other hand, I found it hard to fight the lump in my throat.

He was a foodie
After the interview, she had an elaborate morning tea on the kitchen counter — I was surprised how this mum of three young children found the time to prepare so much beautiful food.

Syed was a foodie she told me, he loved her cooking.

Just hours earlier I had left Auckland, like every other year it was time to do a story about the mosque attacks.

But this anniversary was going to be different I told myself. I had planned to meet survivors and families and talk about their achievements.

I had no idea their resilience and strength would be so overwhelming.

Most of the people in the mosques on the day of the attacks came from countries where terrorism isn’t rare.

Over the past five years many people have asked me, with no malice at all, why the Christchurch attacks left such a deep impact on the survivors and families.

Best answer?
Perhaps, survivor Faisal Abbas has the best answer.

He was in Peshawar, Pakistan, in 2014 when terrorists gunned down hundreds of teachers and students at the Army Public School massacre.

It was his school and he wanted to send his children there.

The principal who died saving her students had been his teacher.

To him, it was a final nail in the coffin. He told me he did not want to be where even his school wasn’t safe, so he picked the safest country he could find and moved to New Zealand.

For Faisal, he says, it’s his first hand experience of terrorism and choosing to get away from it that made the Christchurch attacks even harder to process.

‘Going with the flow’
Before the attacks, he said, he meticulously planned everything, but now he prefers to “go with the flow”.

He trusts in Allah’s plan and he knows whatever will happen is for the best.

And then he repeated a verse from the Quran where God tells Prophet Mohammad “Verily with hardship comes ease”.

I share the same religion as the survivors, but I pray my faith in God becomes as strong as theirs.

One of the toughest thing as a journalist is to decide what makes the final cut.

Farid Ahmed made headlines around the world for choosing to forgive the attacker who killed his wife.

When I interviewed him for my story on this trip he was in hospital fighting an infection — a detail that I didn’t put in the story.

Message of love, forgiveness
Being in a wheelchair hasn’t stopped him from spreading the message of love and forgiveness.

I told him perhaps now would be a good time to slow down and rest. He just smiled and said there was no time, otherwise it would be a disservice to his wife who died saving others.

One of my favourite parts of the trip was visiting Temel Atacocugu. Despite nine bullets and some 30 surgeries, his sense of humour is intact.

He has three pet goldfish all of whom he’s given Turkish names. Pakize — the pure one, Serafettin — the good boy and Abuziddin, Temel says that’s just a traditional name.

I didn’t imagine I would come back feeling so moved.

Five years ago, the survivors and families I met told me they would rebuild their lives. Every year they inched closer to that goal.

This time they seemed to have delivered on that promise.

I can only marvel at the miracle of their strength and resilience which is beyond my understanding.

And the only words that help me make any sense of it all are: “Verily with hardship comes ease”.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

The arena was filled with applauses and whistles when Fidelis Kamsnok walked up to the podium to receive his degree at the University of Papua New Guinea’s 68th graduation ceremony held at the Sir John Guise indoor complex.

Kamsnok, a father of three who hails from the East Sepik Province, is currently employed by the university as a member of Uniforce (the security company that guards the Waigani campus).

He had remained committed as a guard since joining the university in 2010 until yesterday when he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (Professional Studies) degree.

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“There were challenges as a father, working and taking on the course majoring in information and communication science.

“It was challenging in the family, looking after kids, and kids have their own needs. I have a son and two daughters, but I have to balance my needs as a father and theirs as well,” the Sepik man said.

After clocking 10 years with the university as a guard, Kamsnok applied for studies back in 2020 and the commitment he has put in his studies made it possible for him to join others and walk up to the stage on Tuesday with pride and obtain his degree.

He said the university had a policy where you had to be a serving member for seven years before applying for professional studies, adding that it took three years of studies for those who wanted to attain a degree in professional studies.

‘Balancing your life’
In his encouragement to others who are in similar positions, the guard said: “It’s through the faith you have.

“If you have to balance your life in helping kids, then you can do that, it’s possible.

“Everything is possible, you have to manage yourself.”

That is what Kamsnok did for the past three years.

While studying, he managed his time between studies and work and his family.

He spoke of how privileged he was to have achieved this degree, especially getting support from his family and mainly through his uncle’s endless help.

He said that without the support he would not have achieved his goal.

Marcia Negri is a PNG Post-Courier reporter. Republished with permission.

A day before the first State of the Nation Address (SONA) of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr in Quezon City, a shooting incident inside the Ateneo de Manila University claimed the lives of at least three individuals, including the former mayor of Lamitan, Basilan, Rose Furigay.

Furigay was supposed to attend the graduation of her daughter, Hannah, when she was shot about 3.30 pm yesterday. Furigay suffered gunshot wounds in her head and chest.

Graduation rites of the Ateneo Law School were cancelled by the university.

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Aside from Furigay, her long-time aide, Victor George Capistrano was also shot and died on the scene.

Ateneo security guard Jeneven Bandiala also died, Quezon City Police District (QCPD) director Brigadier-General Remus Medina said during his briefing on Sunday.

Hannah was also wounded in the incident and was immediately taken to the Quirino Memorial Medical Center. Medina said she was currently in stable condition.

Suspect Dr Chao Tiao Yumol was also wounded and suffered a gunshot wound. The police said they were still determining who shot the suspect.

The police recovered bullets and two guns — one with a silencer. Medina said Yumol used the gun with a silencer in killing the victims.

Yumol and his motive
Yumol, 38, is a general practitioner doctor and a native of Lamitan City. The police said the doctor had personal motives for killing Furigay.

“Initially, sa pagtatanong namin sa kanya, meron na silang long history ng away sa Lamitan, Basilan. So according to them, eh nagpapalitan na sila ng kaso. Itong si doktor naman ay laging nape-pressure sa pamilya ng Furigay. So lumalabas, personal ang away nila,” Medina said during his briefing.

(Initially, based on our interrogation of the suspect, they have a long history of conflict in Lamitan, Basilan. According to them, they filed cases against each other. The doctor was always pressured by the Furigay family. So it turned out that they had a personal conflict.)

Medina said Furigay filed 76 counts of cyber libel against Yumol, which temporarily prevented the suspect from practising medicine, according to the police. The suspect was detained for his libel cases, but was able to post bail, Medina added.

According to the QCPD director, Yumol also alleged that Furigay had a history of corruption:

“May ina-allege din si Doctor Yumol na katiwalian ng mayor. According to him, iyon po ang mga ina–allege niya, that is now subject for verification (Doctor Yumol is also alleging that the slain mayor was involved in corruption. According to him, that is what he is alleging, that is now subject for verification).”

The suspect was currently in the custody of the QCPD and undergoing custodial investigation.

No mention of human rights
Meanwhile, Rappler reports that was zero mention of human rights when Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr delivered his inaugural speech as president of the Philippines on June 30, and he went on to serve his first month in Malacañang without appointing anyone to the board vacancy of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR).

For his first State of the Nation Address (SONA) today, there is a mix of optimism and pessimism from the human rights community.

Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director of international group Human Rights Watch, urged Marcos to seize the “chance to distance himself from the rampant rights violations and deep-seated impunity of the Rodrigo Duterte administration”.

“President Marcos has a golden opportunity to get the Philippines on the right track by setting out clear priorities and policies to improve human rights in the country,” Robertson said in a statement.

The progressive Filipino lawyer Edre Olalia, president of the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL), in a forum that the human rights prospects under Marcos “quite candidly [do] not look good.”

Jairo Bolledo is a Rappler reporter. Republished with permission.

Papua New Guinea’s first woman neurosurgeon has graduated from the national university.

Dr Esther Apuahe graduated with a higher post-diploma in neurosurgery during the University of Papua New Guinea’s 67th graduation ceremony yesterday.

“She is the first female neurosurgeon in Papua New Guinea,” said the dean of UPNG’s Medical Faculty, Professor Nakapi Tefuarani.

• READ MORE: Other PNG medicine sector reports

Dr Apuahe, 43, originally from Morobe and married with three children, was also the first Papua New Guinean woman surgeon to finish in 2012.

“Surgery for almost 30 years had no female graduate since 1979 when the first male graduated. And, it has been a male-dominated field,” she said.

“In 2008 I started doing my masters in surgery at UPNG. I became the first female to finish in surgery.

“I finished in 2012 and I went out as a general surgeon at Vanimo General Hospital and I was called back here to take up neurosurgery.

New field for PNG
“It is a new field, basically to do with surgery of any brain pathology, head injuries and any brain tumour.

“Surgery, in the field of medicine, has been a male-dominated field.”

Dr Apuahe wanted to do something more than general surgery and, therefore, took up study in neurosurgery.

“After that, working outside, I felt that I needed to do more, maybe going further into surgery in some specialising,” she said.

Her study, which started in 2015, took a little longer than expected due to the pandemic as well as the unavailability of mentors.

“Neurosurgery is such a hard field. At that time, there were only two male neurosurgeons,” Dr Apuahe said.

“Because there was no one to cover in Port Moresby, I was called to come back here, so I’ve been here since 2015.

Not an easy journey
“The journey is not easy, it has been hard trying to manage patients and training with no medical supervision, just supervision externally, from Australia.

“It probably took a long time from 2015. I started, not officially, on training just getting some hands-on experience and I started towards the end of 2016, commencing neurosurgery.

“I had an attachment in Townsville (Australia) in 2019, but just as I was completing that, covid-19 came and so I was unfortunate enough to go before the pandemic and I came back and I sat for my exam last July.

“I thank the Royal Australian College for being there, supporting the training of neurosurgery and also to the academics at UPNG such as Professor Isi Kevau who pushed us through to make sure that I succeeded.

“After I graduated, there are now about eight female surgeons.”

Phoebe Gwangilo is a PNG Post-Courier reporter. Republished with permission.

As late South African President Nelson Mandela said: “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” Papuan Governor Lukas Enembe also believes this.

Enembe made a remarkable decision to provide scholarships to Papuan students to obtain education overseas such as in New Zealand, Australia, the UK, the US and other countries across the world.

He has realised that having West Papuan students in many world ranking universities will help raise the profile and dignity of Papuans on the global stage.

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This year, six Papuan provincial government scholarship recipients have graduated from several universities in New Zealand. About 160 Papuans are currently studying in New Zealand.

Marius Elabi graduated with Master of International Relationship and Security Studies from Waikato University on December 8, and Anggie Freesia Maritje Kapisa with a Bachelor of Science major in microbiology and Stephanie Verneytha Dike with a Bachelor of Science in Human Nutrition from Otago University on December 16.

Fredy Nawalyn with a Bachelor of International Business Management, Erli Enambere with a Bachelor of Contemporary International Studies and Prisilia Samori with a NZ Diploma in Tourism and Travel also graduated from the Institute of the Pacific United New Zealand on December 18.

Kapisa, who is the first child of her family to achieve education overseas said she was so humble and grateful to set an example for her younger sisters.

Even though Otago University did not hold its usual full graduation ceremony, a graduation ceremony was staged for Pacific students at the university campus.

Grateful for study opportunity
Kapisa said that she was so grateful to have a Pacific community at Otago University, so her West Papuan friends who were studying in New Zealand could come and celebrate the graduation together.

“I am so grateful to have my Pacific community here and West Papuan friends because my family could not attend my graduation,” said Kapisa.

Kapisa always stayed close to her family said that during her study she had encountered a lot of challenges knowing that came from a non-English speaking country and a different education system.

But with her commitment and perseverance and with the support from the people around her, she completed her study.

“Off course, I was homesick, but I must keep my health. It is not only my physical health but also my mental health,” she said.

“As you don’t know what I am going through, so it is important for me to have someone to talk to.

“I know that if I could make it, other girls can also make it,” said Kapisa.

Governor Enembe’s scholarships
Stephanie Verneytha Dike, who also graduated from Otago University, said she was extremely grateful to all the lecturers and academic supports staff who had helped her during her study.

She said she was so grateful to the government of Papua province and particularly Governor Enembe for granting her the scholarship to study in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Being an international student and studying overseas in a new environment and social life was always challenging, Dike said.

Dike who is also the first born in her family said that she faced a number of challenges that she managed to overcome.

She said the language barrier was the first challenge she faced along with social life.

Another challenge was the study because students were very competitive in class, so she had to study really hard.

“The challenges came from various factors, from education, the life like socialisation, and living far away from family – but the biggest challenge was competition in class,” she said.

‘Motivation to study hard’
“We have to pass the paper because we have the scholarship from the government, and we don’t want to waste the chance that the [Papua provincial] government has provided for us.

“Even though it is a pressure, we need to take it as our motivation to study hard,” said Dike.

Marius Elabi, who graduated from Waikato University, said that getting an opportunity to obtain knowledge from one of the universities in New Zealand was a fulfillment of his dream.

He said students needed to be grateful for the current provincial government’s programme to send students to pursue education in developed countries like New Zealand.

Elabi left his wife and children in West Papua and said it is really hard to be a student when you have got a family. But he was grateful to have a supportive family.

“I am so fortunate to have such a great wife and beautiful children who always get my back.

“My wife is a civil servant, but she is a great woman like other Melanesian and Pacific women,” he said.

“We West Papuans are capable to compete with other students here in New Zealand and in other countries, but we don’t have much opportunity,” said Elabi.

Father of three
Elabi, who is the father of three children, said that studying in New Zealand was not like in Indonesia where he had completed his undergraduate studies.

He said the challenges were similar to what Kapisa and Dike experienced, but one other issue that challenged him throughout his study was “family burdens”.

In order to be able to provide needs for his family back in West Papua, he did part time work as a cleaner and fruit picker.

“Even though I have to study and complete my thesis, I spent a couple of hours to do cleaning,” he said.

“During school break, I work with other West Papuan students at the farm.

“When you are students, never be shy to do any kind of work,” said Elabi.

Kapisa, Dike and Elabi said that they hoped the government of Papua province would send more Papuan students to New Zealand so that they could have a chance to know their brothers and sisters in the Pacific from New Zealand.

Presented achievements to family
The graduates said they presented their achievements to their mother, father, brothers, sisters, wife, children, extended family and all West Papuans.

Marveys Ayomi, a scholarship coordinator for Papuan students in New Zealand, said he was extremely proud of all the West Papuan graduates from Waikato, Otago and IPU New Zealand.

“First of all it is a big achievement for the people of Papua and we also need to acknowledge such an important role of the government of Papua plays from the very beginning since the establishment of the programme, specially a big thanks to our Governor bapak Lukas Enembe for providing this opportunity to many of our Papuan students.

“This is once in a lifetime opportunity for many of them and some of them in fact never travel out of Papua. Most of the students are highly motivated and driven to succeed.

“Now over the last three or four years we are averaging over five sometimes 10 students graduating over the last few years,” said Ayomi.

“This is the example of how successful the programme has been.”

Ayomi, a Papuan who has been living in New Zealand for 20 years and is a lecturer at the IPU New Zealand, said that there were many challenges that every student faced.

Adapting to new culture
Every student faced challenges like adapting to the new culture, academic system and other things.

Coming from Papua and culturally as a Melanesian and with a Pacific background, he said that New Zealand was a very unique and beautiful country for Papuans to be. He said in terms of the culture, there was a lot of similarity between Papuan culture and Māori culture.

“It is a different country, but I think culturally speaking we share a lot of commonalities and also similar cultural practices and traditions,” he said.

“The people of Papua have got a lot of hope for a bigger, better, brighter Papua in coming years. I call this day, the Golden Generation of Papua.”

He hopes everyone will succeed in their studies and enjoy their experience as much as possibly they can, take a lot of positive things that they can learn from New Zealand – “the beautiful nation and its people”.

Transfer some of those skills to your own people when you return home at some point,” said Ayomi.

“But if you still continue your studies, continue to do well and always put people in your land first before anything else.”

Laurens Ikinia is a Papuan Masters in Communication Studies student at Auckland University of Technology who has been studying journalism. He is on an internship with AUT’s Pacific Media Centre.