Muslim children, parents, and grandparents lost their lives in two mosques when a terrorist opened fire last year at Christchurch to end the lives of 50 people and injuring many others.
One year on, people still remember the victims and accord them deserved honors.
Originally from Palestine, Dr. Amjad Hamid, heart doctor and a rural hospital consultant is one of the victims who lost their lives that day.
A new medal to honor the memory of Dr. Hamid has been developed by the Royal New Zealand College of GPs, where he was a fellow of its Division of Rural Hospital Medicine.
“It is a fitting tribute to Dr. Hamid to honor him in this way and to associate him with the highest achievers in cardiorespiratory medicine,” Lynne Hayman, CEO of the College said, Scoop reported.
The Amjad Hamid medal will be awarded for the first time this year to the top student of the University of Otago’s GENA 728 paper, which is Cardiorespiratory Medicine in Rural Hospitals.
“Dr. Hamid was known as a highly-skilled, caring and gentle doctor and his death was a shocking loss to the rural health profession,” added Jennifer Keys, the Chair of the Division of Rural Hospital Medicine.
“Creating this medal in his name will help keep his memory alive and memorialize his work in the annals of New Zealand medical history.”
One Year On
Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region.
It is home to 404,500 residents, making it New Zealand’s 3rd most populous city behind Auckland and Wellington.
In the first anniversary marking the terrorist attacks, different ceremonies and events are planned to honor the victims.
For example, two imams in New Zealand are planning a series of ‘Meet a Muslim’ events on the first anniversary of the Christchurch mosque massacre.
The imams will be leading a group of youth as they venture across the country under the banner of the nationwide ‘True Islam NZ’ campaign.
Thousands of New Zealand Muslims will also mark the first anniversary of Christchurch terrorist shooting with prayers and national remembrance service.