Matt Hewson
Geelong rallied behind the Afghan community at a candlelit vigil on Monday night for the 87 students, mostly girls, who were killed in a suicide attack at a school in Kabul on September 30.
The vigil, held at Johnstone Park, mourned the senseless deaths of the students of the Kaj Education Institute, all of whom were aged 16 to 19 and members of the persecuted Hazaras ethnic minority.
Spokesperson for World Hazara Council Ms Sitarah Mohammadi said the response to the worldwide vigils had been amazing.
“These vigils are happening around the world, across five continents and in 100 cities,” Ms Mohammadi said.
“The response has been phenomenal. We’ve also launched the #stophazaragenocide online campaign last year, but since the latest attack in Kabul it has gained huge momentum and energy on social media.
“The hashtag has been used over 8 million times on Twitter, which is raising awareness of the atrocities against the Hazaras and the crimes of genocide they’ve been facing.
Ms Mohammadi said the Kaj Institute attack was just the latest in a systematic, targeted pattern of violence against the Hazara people.
“In May last year we had an attack on another girls’ high school, again, in the Dasht-e-Barchi area of West Kabul, home to the Hazaras,” she said.
“In April this year we had another suicidal attack on a boys’ high school that killed scores of people, wounded scores of others.
“This is just another attack as part of the ongoing series of attacks against the Hazara people.”
Ms Mohammadi said anyone who wanted to help bring attention to the violence being meted out to the Hazaras could lend their voice to the social media campaign or contact their local minister.
“For anyone who’s on social media, on Twitter, please get on board with the global movement and use the hashtag,” she said.
“It’s really important that we continue to mobilise and use the hashtag. And I would urge everyone to contact their local MPs, to ask them what the Australian government is doing about these atrocities.”
