Photo: George Heard | New Zealand Herald via AP
On March 15, 2022, in Wellington, New Zealand, Temel Atacocugu entered the Al Noor mosque at 1:40 p.m., the exact time he was shot 9 times in 2019. He made an emotional speech, having just completed a two-week walk and bike ride for peace in which he retraced the 360-kilometer route that the gunman had driven that fateful day to the mosques where he killed 51 Muslim worshippers. Although Atacocugu suffered from blisters and blood poisoning along the way and often felt pain from his injuries suffered during that terrible event, he never gave up. "I wanted to fix this damage," Atacocugu said. "Because three years ago, he started that journey with hate." Blessing the route along the way, Atacocugu also raised NZD$64,000 during his journey for three charities benefiting children.
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