When love defeats terror
Australian Women’s Weekly NZ|Christmas 2020
The terror attacks in Christchurch last year shocked the world, but the courage of those left behind inspired us too. Genevieve Gannon meets one mother who brought a terrorist to tears with an act of forgiveness.
Genevieve Gannon
When love defeats terror

On an overcast Thursday afternoon in March 2019, Hussein Al-Umari came home to his family’s red-brick house in Christchurch and gave his mother what would be their last ever hug. Janna Ezat and her husband Hazim had just purchased a new hybrid car and Janna wanted to show it off to her son. A home security camera captured their last precious moments: Janna steps into the courtyard and raises her arms to greet her firstborn. Her long dark hair hangs down her back and her face lights up with a smile as they embrace. Then Hussein leans down and kisses his mother on the cheek.

“He had that rare gift of making everyone feel important, special, loved, and appreciated,” Janna told the High Court more than a year later. “Hussein was a kind, humble, caring and hardworking young man. Hussein loved his family, his friends, his pet rabbit and his life.”

He was a simple man, she tells The Weekly, full of goodness. “He had a very kind and soft personality. He loved to talk to people. He was into music, he played the drums. He was amazing.”

In the home footage, Janna turns to show Hussein, 35, the new car. The camera doesn’t pick up what they are saying, but the tenderness between them is clear, as the little acts of love that make up family life are captured on film. Janna, Hazim and Hussein then get into the car to take it for a drive, and the tape cuts out. “He told me, ‘Congratulations, Mama.’ Then he hugged me. This was the last hug,” Janna says.

This story is from the Christmas 2020 edition of Australian Women’s Weekly NZ.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the Christmas 2020 edition of Australian Women’s Weekly NZ.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM AUSTRALIAN WOMEN’S WEEKLY NZView All
PRETTY WOMAN
Australian Women’s Weekly NZ

PRETTY WOMAN

Dial up the joy with a mood-boosting self-care session done in the privacy of your own home. It’s a blissful way to banish the winter blues.

time-read
3 mins  |
July 2024
Hitting a nerve
Australian Women’s Weekly NZ

Hitting a nerve

Regulating the vagus nerve with its links to depression, anxiety, arthritis and diabetes could aid physical and mental wellbeing.

time-read
5 mins  |
July 2024
The unseen Rovals
Australian Women’s Weekly NZ

The unseen Rovals

Candid, behind the scenes and neverbefore-seen images of the royal family have been released for a new exhibition.

time-read
2 mins  |
July 2024
Great read
Australian Women’s Weekly NZ

Great read

In novels and life - there's power in the words left unsaid.

time-read
2 mins  |
July 2024
Winter dinner winners
Australian Women’s Weekly NZ

Winter dinner winners

Looking for some thrifty inspiration for weeknight dinners? Try our tasty line-up of budget-concious recipes that are bound to please everyone at the table.

time-read
3 mins  |
July 2024
Winter baking with apples and pears
Australian Women’s Weekly NZ

Winter baking with apples and pears

Celebrate the season of apples and pears with these sweet bakes that will keep the cold weather blues away.

time-read
7 mins  |
July 2024
The wines and lines mums
Australian Women’s Weekly NZ

The wines and lines mums

Once only associated with glamorous A-listers, cocaine is now prevalent with the soccer-mum set - as likely to be imbibed at a school fundraiser as a nightclub. The Weekly looks inside this illegal, addictive, rising trend.

time-read
10+ mins  |
July 2024
Former ballerina'sBATTLE with BODY IMAGE
Australian Women’s Weekly NZ

Former ballerina'sBATTLE with BODY IMAGE

Auckland author Sacha Jones reveals how dancing led her to develop an eating disorder and why she's now on a mission to educate other women.

time-read
7 mins  |
July 2024
MEET RUSSIA'S BRAVEST WOMEN
Australian Women’s Weekly NZ

MEET RUSSIA'S BRAVEST WOMEN

When Alexei Navalny died in a brutal Arctic prison, Vladimir Putin thought he had triumphed over his most formidable opponent. Until three courageous women - Alexei's mother, wife and daughter - took up his fight for freedom.

time-read
8 mins  |
July 2024
IT'S NEVER TOO LATE TO START
Australian Women’s Weekly NZ

IT'S NEVER TOO LATE TO START

Responsible for keeping the likes of Jane Fonda and Jamie Lee Curtis in shape, Malin Svensson is on a mission to motivate those in midlife to move more.

time-read
5 mins  |
July 2024