Related
John Sato, a 95-year-old World War II veteran, said he felt compelled to make the journey to Auckland because news of the massacre kept him up at night.
"I stayed awake quite a lot of the night and I didn’t sleep too well ever since, you know. I thought it was so sad. You can feel the suffering of other people," he said.
Sato initially visited a mosque close to his home, but after seeing the messages and flowers left for the victims, he was inspired to go to the larger rally in downtown Auckland.
Multiple bus transfers later, he arrived and was greeted by his fellow countrymen who helped him maneuver through the rally.
He said too many lives were lost in the war and that life is too short to waste on being hateful.
Kindness was in the air at the rally as Sato later found a ride home that didn’t entail multiple buses.
"Policeman took me all the way home, waited down there until he saw me getting up the stairs," Sato said. "The tragedy in Christchurch, look at what it brought out in people. It shows the best of humanity."