The mother of the Christchurch mosque attack victim has written a book to help children come to terms with loss and trauma, cope with change and build resilience.
Dr Maysoon Salama’s son Atta Mohammed Elayyan, 33, was one of 51 worshippers killed during Friday prayers at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand on March 15, 2019, by terrorist Brenton Tarrant. Her husband, Mohammad Atta Ahmad Elayyan, was also injured.
Aya and the Butterfly is a picture book written by Dr Salama for her granddaughter Aya, who is Elayyan’s daughter, and for other children who are dealing with loss and trauma. But the book’s focus is not Elayyan’s tragic death.
“Aya’s father’s death is implied, but this is not the story’s focus, and children do not need to know how it happened. They do need to know that sometimes we have to say goodbye to the people and the things we love the most. In the face of such overwhelming loss, we must allow ourselves to remember and feel sad, but we must also learn to let go and keep going. There is hope,” The New Zealand Herald quoted Dr Salama as saying.
Aya and the Butterfly is part of a series of books that have been developed to support, reflect, and celebrate the Muslim community in New Zealand. “They are also a way for non-Muslim Kiwis to “learn about others so that they are no longer others,”” described the country’s the Ministry of Education’s website.
The book, written both in Arabic and English is now available free to early childhood and primary school-aged children across New Zealand. Aya and the Butterfly is accompanied by support material to assist with conversations with learners around the topics of grief and loss, and the cycle of life in general.
The online book can be downloaded for free here.
