A 95-year-old World War II veteran took four buses to join an anti-racism rally for the Christchurch attack, held at Aotea Square in Auckland, New Zealand this past Sunday.
John Sato, who fought for New Zealand against the Imperial Japanese Army in WWII and was one of only two Japanese-New Zealanders in the army at the time, showed his support for the Muslim community and took a stand against racism after the traumatizing Christchurch terror attack that happened on March 15.
Despite his age, Sato still attended the march against racism and had to take four bus rides just to get to the venue, Mashable reported.
Sato, who was born to a Scottish mother and Japanese father, admitted to Radio New Zealand that he tends to keep to himself and is a bit out of touch with the modern world. But when he heard of the gruesome attack carried out by the White supremacist and alt-right suspect, Brenton Harrison Tarrant, Sato couldn’t help but feel deeply affected.
“I stayed awake quite a lot at the night. I didn’t sleep too well ever since. I thought it was so sad. You can feel the suffering of other people,” the 95-year-old vet said.
While hardships are part of life, Sato reminded everyone that it’s important to look after one another regardless of their ethnic background or what they believe in
“I think it’s such a tragedy, and yet it has the other side. It has brought people together, no matter what their race or anything. People suddenly realized we’re all one. We care for each other,” he told the station.
People were very kind to Sato after he arrived at the rally. They gave him a hand and one policeman even offered a bottle of water to the elderly and took him home.
“Policeman took me all the way home, waited down there until he saw me getting up the stairs. The tragedy in Christchurch, look at what it brought out in people. It shows the best of humanity,” he said.
Featured image screenshot via YouTube / PressTV
