‘At the end of the day, we’re Aussies’: Assyrians assess church attack
For Sydney’s tight-knit Assyrian community, Monday’s terrorist attack in a church was confronting for a long-persecuted people. But it was not a reflection of the community where the parents of nearly 80 per cent of residents were born overseas.
Out the front of Christ the Good Shepherd Church in Wakeley, in Fairfield City in Sydney’s west, on Thursday afternoon there are almost no signs that NSW Police had declared a terrorism incident only a few days earlier.
A small group of men talking outside the Assyrian church where the attack happened, and a groundskeeper watering grass, are the only movement around the block. The tape surrounding the building isn’t police tape, but rather black and yellow that seems to be protecting newly laid turf. All around are houses, the streets are quiet, any inkling of the riot that followed the attack is well and truly gone.
Max MasonSenior courts and crime reporterMax Mason covers financial crime, courts and corporate wrongdoing. A Walkley Award winner, Max’s journalism has also received awards from the National Press Club of Australia, the Kennedy Awards and Citibank. Message Max on Signal https://tinyurl.com/MaxMason Connect with Max on Twitter. Email Max at max.mason@afr.com
