On Thursday, mourners buried 10-year-old Matilda, the youngest victim of Sydney’s Bondi Beach attack. She was enjoying Hanukkah with her family when the gunman opened fire.
At the funeral in Sydney, people held bouquets of flowers, framed photos of Matilda, dolls and stuffed animals, as seen in a video of the ceremony, which was attended by several politicians, state broadcaster ABC said.
The girl’s death touched many in the grieving community. A woman who visited the makeshift memorial Wednesday said she had knitted 15 butterflies to represent each of the deceased. “The one in the middle is a bright blue one and it belongs to Matilda,” she told Chinese state broadcaster CGTN.
Matilda was wounded in the shooting Sunday as she attended a Hanukkah celebration with her parents, sister and friends. She was then rushed to the hospital where doctors struggled to save her but were unsuccessful.
At a memorial event on Wednesday, Matilda’s parents reflected on their daughter’s final moments. “It looked like she was running around happily, but all I saw was her lying on the ground,” her mother, Valentina, said through tears.
Matilda’s aunt Lina said the family moved to Australia from Ukraine in the 1990s and enjoyed walks on the beach, picnics in the park and trips to the zoo.
“I couldn’t imagine losing my daughter here,” Valentina said through tears and gasping for air after leaving Ukraine.
As the nation mourns the victims of Australia’s worst mass shooting in almost 30 years, authorities have vowed to take tougher measures against both gun control and anti-Semitism.
Speaking on Thursday, Prime Minister Antony Albanese announced changes to the law to crack down on people who spread “hate, division and radicalization”.
This includes tougher penalties for preachers and leaders who promote hate speech and violence. He said Australia would develop a system to list organizations whose leaders make hate speech or promote violence or racial hatred, as hate speech would be an “aggravating factor” in sentencing for crimes involving online intimidation and harassment.
Australia’s Home Secretary will also be given new powers to cancel or refuse visas to people who spread hate and division, or who would do so if allowed into the country.
Mr Albanese also announced the creation of a task force to work for 12 months to ensure Australia’s education system “prevents, tackles and responds to anti-Semitism”.
“There is no place for anti-Semitism in Australia,” Ms Albanese said. “Australians are shocked and angry. I’m angry too.”
The Australian Federal Police is also searching for the suspected hate preacher as part of the investigation and plans to execute further search warrants in the coming days, Police Commissioner Chrissy Barrett said on Thursday.
The Commissioner reflected on his recent visit to Sydney and paid tribute to the victims, the youngest of them.
“Every day we see beautiful, happy faces that are now gone, and we see our own loved ones in them,” Barrett said. “Today is little Matilda’s funeral. She was so young and innocent, and my heart is so heavy for her family.”
