Jenny Macklin (Jagajaga, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Families and Payments) Share this | Hansard source

I offer my condolences to the families of those senselessly murdered in the terrorist attack in Mogadishu, Somalia, on 14 October. At least 358 people were killed and 228 injured, and there are still many unaccounted for. The attack targeted the city's largest marketplace, everyday people doing everyday things—working, shopping, socialising. Somalis are in a state of shock and mourning right across the world, and we mourn with them.

Jagajaga is home to the largest population of Somali Australians in Victoria. They are a proud, vibrant, family-oriented people, and they love their community and love Australia. On the weekend I joined them for a community barbecue in Heidelberg West to show support and our affection for those lost and left behind. They showed and told me of people they knew who were killed in this attack. There was a young woman who had graduated that day from her medical course and a paraplegic father of eight who lost a son and daughter working in a market stall selling milk—terrible stories. However, the Somali people are eternal optimists. They won't allow those attempting to drag their country backwards to win. I'd like to thank local community elders, the Darusalam Society, Abdullah Ahmed, Hussein Haraco, the women leaders and the children of that great community.

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