Bella Hadidhas joined the chorus of social media users highlighting world tragedies in the wake ofMonday’s devastating fireatParis’ Notre Dame Cathedral.
On her Instagram Story, the 22-year-old model shared a pair of social media posts about the Keriya Aitika Mosque in China’s Xinjiang region, which reportedly “disappeared in 2018” as part of the continued destruction of mosques in Xinjiang,Forbesreported. Another post highlighted the recent burnings ofthree historically Black churchesin Louisiana.
Asocial media user tweetedon Monday that the Keriya Aitika Mosque was 800 years old and was “razed to the ground.” A University of British Columbia studenttweetedearlier this month, “where has this mosque gone? Keriya Aitika Mosque. more than 800 year history, disappeared in early 2018 despite selected as Chinese architectural heritage in late 2017.”
Bella Hadid/Instagram
Internet users have worked to spread awareness about the burning of the Louisiana churches as fundraising efforts for the856-year-old Notre Dame Cathedral surpassed $700 million.
The Seventh District Baptist Associationset up a GoFundMe pagenearly a week ago to help fund repairs for St. Mary Baptist Church in Port Barre, plus Greater Union Baptist Church and Mount Pleasant Baptist Church, both in Opelousas. However, after initially raising $150,000 for the repairs,according to CNN, the fundraiser skyrocketed to more than $1.1 million as thousands donated in the wake of the Notre Dame fire.
“It’s a blessing,” said Rev. Gerald Toussaint, pastor of Mount Pleasant Baptist Church, according to CNN. “It’s going to help our community. What the devil meant for bad, God’s going to turn it into something good.”
Gisela Schober/Getty
Holden Matthews, the 21-year-old son of St. Landry’s Parish Sheriff’s deputy Roy Matthews, has pleaded not guilty to three hate crime charges, two counts of simple arson of a religious building and one count of aggravated arson of a religious building,CNN reported. In response to PEOPLE’s request for comment, Matthews’ attorney, Quincy Cawthorne, says, “There’s no statement at this time.”
The Catholic church is aworld-famous landmarkfor the French capital, second only to the Eiffel Tower, and has been a center of religious and cultural life for centuries.
The White House announced that the U.S. would offer “assistance in the rehabilitation of this irreplaceable symbol of Western civilization,”The Hill reported. This sparked criticism, as many pointed outTrump’s lackluster response to Puerto Rico, which isstill struggling to recover from Hurricane Mariaand Hurricane Irma’s devastation in 2017. Others criticized the decision as they noted thecontamination of water in Flint, Michigan,following 2015 revelations that the water was not treated for corrosion, which resulted in widespread lead poisoning.
“The worst has been avoided, but the battle isn’t fully won yet,” Macron said. “It is with pride I tell you tonight we will rebuild this cathedral … we will rebuild Notre Dame because it is what the French expect of us, it is what our history deserves, it is, in the deepest sense, our destiny.”
source: people.com
