Key Points
- A close friend has remembered a 'happy' Faraz Tahir one year on from the Bondi Junction attack.
- Adnan Qadir is a community leader who helped Tahir settle in Australia.
- A blood donation drive has been launched in Tahir's name.
Adnan Qadir finds comfort that his friend Faraz Tahir's final moments were a reflection of "what he truly believed in... to save other people".
He was among six victims of the attack on 13 April 2024, and was buried in Sydney two days before what would have been his 31st birthday.
"(Tahir) was a very happy, chatty, smiley person. He was a good friend," Qadir told SBS Urdu.
Tahir met Qadir through the Ahmadiyya Muslim Youth Association after fleeing persecution in Pakistan in 2019.
He settled as a refugee in Melbourne before relocating to Brisbane, where his aunt and cousin reside, and later to Sydney.
"I was one of the first people who worked with Tahir closely to help him with settling in," Qadir said.
"He was very grateful to Australia to afford him religious freedom, and in turn, he wanted to give back."
Faraz Tahir (right) with his younger brother Shiraz Tahir in Pakistan in 2019. Credit: Tahir family
"(The association) is partnering with Red Cross Australia with a blood donation drive in his name, called Faraz's Gift," he said.
"Our target for the first year was to save at least 1,000 lives.
"(This is) our way of celebrating the sacrifice he made for the country."
Qadir encouraged people to donate blood as part of Faraz's Gift, with more details available through searching for the team on the Lifeblood Red Cross website.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (centre left) and NSW Premier Chris Minns (centre right) join other politicians as they lay flowers at the scene of the stabbing on 14 April 2024. Credit: DEAN LEWINS/AAPIMAGE
"And anybody who wants to do it and take this opportunity, (Faraz's family) will be grateful."
He said Tahir's family took comfort from knowing that their brother had "died as a hero".
"They're really grateful to the broader Australian community (who had reached) out to the family to show their support," Qadir said.
Commemorative displays have been installed outside the shopping centre to remember the victims of the attack.
They will remain in place until Wednesday, 16 April.
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