It's been a dark day for the people of Sydney, but as fears grew that the siege taking place in the city centre could prompt anti-Muslim actions, people took to social media with expressions of support for the community.
The #illridewithyou hashtag started after Rachael Jacobs, a commuter on a train in Sydney, noticed a Muslim woman quietly taking off her hijab. Jacobs wrote on her Facebook account that she told the woman: "No, if you want to wear it, then wear it. I'll walk with you."
Soon after, her Facebook updates were tweeted.
Be more like this. pic.twitter.com/qoa2kVe15g— GenErik (@ErikVeland) December 15, 2014
And following this a Twitter user made a simple gesture of help.
If you reg take the #373 bus b/w Coogee/MartinPl, wear religious attire, & don’t feel safe alone: I’ll ride with you. @ me for schedule.— Sir Tessa (@sirtessa) December 15, 2014
She started a hashtag for others to make similar offers.
Maybe start a hashtag? What’s in #illridewithyou?— Sir Tessa (@sirtessa) December 15, 2014
The hashtag gained strength quickly with hundreds offering to accompany people fearing anti-Muslim incidents in public places. It quickly began to spread outside of Sydney.
I'm an irregular bus buddy; regular 9-5ers, feel free to join in. #illridewithyou Again, this doesn't have to be Sydney specific.— Sir Tessa (@sirtessa) December 15, 2014
Thousands of people have joined in with the hashtag, and in just three hours it had been mentioned in 65,000 tweets.
If you need someone to ride the train with you - I'm in Potts Point and #illridewithyou - #sydneysiege— Alex Bouchet (@AlexBouchet) December 15, 2014
More than happy to join the #IllRideWithYou initiative. T3 or T4 from Sydenham to city and return, daily.— Jakkii Musgrave (@slybeer) December 15, 2014
I'm in. If u wear religious garments & feel unsafe on public transport, I'll sit with u. Redfern-KX, peak hrs. #illridewithyou @sirtessa— Mia Lazzarini (@mialazzarini) December 15, 2014
It's #Melbourne, and I'm funemployed. But if you're Muslim + worried about hassles on ye commute post #sydneysiege #illridewithyou HMU— reubenacciano (@reubenacciano) December 15, 2014
Train, Newtown---St James via C. Quay. 8.31 in, 5.44 out. If you wear religious attire & don't feel safe, #illridewithyou (reply to tweet)— AmelioratriXMAS (@amelioratrix) December 15, 2014
The hashtag then started to trend all over the world.
90,000+ Tweets for #illridewithyou, 1,100 per minute. Trending number 1, globally. #SydneySiege pic.twitter.com/NGeyUifhd8— Aust News Network (@AusNewsNetwork) December 15, 2014
People in Australia were also asked to report any anti-Muslim incidents.
We urge you to keep reporting any incidents of anti-Muslim sentiments via our website: http://t.co/CW8oirlCI0— Mariam Veiszadeh (@MariamVeiszadeh) December 15, 2014