“It is a very special day for Muslims. It is a very important event in the Islamic year. So missing that is extremely frustrating because we went through all of this last year, â€he said.
“[Missing Eid] leaves a great void in people’s lives. But the community has to adapt – what other choice do we have? “
Mosques had prepared for Eid prayers on Tuesday, he said, which have now been canceled, along with many family reunions and community functions.
“It impacts the entire spectrum of the older generation Muslim community, but also parents and children in particular. My four children are devastated, â€he said.
Elsewhere in the state, vacation cancellations have taken another blow to the tourism industry, especially in the Alpine regions.
George Kyriazis arrived with a group of 10 friends in Falls Creek on Thursday, just in time to hear the announcement of the state’s shutdown.
George Kyriazis, 27 (third from right) arrived at Falls Creek with a group of friends Thursday morning, only to learn they were about to be locked up.
“It was a real kick in the guts,” he said on Friday. “I guess you understand the decision, but it’s frustrating, we all tried to do the right thing. We said that even if we have a day we will be happy but the decision was so quick.
“It’s just overwhelming. We are here right now, we will soon be catching a bus to Mount Beauty and heading to Melbourne.
“They gave people the choice, but the majority of the mountain decided to go out. If you are not going to ski there is not much else to do. Unfortunately a lot of effort has gone into putting together a ski season this year and you feel bad for everyone involved.
The 27-year-old finance employee said the mood at the ski resort was dark and “a bit flat”.
“The people here are quite pragmatic people, they understand that it is like that. The staff here have been fantastic, they have been inundated with refund and cancellation requests, they try their best. But you feel for them, these are the jobs and the livelihoods of the people that we are talking about and it is difficult. “
Fairfield’s mother Melissa, who didn’t want to use her last name, had also planned a trip to the snow with her two young daughters, ages two and four.
Her daughters have never seen snow and had been talking about it for weeks, dressing in snow clothes and telling their mom they had to put carrots on the shopping list to make snowmen. She said the hardest part was telling them the trip was canceled.
“This is the hardest part, because you only see their little faces, it has happened so many times. My daughter is four years old and kinda understands, and the fact that she understands is really sad; that kind of boring acceptance is what we have to do, our four year old shouldn’t have to think like that.
The family hopes to stand up to support Alpine businesses.
“I’m still the optimist so we changed reservations,†she said.
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