A single mother from Sydney has faced intense criticism after setting up a crowdfunding page to replace a handbag she lost while fleeing the Bondi Beach massacre, with many branding the move 'self-absorbed'.
The Fundraiser That Divided Opinion
Tara Burns, a mother-of-two from Bondi Junction, was celebrating her daughter's fifth birthday at the iconic beach last Sunday when alleged gunman Naveed Akram and his father Sajid began a shooting spree. The attack resulted in 15 fatalities and 42 people injured.
In the ensuing panic to escape, Burns lost her handbag containing her phone and identification documents. Subsequently, she created a GoFundMe page aiming to raise $500 to cover the replacement costs.
'My kids and I were celebrating my daughter's fifth birthday at Bondi Beach yesterday. In the scuffle of having to leave in the terrifying scramble, I've lost my handbag and my phone,' she explained on the fundraising platform. She added that, so close to Christmas, the loss represented a significant financial burden for her as a single parent.
A Wave of Criticism and a Defence
The fundraiser quickly attracted attention on social media, but not in the way Burns may have hoped. A TikTok user stumbled upon the page while donating to victims of the tragedy and expressed her disbelief in a video that went viral.
'This person is concerned about losing their handbag during a mass terrorist attack... What is going on?' she said. 'People have literally lost their lives. Families have lost their loved ones, and this woman is concerned about her handbag.'
The critic emphasised that losing a bag paled in comparison to the horror experienced by those 'stepping over dead bodies', concluding the act was 'tone deaf'. The sentiment was echoed by others online, with one commenter noting, 'Losing a handbag is pretty insignificant to losing your life,' and another pointing out families were scrambling to fund funerals.
Compassion Amidst the Chaos
However, a significant number of people rushed to defend Burns, arguing for compassion in the wake of a shared trauma. Supporters stressed that she was herself a victim present during the attack.
'You know she's a victim right? She was at the shooting. You were not,' one defender wrote. 'She probably stepped over dead bodies too. It's almost Christmas - she's out thousands. Because she was in a terror attack.'
Other comments highlighted the principle of community support. 'True Australians - regardless of citizenship/religion band together in a time like this,' one person stated. A fellow single mother also voiced sympathy, writing, 'Shaming someone for asking for help because other people went through worse is actually disgusting.'
Despite the heated debate, the fundraiser had attracted just one donation of $20 at the time of reporting. The incident has laid bare the complex and often conflicting emotions that surface in the aftermath of a national tragedy, where individual loss intersects with collective grief.
