Christchurch mosque shooting: Schools grapple with grief

Devastated Christchurch students have reached out to the families of the mosque terror attack victims, singing for them a song of hope, faith and love. SEE THE EMOTIVE VIDEO

Christchurch students touched the distraught families of the mosque attacks victims, performing a haka designed to reassure them they belonged in New Zealand and singing for them a song of hope, faith and love.

Mele Peseta, 17, who led Christchurch Girls High School singing “E tora nga mea”, was soon overcome with emotion as women from the bereaving Muslim community stepped forward to hug the girls as they sang.

The song was followed by a bespoke haka performed by Christchurch Boys High School, which a teacher said was designed to show that “the pain of Christchurch echoes through everyone regardless of ethnicity”.

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Christchurch students break down as they meet with families of the mosque attack victims. Picture: Gary Ramage

As families awaited news on when the bodies of all 50 victims would finally be released, it was revealed by witnesses that Australian gunman Brenton Tarrant did not locate the female section at the rear of Al Noor Mosque that was full of women and children, averting an even greater toll.

“The killer didn’t find the kids with their mums,” said Mehedi, who flew in from Auckland to offer support.

A bespoke haka was performed by students from the Christchurch Boys High School. Picture: Gary Ramage

Overall, he said people were having trouble sleeping and found it hard to let their guard down.

Ahmad Feroz, whose uncle survived being shot twice in the back and once in the leg, said the community’s children were traumatised and having trouble understanding that the worst was over.

Heartbroken students have reached out to the families and friends of those caught up in the terror attack. Picture: Gary Ramage

“The kids are really upset,” said Ahmad. “One came up to me yesterday and asked me to please to take off my scarf, saying I would get shot for wearing it.”

Heartbroken families continue to be anxious to lay their loved to rest following the Muslim custom to bury people as quickly as possible.

There was some movement today, when the first of the bodies were released from the hospital morgue and taken to a second undisclosed location where cleansing rituals could start to be performed.

But many remained uncertain of the process and a young Somali man, deeply distressed, said he needed to know.

“Dad was 75,” said a young Somali man. “I just want to bury him. That’s what we all want.”

Mohammad Mallouk, originally from Syria but a long-time resident of Auckland, said people understood that authorities needed to complete the identification process. This was especially so given — according to relatives — the killer had deliberately shot people in the head.

“Our custom is to bury people as quickly as possible but we have to respect the police,” he said.

“We have no complaints. The authorities and the people of New Zealand have done more than could have been expected. This guy wanted to divide us but he has put us together.”

PRINCIPAL’S MESSAGE OF HOPE

School principal Mark Wilson had one message for his students attending the Monday morning assembly at Cashmere High School.

“This event does not define us,” he says.

“It doesn’t define us as a school, it doesn’t define us as a city or as a country, this is not New Zealand, this is not how we are.

“It is very easy to become overcome with the grief and hatred of this sort of situation but we have got to ensure that love will come through.”

Two of his students are dead and another in hospital with gun shot wounds, a past pupil is also dead as are two fathers of students and another still in hospital from the massacre last Friday. The students had been on approved leave to attend prayers at the Al Noor mosque nearby on Friday.

Cashmere High School principal Mark Wilson says he does not want the attack to “define” New Zealand. Picture: AP

All schools in the city went into lockdown shortly around 2.30 for almost four hours after police tried to understand and control the situation so Monday morning is the first chance students have come back together since learning of the 50 people killed, including people many would have known.

“You can’t go through an event like this and not be touched by it and obviously there is going to be particular students who are great mates with these boys and with these families and there are going to be people directly affected,” Mr Wilson said today before assembling the students.

“It affects everybody. This is really a traumatic situation and there is going to be a need for a lot of support and care for everybody not just for the students but also for our staff who taught these students who know these students over the years that they have been here. This is really a difficult time.”

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern yesterday singled out the school as most likely to need trauma attention but instructed her education department to ensure councillors fanned out to all schools in the traumatised city.

The school held three assemblies for Year 10 and Year 12 separately then a collective one for Years 9, 11 and 13.

There are 2000 students at the school.

Classes started at 10am. After school, students with the school’s blessing were planning on holding a vigil as part of the grieving process.

Cashmere High School head boy ‎Okirano Tilaia‎ said his fellow students were in a “state of shock” since the attacks.

Cashmere High School student Oki Tillia says he and his classmates are in shock. Picture: AP

One of the unconfirmed dead students from the school was Sayyad Milne, 14, from Year 10. He dreamt of becoming an international football star and was looking forward to playing in a futsal tournament in Wellington in a week’s time. He was a goalie.

“He was a loving and kind brother and will be greatly missed,” his half sister Brydie Henry said over the weekend.

The other student killed was Year 12’s Hamza Mustafa, his father Khaled Mustafa was also killed and his younger brother was wounded. They only joined the community last year after fleeing war-torn Syria.

His younger brother Zaid who also attends Cashmere High was being treated in Christchurch Hospital for gunshot wounds to his leg.

The former student killed was Tariq Omar, 24, who attended between 2008 and 2012.

The Canterbury Charity Hospital in the city today began offering free counselling services as they did post the devastating 2011 earthquakes.

Hospital co-founder Dr Phil Bagshaw told the media the attack could re-trigger negative and difficult emotions for some residents many of whom were still dealing with, or who had worked to recover from, the emotional toll of the earthquakes.

“Sticking to normal routines and activities and reaching out to friends and family for support may be enough for most people to get by but for others, negative feelings can build and feel overwhelming, resulting in anxiety, dislocation, distress and sleep disruption.”

Originally published as Christchurch mosque shooting: Schools grapple with grief