New Zealand is in shock

[Guest post by Anne Taylor in Wellington] 

A man at his Mosque in Kilbirnie, Wellington, weeps as someone in the crowd starts to sing the John Lennon song Imagine. Moments later Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern arrives and comforts him and other members of the community gathered today to express grief over the mass shootings at two mosques in Christchurch on Friday 15 March.

There is a continuous stream of people coming through the gates all afternoon to lay flowers on the steps of the mosque.

“It’s a sniper gun, Mum,” says a boy as he passes one of the armed policemen on the street outside. “I never expected to see police with guns on my street,” says a woman who lives in neighbouring Cruickshank Street. The police are never in the same pose for more than a minute, turning to look at different parts of the street – including upwards to scan the hills above Kilbirnie. Meanwhile, children are decorating the footpath of Queens Drive with the coloured chalk that has been put out.

Large numbers of media, here for the visit of PM Jacinda Arden followed by Governor-General Dame Patsy Reddy, wait by the steps. Flowers and messages of support cover the entrance gates. People from the mosque welcome visitors into the forecourt and move through the crowd thanking them for their support. People share tears and hugs.

I talk with a man from the Federation of Islamic Associations of NZ who heard the news of the shooting while in transit in Dubai on his way back from a holiday. “This is the first time in our history that mosques have been closed in New Zealand,” he said. They remain closed due to ongoing security concerns. Muslims have instead been praying at home, with others, he said.

Many of the women who attend this mosque are in Christchurch – traditionally it is women who wash the dead before burial. As of writing, 50 people are dead after Friday’s shooting, with dozens of people in hospital, including a critically injured four-year-old girl.

New Zealand is in shock.

Anne Taylor is a designer, writer and exhibiting artist based in Wellington, New Zealand. Her previous post was ‘Celebrating 125 Years of New Zealand Women’s Suffrage’. For more of her work, check out Urban Sketchers Aotearoa, Instagram and her website.