$ Democracy Dies in Darkness

Asia & Pacific

Christchurch, once ravaged

by quakes, is re-traumatized
by mosque shooting

Muslim worshipers grieve at a makeshift memorial at the Al

Noor mosque in Christchurch, New Zealand, on Tuesday. (Mick
Tsikas/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock)

By Anna Fifield
March 19

CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand — Almost eight

years ago, the southern New Zealand city
of Christchurch was rocked by a huge earthquake
that killed 185 people and wiped out whole
suburbs. Thousands of aftershocks kept the
population on edge for months.

Now, Christchurch is dealing with an entirely

different kind of trauma after 50 people were
killed in two mosques here on Friday in New
Zealand’s worst terrorist attack, sending shock
waves through the city and the wider country. .
The death toll far exceeded the nation’s annual
homicide rate, which stood at 35 in 2017.

It has rekindled memories of the last tragedy to

hit Christchurch.

“We’re seeing people being re-triggered and

feeling anxieties about all the uncertainties,” said
Carl Shaw, manager of Christchurch’s Charity
Hospital, which offered free counseling after the
earthquake and has renewed this service in the
wake of Friday’s attacks. More than 30
counselors and psychologists are again ready to
help people process the events.

“We’re also getting a lot of questions about how

to explain this to children, and from people who
have watched the video and who regret it, who
were traumatized by watching it,” Shaw said.

The gunman live-streamed the attack on

Facebook from a camera attached to his helmet.
The social media company said it had removed
1.5 million copies of the video in the first 24
hours.

Before attending a vigil close to the Al Noor mosque, Shonny

Jones, left, and Cailin McVicar, both students at Riccarton High
School, hold their sign offering “free hugs.” (Anna Fifield/The
Washington Post)

Some first responders have been struggling to

cope with the scenes from the mosques. “There
was a river of blood coming out of the mosque,
and that’s a scene that you don't forget,” said
ambulance officer Paul Bennett, fighting back
the tears as he described arriving at the Al Noor
Mosque on Friday.

[New Zealand shooting: Prime minister says

gun reforms are coming ]

The police provide support services for those

directly affected by the shootings, and a
community welfare center has been set up near
the hospital in Christchurch for victims.

“I’m still afraid. I don’t want to go out to a

restaurant or anywhere,” said Kevin Avisena, a
19-year-old student from Indonesia training in
New Zealand to be a pilot. He was trampled in
the crush to escape the Al Noor Mosque, where
42 people were killed, and said he was having
difficulty getting over what he saw when he
could finally stand up.

“I stood up and saw that everyone around me

was dead. There was blood on the floor.
Someone was screaming for help,” Avisena said.
“When I saw the video [that the gunman made
during the attack], I could see myself in it.”

New Zealand's Ardern: 'When I speak, he shall be

nameless'

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern vowed March 19

to not speak the name of the suspect in the Christchurch
mosque shootings, which killed 50 people. (Reuters)

A Ministry of Health helpline for the broader

public has been deluged with hundreds of calls
from people seeking support, with the calls
lasting an average of about 40 minutes.

“I encourage anyone in need to reach out and use

these services. They are there for you,” Prime
Minister Jacinda Ardern said Tuesday.

The Health Ministry has provided advice sheets

in both English and Arabic on how to cope with
traumatic events, including advice on how to
support children. “Tell them that feeling upset or
afraid is normal, and that telling you how they
are feeling will help, that with time they will feel
better,” the advice says.

Christchurch schools went into lockdown after

the attacks happened on Friday, and many
students sheltered in their classrooms until after
6 p.m. Being unable to go outside during all that
time —and having to use a bucket if they needed
a bathroom break — was traumatic for children
used to short earthquake drills but not
American-style active-shooter lockdowns.

[Gun owners in New Zealand brace for big

changes to their right to carry ]

Christchurch Mayor Lianne Dalziel said her

focus was on “providing practical support for
families” dealing with the trauma. “We’ve all
been affected,” she said. “Everyone has been
touched in some way, shape or form.”

In a city of fewer than 400,000 people, many

have some kind of connection to the victims,
often through schools. Twenty schools and three
early-childhood centers had direct connections
to victims, the Ministry of Education reported.

“We have traumatic incident teams. They

comprise people who are trained in
understanding the impacts of trauma, and how
behaviors change after trauma,” said Iona
Holsted from the Education Ministry.

At vigils and flower-filled memorials around the

city, young people have been coming together to
support each other.

Shonny Jones, a 17-year-old student at Riccarton

High School, was standing at the police cordon
near the Al Noor Mosque on Monday with a
handwritten sign saying “Free Hugs.”

“There is a tragedy that has happened. We

wanted to support people,” Jones said. She and
her friend Cailin McVicar, 15, had been in the
park opposite the mosque for three hours.
“Hundreds of people came over, and lots more
smiled at us,” Jones said, as a fellow high school
student came up and hugged her.

“It’s our way of making it a bit easier,” said

McVicar.

The victims of the shootings included two

students at Cashmere High School: Sayyad
Milne, who was 14, and Hamza Mustafa, 16.
Mustafa had arrived in New Zealand from Syria
with his family only a few months ago. Another
former student at the school, 24-year-old Tariq
Omar, was also killed.

Cashmere principal Mark Wilson said the school

was trying to support the students.

“The nature of mass shooting happening in a

country like New Zealand creates a real trauma
in people,” he said. “It’s difficult for people to
comprehend, and everyone reacts differently.”
He described the mood at the school on Monday
as “quiet and somber.”

At a special assembly, Wilson quoted Martin

Luther King Jr. to the students. “I told them that
light will defeat darkness, and that the best way
to respond to hate is with love.”

Read more

New Zealand mosque attacks’ youngest victim

ran toward the gunman

New Zealand mosque shootings: Voices of the

victims

Trump response to New Zealand massacre

highlights his combative history with Muslims

Today’s coverage from Post correspondents

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Anna Fifield
Anna Fifield is The Washington Post’s bureau
chief in Beijing, covering greater China. She was
the Post's bureau chief in Tokyo between 2014
and 2018, writing about Japan and the two
Koreas. Her book, "The Great Successor: The
Divinely Perfect Destiny of Brilliant Comrade
Kim Jong Un," will be published in June 2019.
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