Brother of mosque terror victim moves family to Christchurch to support bereft family

Tanveer, left, and Naveed Shahid remember their brother Suhail Shahid, who died in the Al Noor Mosque shooting. Photo / Dean Purcell

The brother of a mosque shooting victim has moved his family from Sydney to Christchurch to help support his grieving sister-in-law and her two young daughters.

Naveed Shahid rushed to Christchurch just hours after his younger brother Suhail Shahid was gunned down along with 42 other Muslim worshippers at Al Noor Mosque.

Suhail's distraught wife flung herself at Naveed when he arrived and asked, "What will happen to me and my kids now?"

That night, Naveed made up his mind.

"I knew I could not go back to Australia. It was obvious if I left, she would not survive," he told the Herald yesterday .

Suhail Shahid died in the Christchurch mosque shooting and his wife, Asma Suhail has been struggling to cope. Photo / Supplied

Since then, father-of-three Naveed, a trained chemical engineer who was working two jobs in Sydney and saving to buy a house, has uprooted his family.

They arrived at the weekend and now he's looking for work and helping his sister-in-law Asma Suhail pass her driving test today.

It's been a big move for Naveed, wife Samia and kids Hifza, 11, Ibrahim, 9, and 5-year-old Kadija.

But the whole family was looking to him to take the lead on the devastating tragedy.

"I decided to sacrifice for this big cause, to support my brothers' family at their time of crisis," the Australian citizen said.

"I know they will rise again but it could take 2-3 years to get back on their feet. I felt compelled to come here.

"We also have an emotional attachment to this land now. Suhail is buried here and when the kids grow up, we can show them this is where he lies and where he sacrificed himself for the peace and love of his new country."

Suhail, 36, and Asma had moved from Lahore to Auckland in 2017. He'd had a well-paid job at ICI Pakistan Limited (Imperial Chemical Industries), his own house and car and "everything you could dream of growing up in Pakistan", Naveed said.

But he wanted to give his family every opportunity he possibly could.

Naveed had moved to Sydney from Pakistan in 2012 and had encouraged his younger brother to try find opportunities Down Under.

"He saw New Zealand as a secure, safe environment with better education for his children. This was his basic objective," Naveed said.

Wajiha Shahid, 5, and sister Mayira Shahid, 2, lost their father Suhail Shahid in the shooting at Al Noor Mosque. Photo / Supplied

At first, they lived in Auckland where Suhail worked in waste management before getting a position at Watercare.

They moved to Christchurch last year after he secured a new position at resin manufacturer Hexion in Hornby as production manager.

After a tough first few months settling in, life was good and daughters Wajiha Shahid, 5, and sister Nayira Shahid, 2, were enjoying their new surroundings.

They were planning a family holiday to visit Nelson for Easter.

And Asma was hoping to pursue her dream of becoming a trained pharmacist.

Now, after her husband's death, and the family's sudden loss of income, she's struggling to make ends meet; her dream of becimig a pharmicist is in tatters; and she's often overcome with grief especially during sleepless nights.

"I'm like a sheep who is floating on the ocean," she said.

"Sometimes when the waves come, I float along with them motivated and happy, but the next hour I crash with them and am crying and confused why this has happened to me."

She's undergoing counselling and trying to remain positive.

But she admits it's not easy.

Wajiha, 5, cries and misses her dad and little Nayira keeps asking, "Mama, where's Baba?"

"My husband and I, we had dreams and suddenly everything has changed."

She's very grateful that her brother-in-law has moved over to be with her.

It's given her the support and hope she needs to move forward.

"It was a very kind act," she said.

"Now, I can think, 'I can do this'."