Shock and sympathy at US embassy in Wellington

By PAULA OLIVER

When you're thousands of kilometres away, it just feels better to get near a piece of American soil.

Tightly secured by armed guards, the United States embassy in Wellington yesterday became the focus of grief for many Americans living in this country.

Shock, disbelief, and fear were etched on their faces as they paused to lay wreaths and cards outside the embassy's tightly guarded gates.

The flag was lowered to half mast at 9.20 am, after permission was received from Washington.

At the gates, one sobbing New Yorker openly struggled to come to terms with what had happened in her home country.

In New Zealand for just a week, Beth Henderson said she did not know if her friends or family were safe. She had come to the embassy because it was as close as she could get to home.

New Zealanders, too, focused their grief on the embassy.

They left messages expressing "profound sympathy," and addressed them to "the people of America". One was signed by "a couple of ordinary Kiwis".

Security was heightened around the embassy's grounds yesterday and all day police kept a watchful eye on cars moving around the area.

Flower-givers who were illegally parked were told to move their cars.

Delivery vehicles and diplomatic cars entering the gates were methodically checked for anything suspicious before getting near the embassy's buildings.

A sombre United States charge d'affaire, Philip Wall, emerged at 11 am to read a statement.

"It is very gratifying to see the strong bonds of friendship between our two countries," he said, gesturing towards the pile of flowers at the gate.

While he had no indication of a security threat to US citizens in New Zealand, he suggested they exercise "appropriate caution".

A New Zealand woman dropping off flowers said she felt helpless. "You can't do anything useful, so you do something that's vaguely irrelevant. I don't have any friends or family in the United States but, you know, we're all kind of connected."

An embassy guard said the cards would be taken inside and handed over to American embassy staff.

Among the messages was, "Our hearts go out to the US and its citizens."

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Emergency telephone numbers for friends and family of victims

These numbers are valid for calls from within New Zealand, but may be overloaded at the moment.

United Airlines: 0168 1800 932 8555

American Airlines: 0168 1800 245 0999

NZ Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade: 0800 872 111

US Embassy in Wellington (recorded info): 04 472 2068

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