Opinion: 'I felt the world stand still' when the Christchurch mosque shootings happened

Manar Ghaleb. Photo / Stephen Parker

Rotorua Muslim woman Manar Ghaleb reacts to the Christchurch shootings one week on. Originally from Syria, Ghaleb moved to New Zealand 19 years ago just days after her 17th birthday. She now has two children and teaches Arabic in Rotorua.

Asalamo Alaikom wa rahmato Allahi wa barakatoh.

This is greeting which we are hearing everywhere now, courtesy of what happened to our Muslim sisters and brothers in Christchurch.

That Friday was like all other Fridays. My son and my daughter got ready to go to school, and my husband and I got ready to go to work. That afternoon I went to pick up my kids from school. On my way there I stopped at the gas station. When I went inside the radio was on, and all I heard was "what happened in Christchurch is unbelievable". I didn't know what the news was. All I could think at the time was "O, Allah, please do not let it be another earthquake. O, Allah, please help the people in Christchurch".

I got to school, found my kids and just as I was heading out I heard this lady tell her kids that "people in the Mosque in Christchurch were shot and 50 killed". I swung around to look at her eyes wide open. She told me then that a gunman walked in and opened fire on Muslims while they were praying and killed 50.

I felt the world stand still for a long time. I went home, parked my car, got my phone and googled "Christchurch news", and there it was! I felt the whole world spinning. I gathered myself and walked into the house and turned on the TV. The next thing I knew it was around 11am when both TV1 and TV3 stopped broadcasting from Christchurch.

Tears pouring down, I was thinking "but this is New Zealand, but this is a safe country, how deranged could a person be, how inhuman, to be capable of such an act?"

My son kept saying "but mom they were just praying. Who would do such a thing? It doesn't make sense". He refused to do anything but sit with me watching the news until I made him go to bed just after 9pm. My son grew a lot wiser that day.

Family and friends, from all around the world, were calling each other to check on each other or see if we were okay. Vigils everywhere and flowers everywhere. Love was in the air.

So this is how it feels to be a victim. I refuse to feel like this. I am not a weak person. I felt comforted in the fact that the Government and the police were on top of things.

However, what mostly made me feel was the people of New Zealand. I never thought in a million years that our mosques were going to be filled with visitors. Wonderful people from all walks of life were walking into our Masjids paying their respects and offering hugs and kisses and flowers and cards. They were there for us and still are.

All the NZ Muslims deeply appreciate this. Your condolences and your stand are well received. It only shows us that we have probably made one of our best decisions to come to this wonderful country and be one with the wonderful and amazing kind people who live here.

We all will remember the exact moment we heard of this news.

The 15th of March Martyrs would have woken up that Friday and then went about their days. They would have thought of their kids at schools and thought about what they would have for dinner that night. They would have finished their urgent business so they could attend prayer. They greeted each other with love and smiles. They walked into the mosque and washed their faces, hands and feet before heading straight to greet the mosque with a congregation. They would have been waiting for the Friday speech to be called for before the Friday Congregation.

This was when that man walked in being greeted by a Muslim brother who said the Islamic greeting just before the man sent him to meet his creator. We all know what happened next. Fifty families never saw their loved ones again. They never got the chance to have that dinner together. They never saw their parents, children or spouses again. Friends never got the chance to see each other again.

Thank you for standing by us, with us, for us. We were scared, and your stand and presence made us feel safer. You did help comfort us in this ordeal. May we always stand together united as one strong nation.

We were law-abiding New Zealand Muslims, and we shall remain law-abiding New Zealand Muslims. What hurts our country hurts all of us. We all love Aotearoa, and this is our home.