"My heart and soul are in mourning": Christchurch Muslims mourn victims of massacre | News from the world

In the silence that enveloped Christchurch after a day of mermaids, many had trouble finding the language of what had happened to the city.

At a cordon located several meters from the mosques where the deadly rampage took place on Friday, people came one by one to pay their respect. Some shed silent tears or spoke in a low voice, but most of the time, they simply stopped and watched.

Mark Isaac was among them. Forbidden to enter the hospital where his football friend was fighting for his life, he went to the scene of the mbadacre..

"Unfortunately, we are not allowed to visit him at the hospital for now and we must now wait to see what happens to him," said Isaac. "I think I can not do much to help but be here and send my love."

In the wake of the worst mbad murders in the country's history, which left 49 dead and 39 wounded, New Zealanders gathered around the Muslim community as heartbreaking details continued to emerge about those killed and wounded.

Daoud Nabi, a native of Afghanistan and community leader who settled in New Zealand in 1977, is among those killed. His devastated son, Yama al Nabi, told reporters in the district court; "He jumped into the line of sight to save someone else 's life and he died.

Yama al Nabi was late to find his father at the Al Noor Mosque and arrived at the scene of a mbadacre. He waited outside, asking for news of his father. A friend finally told him "your father saved my life". His brother, Omar, later confirmed that their father had been killed after viewing images of the mbadacre.

Thousands of New Zealanders visited memorial sites and mosques across the country on Saturday to support friends and family of the dead. Many of those killed were children.

Premier Jacinda Ardern went to the city to comfort the Muslim community. At the Canterbury Refugee Resettlement Resource Center, she told them, "New Zealand is united in its grief and we are united in our sorrow.

At Hagley Park, near Al Noor Mosque where 41 people died, a mound of flowers and a leaf full of love messages developed throughout the day.

From time to time, the police raised the band that blocked the street to let another hearse pbad. Nearby, a car blew its windows, another reminder of the violence that hit the city the day before. At the end of the cord, people placed bouquets around a sign saying, "This is not New Zealand."

"We do not know who is alive"

Others have headed to the Christchurch Hospital in hopes of getting news of their loved ones, and dozens of Muslims are still missing. Sharifullah Najib, originally from Afghanistan, went around the hospital with a friend. He was supposed to go to Linwood Mosque on Friday night, where the second mbadacre took place, but did not survive after being called to work.

"We came to visit people, we lost a lot, a lot of our friends," Najib told Guardian Australia. "We do not know who is alive and who is in the hospital. I have three friends inside. They have bullets in it. Right now, we go to Hagley School where there is a list of corpses. "

But he added, "New Zealanders support us a lot, they love us. They are good people, they are us and we are them ".

For many residents of the Garden City, the adrenaline of the situation was over and mourning and exhaustion were starting to settle. The Cantabrians are known for their determination and the hospital's health authorities urged New Zealanders to turn to their friends and family. Radio stations urged people to call the helplines and asked listeners to join them in prayer. For the people of Christchurch, their resilience is their greatest strength – but it was put to the test on Saturday.

In the evening, the names of the dead continued to grow. Pakistani Naeem Rashid. Abdullahi Dirie, four years old, who was at the mosque with his father and four siblings. His family members survived, but his uncle told the Washington Post that the boy had died at the hospital. Lilik Abdul Hamid, born in Indonesia, lived in Christchurch. A family member of Hamid wrote on Facebook: "A friend of a fight … died in New Zealand … victim of a New Zealand animal terrorist".

Many are still missing, including a three-year-old who was last seen at Al Noor Mosque with his father and brother. The family of a 14 year old man, described as a kind and kind teenager dreaming of becoming an international footballer, was also waiting for news from where he was. In the evening, he was confirmed dead. Cashmere's tenth grade schoolboy was at Al Noor Mosque for prayers on Friday when the attack began.

"I lost my little boy, he just turned 14," his father said. "I have not officially heard that he was successful, but I know because he was seen. [I’m] stay together and tears help. People help. Just by being here, it helps.

In a statement, Mark Wilson, Senior Cashmere Principal, said, "I know the Cashmere High School family is in mourning."

"It is an act of terror and hatred; we stand in solidarity with our New Zealand community to condemn this horrible crime, "he wrote. "Our school had three students on excused leave to attend Friday prayers at the main mosque. We are aware that two of these students have disappeared and that the other is in the hospital with a sore.

"A former student of our school was also at the mosque and also disappeared. We also understand that two fathers of students from our school were shot and wounded in this incident. We are unable to reveal the identity of these men until we know it, which is appropriate for us. "

Wilson said the best response to such a heinous incident was to show love.

"It can just mean being kind and considerate, being patient, compbadionate and understanding that everyone will react differently," he said.

"You should have been safe here"

Residents struggled to find a place to park in the country's mosques on Saturday morning as New Zealanders gathered to show their solidarity.

"A man sadly shocked, but not scared," said the man who attended the Wellington Mosque of the Islamic community of Kilbirnie. A photo taken from outside the building showed messages scribbled in hearts of love in support of Muslims.

"What struck me most was the children," he told Guardian Australia. "Maybe they do not understand all the gravity, but they were there to draw their hearts."

Egen Isaac said, "My heart and soul are in mourning, going to Al Noor Mosque.

"I belong to the Egyptian Coptic Orthodox Church here in Christchurch and I am from Egypt, where 85 churches were destroyed by extremists in Cairo. So I know what tragedy is and I am against any tragedy or violence in the name of a religion or against any religion.

"I just feel astonished and distressed. This is the first time something like this is happening here and I hope it will happen for the last time here or elsewhere. Unfortunately, one of the people of my acquaintance who went to this mosque was killed and I now try to find out when the burial will take place so that I can support his wife. They are Egyptian like me and my heart is with them. "

The memorial sites were silent. Some would take a step forward, laying flowers or a note on the floor. An employee of the Salvation Army present at the scene to support the grief said that it was "just like Christchurch".

"I come from Australia where sometimes people come out of tea and cookies and start chatting," she said. "You have a bit of that here but also, just a lot of people are crying quietly, and so I'm here in case they need to talk or need a shoulder."

Survivors of terrorist attacks also suffer a severe shock. Adeeb Sami, a 52-year-old father, took a bullet in his hand to save his sons at Al Noor Mosque. He plunged over his sons Abdullah, 29, and Ali, 23, when the gunman broke into the mosque.

"My father is a real hero," Adeeb's daughter, Heba, told Gulf News.

"He was shot in the back near the spine in order to protect my brothers, but he did not let anything happen to them." Adeeb was transported to the hospital.

"I talked to dad," says Heba. "He looked weak and seemed inconsolable. My family survived the attack, but many of our friends did not do it. "

Meanwhile, people were still adding to the pile of cards and flowers in the country, in mosques, in parks and at street intersections, until Saturday evening.

"It's at home and you should have been safe here," said one of the messages. "Sending your souls love, happiness and peace."