'We are alive. We are together. We are determined to not let anyone divide us,' says an imam who survived the attack
The traditional Muslim call to prayer was broadcast live on public and private television and radio networks across New Zealand, and then the country fell silent. The eerie quiet lasted a full two minutes, marking the close of a week-long agony that has united New Zealanders in grief and resolve.
But the atrocity of last Friday has also brought out the best in New Zealanders. All week, there have been candlelight vigils and processions. Throughout Christchurch, little shrines have sprung up at workplaces, at schools attended by the dead children, outside Christchurch Hospital, and at the two mosques where the mass murders were committed.
Tarrant appeared in court last weekend. He has been remanded to appear before a judge on a battery of charges April 5. “You will never hear me speak his name,” Prime Minister Arden told Parliament on Tuesday. Tarrant appears to have spent much of the past few years travelling the world, especially to sites associated with ancient conflicts between Christianity and Islam—Spain, Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey, Serbia and Montenegro. But he also spent time in North Korea, Portugal and France. Tarrant appears to have been living off money left by his father, who committed suicide in 2010.
New Zealand gun owners who own semi-automatic weapons were already turning in their weapons before Ardern announced a raft of new firearms restrictions this week. All military-style semi-automatic weapons and assault rifles are to be outlawed. Opposition leader Simon Bridges says he supports the move. One of the first farmers to voluntarily turn in their semi-automatic rifles was Green Party candidate John Hart.
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