Mosque victims' names read out to silent crowd at New Zealand memorial

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A national memorial service was held on Friday in Christchurch where thousands stood in silence as the names of 50 victims of the March 15 shootings were read out.

Dozens of representatives of governments from around the world joined New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern at the remembrance service in Hagley Park, near the Al Noor mosque where more than 40 of the victims were killed by a suspected white supremacist during Friday prayers.

"Our challenge now is to make the very best of us a daily reality. Because we are not immune to the viruses of hate, of fear, of others. We never have been," said Ardern, whose handling of the tragedy has won global praise.

"But we can be the nation that discovers the cure. And so to each of us as we go from here, we have work to do," she said.

Prime Minister of New Zealand Jacinda Ardern places her hand over her heart as she walks past families of those lost during a national remembrance ceremony at Hagley Park in Christchurch, March 29, 2019. /VCG Photo

Ardern, who wore a Maori cloak known as a kakahu during the service, said the world had to end the vicious cycle of extremism and that it needed a global effort.

"The answer to them lies in a simple concept that is not bound by domestic borders, that isn't based on ethnicity, power-base or even forms of governance. The answer lies in our humanity," she said.

Security was tight around the service and New Zealand remains on a high security alert. Police Commissioner Mike Bush said it was one of the largest security events ever conducted by the police.

A message to Christchurch is displayed on a big screen during a National Remembrance Service in Wellington, March 29, 2019. /VCG Photo

Farid Ahmed, whose wife Husna was one of the 50 killed, told the crowd that, as a man of faith, he had forgiven his wife's killer because he did not want to have "a heart that is boiling like a volcano."

"I want a heart that will be full of love and care and full of mercy and will forgive easily, because this heart doesn't want any more lives to be lost," he said.

He called for people to work together for peace and to change attitudes to see everyone as part of one family, using Christchurch's nickname of the Garden City to make his point.

"I may be from one culture, you may come from another culture, I may have one faith, you may have one faith, but together we are a beautiful garden," Ahmed said.

A man reacts as the national anthem is played during the national remembrance service for victims of the mosque attacks at Hagley Park in Christchurch, March 29, 2019. /VCG Photo

British singer Cat Stevens, who converted to Islam in the 1970s, performed his song "Peace Train" during the ceremony.

"We will get through this time and emerge a kinder, more compassionate place," Christchurch mayor Lianne Dalziel said.

The massacre in Christchurch was carried out by a lone gunman at two mosques. Australian Brenton Tarrant, 28, a suspected white supremacist, has been charged with one count of murder and is likely to face more charges when he reappears in court next Friday.

Source(s): Reuters