Two victims of the Christchurch mosque massacre – a Syrian father and son – have been laid to rest at the first funeral, with mourners each using their hands to throw three handfuls of soil into the graves.
Refugees Khaled Mustafa, 44, and his high school student son Hamza, 15, were killed in the carnage at the Al Noor mosque during the gunman’s alleged reign of terror, which claimed 50 lives last Friday.
The bodies arrived in a procession of more than a dozen cars about 12.30pm. There was complete silence on the grounds. The janaza, or funeral prayers, began shortly thereafter, with the words ‘allahu akbar’ (god is the greatest) hanging in the air.
The coffin of the first victim from the Christchurch terrorist attack arrives for the burial ceremony at Memorial Park Cemetery
Mourners console each other before the first funerals for the victims of last Friday’s terrorist attack in Christchurch
The victims were then carried to the plots for burial, with the men ordered to line up in order to throw soil into the graves. The women in attendance watched on from afar, as is Islamic custom.
The talented farrier father and his son, a student at Cashmere High School, were buried next to one another at plots 87 and 88.
Young Hamza called his mother from the mosque after the shooting began. Salwa Mustafa told Stuff that he said, ‘mum, there’s someone coming into the mosque and he’s shooting us’. He was with his brother, who was shot in the leg, at the time.
Three to four hundred men, women and children attended the service, with a special area set up for mourners to wash their hands and feet and two little boys playing tag during the funeral prayers.
The first victims laid to rest were Syrian refugee Khaled Mustafa, 44, (left) and his high school student son Hamza, 15 (right)
The first victims of the Christchurch massacre – Syrian refugee Khaled Mustafa, 44, and son Hamza, 15, have been laid to rest
Up to 400 mourners gathered at Memorial Park Cemetery for services to farewell the first Christchurch massacre victims
Female mourners have gathered under a marquee to pay their respects at the first funerals held for victims killed last week
An announcer gave mourners evacuation instructions in case of an emergency, a sign of a community on edge.
The burials, more than five days after the massacre, follow mounting frustration from families that their relatives’ remains could not be released quickly, due to the police investigation.
Authorities moved swiftly to prepare the grave sites after the massacre, where 50 were killed.
The city council dug 50 graves at the Memorial Cemetery in Linwood, beginning less than 24 hours after the horrendous killings.
The bodies of several victims will be repatriated to their home countries.
Up to 400 men, women and children attended the service, with an area set up for mourners to wash their hands and feet
Mourners at the funerals of Syrian refugee Khaled Mustafa, 44, and his high school student son Hamza, 15, on Wednesday, five days after they were killed last week. Many burials will occur en masse in the coming days as further bodies are released
A council spokeswoman said ‘there were 50 victims, and we didn’t know how many were being repatriated’ and the decision was made to dig 50 graves ‘just in case’.
Many burials will occur en masse in the coming days as further bodies are released.
In typical Islamic funerals, men participate in the burial, while women pay their respects under a marquee that has been erected nearby.
Funeral prayers are said and the bodies washed in a traditional fashion. The victims are wrapped in white shrouds and placed in the ground.
Men participate in the traditional Islamic burials while women paid their respects under a marquee erected nearby
Auckland University expert Dr Zain Ali said the bodies are pointed towards Mecca.
Mourners traditionally place three handfuls of soil into the ground as part of the burial.
The family of the victims gave permission to media to photograph the services.
New Zealand Police officials confirmed this morning that 21 bodies were now available for release.
There was a police presence at the first services for victims of last Friday’s Christchurch terrorist attack
Pictured are some of the 50 people killed by alleged Australian gunman Brenton Tarrant in Christchurch