One of the survivors of the massacre at two New Zealand mosques two weeks ago says that he forgives the Australian man accused of perpetrating the attack.
The Associated Press reported that Farid Ahmed addressed a crowd of about 20,000 mourners on Friday at the third public memorial service for victims of the March 15 attack that killed 50 people. Ahmed, whose wife was among the victims, said he has forgiven the attacker.
{mosads}“I don’t want to have a heart that is boiling like a volcano. A volcano has anger, fury, rage. It doesn’t have peace. It has hatred. It burns itself within, and also it burns the surroundings. I don’t want to have a heart like this,” he said, according to the AP.
The ceremony was also attended by New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, who has been widely praised for her response to the deadliest shooting in her country in more than a decade.
Ardern said Friday that she had been honored to learn the stories of those who were lost in the attack, which her government has called an anti-Muslim terrorist attack.
“They were stories of bravery. They were stories of those who were born here, grew up here, or who had made New Zealand their home. Who had sought refuge, or sought a better life for themselves or their families,” she said, according to the AP. “These stories, they now form part of our collective memories. They will remain with us forever. They are us.”
Brenton Harrison Tarrant, 28, has been charged with murder for the attacks and police say that further charges are on the way. A second unidentified 18-year-old man has been charged with inciting hatred relating to the attack, according to The New York Times.
“While the man is currently facing only one charge, further charges will be laid. Details of those charges will be communicated at the earliest possible opportunity,” New Zealand police said following the shootings.