Refugee farrier and son killed in Christchurch terror attack

[Chief Stipe]

Pip Wakelin

After leaving war-torn homeland in 2011, and arriving in safe haven of New Zealand last year, Syrian family is ripped apart

They only met a couple of times, but it was enough to make a lasting impression on Pip Wakelin.

The North Canterbury horsewoman, who trains with her partner, Stephen Noble, donned a black arm band for her drives behind Awesome Impee and BK Dawn at Motukarara on Sunday.

She did so to honour a Syrian refugree, Khaled Mustafa, who was murdered in the Christchurch terror attack last Friday.

Mustafa, 44, and his eldest son, Hamza, 14, were killed while praying at Masjid Al Noor mosque in Deans Ave, Riccarton.

Their family had only been in the country nine months after arriving as refugees and Khaled had spent a majority of his eight months in Christchurch working part-time as a farrier.

Khaled Mustafa tending to a horse during his time in Jordan.

It was through that caper that Wakelin and Noble came to meet him.

“We usually do all our own shoeing because we can’t really afford a farrier,” said Wakelin.

“But we needed a farrier to do some work on a miniature pony for my son to use in the Kidz Kartz races.

“We’ve known Gareth Griffiths from Selwyn Forge for years so I approached him to get some specialised work done on this horse.

“He fronted up with Khaled and it was him who ended up putting the shoes on our wee pony.

“He came across as a happy-go-lucky, bubbly fella.

“We laughed at the time because Gareth had said, this horse is too bloody small for me to get under, you’re the new kid on the block so down you go.

“As it turned out he was the first small pony Khaled had ever put shoes on, and he did a perfect job.”

Wakelin said she had spoken to a number of horse people in the district, from vets, to trainers and those in the equestrian field and their was shock and disbelief at what had happened.

“Everybody in the district that knew him has taken it pretty hard.”

Due to the uncertainty of possible shooters active in the area, plus the shock and horror of the tragedy that had unfolded, last Friday’s races at Addington were abandoned just a few hours before the start of the meeting.

Wakelin says she was one of just a handful who didn’t get the message.

“We were doing 14 horses and it was head down, bum up on Friday for me to be away at 3.30 because we had a runner in the second race.

“At the start, we were pointing, using sign language, google translating, ringing his wife to translate, things like that.

“It’s 51kms to Addington from our place, and in peak traffic it can take well over an hour.

“I remarked to our nine-year-old daughter that we were having a good run that day and there didn’t appear to be much traffic on the roads.

“It wasn’t until I drove in to Addington that Noel on the gate told me what had happened.

“We turned around and had to go straight home. He said only four trainers didn’t get the message.

“My owners found out, but none of them even text me to make sure I knew.”

Once she knew the gravity and extent of the tragedy, Wakelin’s annoyance quickly dissolved, replaced with dismay and profound sadness.

An unlikely pairing

Gareth Griffiths is an ex-pat Englishman who has been here for many years working as a farrier and owns Selwyn Forge.

He received a call out of the blue in the middle of last year that came at just the right time.

Khaled Mustafa (second left) and Gareth Griffiths (second right) on the job earlier this year.

“A guy called Wayne Cummings got in touch with me and asked how someone would go about being a farrier in Christchurch.

“The New Zealand Government had just done a new refugee scheme that had seen three families introduced to the South Island.

“One was in Christchurch, one was in Timaru and the other, Nelson.

“Khaled and his family were the ones relocated to Christchurch and they got allocated a local church, in Spreydon, to help them settle in.

“When he rung, I said you spoke to the right man, actually.

“I’d just lost my apprentice, who had recently qualified, and the two workers I had last year, so I was pretty desperate for some help.

“So, I said bring him out with me and if I like him he can work with me.

“If not, I’m sure there’s a few other guys I can get him buddied up with.”

Despite not being able to verbally communicate with each other whatsoever, Griffiths knew on the first day that Khaled was a keeper.

“I’m British-qualified and over there it’s supposed to be to a pretty high standard.

“My type of work is mostly in sport horses, eventing, showjumping and dressage, though we do do a few racing stables as well.

“And in these fields, you’ve got to be right. There’s no room for error.

“Basically, after watching him for an hour and a half on the first day, I knew I didn’t need to worry.

“He obviously knew what he was doing.

“Even though you don’t need a qualification, it’s still a trade and you can just tell if someone is good or not.”

Desperate to make the most of his new life and second chance at freedom, Khaled studied vigorously to learn English.

“He learnt French at school and it was his wife who was actually an English teacher at one of the Universities in Syria,” said Griffiths.

“She spoke it well, and so did their children, but he never spoke it until they came here.

“So, he was at Hagley College three days a week learning English.

“At the start, we were pointing, using sign language, google translating, ringing his wife to translate, things like that.

“But he had gotten so much better recently.

“You could actually hold a basic conversation with him – within six months he had a solid understanding of the language.”

March 15

Friday was the day Khaled would usually go to Masjid Al Noor with his family to pray, in accordance with their Muslim beliefs.

And last week was no exception.

He went along with his two sons, Hamza and Zaid, 13, both of whom were students at nearby Cashmere High School.

“Because they would pray every Friday, he wouldn’t usually work for me, as well as the fact he had school three days a week, including Friday.

“Some weeks he would help me out if I asked him.

“I wish I had asked him to come and work with me last Friday,” lamented Griffiths.

Around 1.40pm on Friday, as everyone is now acutely aware, the Mustafa family, like that of so many other refugees and immigrants in the city, was torn apart by a lone gunman.

Fifty people were murdered, including Khaled and Hamza.

Zaid was shot, too, but survived and is recovering in hospital after undergoing a six-hour surgery on Sunday.

“Khaled got shot four times,” said Griffiths.

“In the back of his head, the neck and shoulder.

“But he was still alive and went to the hospital.”

His injuries were too severe and he passed later that afternoon.

“Salwa, his wife, was with him for his last breath.”

Hamza was also an accomplished horseman, both in his homeland of Syria, and his home of the previous five years, Jordan.

“He was a top rider and was in fact taught by his father, Khaled.

“In fact, he had been riding a horse for one of my clients and teaching their daughter how to ride.

“In Syria he was the man, apparently. Awesome for his age and he could have gone a long way if he didn’t have to flee.”

Hamza phoned Salwa shortly after the shooting started, but the call soon ended.

The ultimate irony

Griffiths says there is a horrible irony to the fact that Khaled and Hamza were murdered in New Zealand, regularly ranked as one of the safest in the world, after fleeing Syria, where up to half a million people have died in a conflict that started in 2011.

Khaled Mustafa (left) and Gareth Griffiths tending to Pip Wakelin and Stephen Noble’s miniature pony.

“That almost had me in tears.

“They escaped a war-torn country and came to the safest place, just wanting to work.

“They were so happy here, Salwa had described it as their ‘final resting place’.

“As a family they had been through so much.

“Five years in Jordan, before they finally got sent to Australia for a month. Then Auckland for three or four weeks before it was finally decided they would be set up in Christchurch.

“They were just rag-dolled around as a family.”

And while the refugee program is well-meaning, it’s a pretty basic service and relies heavily on the local community to lend a hand.

“The local church helped them integrate in to the community.

“Wayne was the guy that ran him around, did all his organising and helped him get a job.

“They had nothing when they got here; they just got thrown in this house and that was it – that was all they had.”

Rallying around

With that in mind, Griffiths and others in the equine and farrier community in Canterbury, are doing their best to help support Salwa, Zaid and their younger daughter/sister.

“The horse community, especially the farrier sect, we are holding private fundraisers, taking tool donations and offering a way for people to donate direct to the family.

“Anyone wishing to help can contact us via the Selwyn Forge page on Facebook and we can provide them with a bank account that has been set up.

“Every single cent will go to the family.”

Because of Muslim cultural beliefs, Griffiths is unable to communicate directly with Salwa, but has an open line of communication via the local church.

“Salwa is unable to see men for four months and four days after Khaled’s passing, apart from direct, immediate family members.

“It makes it hard for us to support them, but it won’t prevent us.”

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