Isle of Man Newspapers reporter Jess Ward, who grew up in Christchurch, New Zealand, reflects on the atrocities committed in her home town.

On March 15, just before 2pm New Zealand time, 50 people were ruthlessly murdered in my hometown.

Christchurch to me was a safe city.

For the first nine years of my life, the place had established a lot of my character. It had taught me to celebrate the various cultures in my classrooms and in the wider community. It had taught me that with positivity and respect you would contribute to a bigger picture - The Golden Rule.

It’s hard to believe that extremists filled with such unjustified hatred hunted down individuals like animals, live streaming the disgusting act as they went... and in Christchurch, which is only just getting over the blow of the 2011 earthquakes.

The shootings came as a heart-breaking shock to my country, renowned for its warm hospitality and chilled-out feel.

For us Kiwis abroad, we were left speechless while watching the news unfold on screens.

That very morning I hadn’t checked the news as usual. I’d been in a rush to get to my first spinning class with colleagues on time.

My friends noticed how oblivious I was. One approached me afterwards. ’I’ve got bad news Jess and you’re really not going to like it,’ they said.

She had tears in her eyes when telling me.

Rapid thoughts of family and friends took over, but I was instantly reassured after hearing the attacks took place in mosques (places with no relation to my family).

The words ’I’m okay’ popped up on my phone one-by-one. It was a relief, but it didn’t stop me thinking that just like those messages, people’s loved ones had been shot down one-by-one. That these victim’s relations would be facing an agonising reality.

When I discovered that the attacks had taken place in Hagley Park, my heart sank. Being so far away, I’ve clung on to memories of playing in that park. My family and I would often go to concerts and to the outdoor pool out in the sun there. Its stunning botanical gardens had inspired my dad to seek a job in conservation after a period of volunteering.

Now it will be forever known as the area where dads, grandfathers, uncles, brothers, sons, daughters, sisters and spouses were selfishly taken away.

It’s just unimaginable, but it happened.

Eventually the truth sunk in one afternoon and it really got to me. Someone accurately summed the feeling up in an email they sent to my work inbox.

They explained that two tragedies, of a much smaller scale, had affected their hometown. ’You feel it, so painfully, don’t you?’ they said.

Since then I’ve seen how NZ has banded together, using hakas, flowers, prayers, symbolic support and by voluntarily handing in their firearms. It has been a shining example of what a caring community is.

Community is what it all comes down to. Everywhere I go in the world I spot indifference destroying what could be.

The ’us’ versus ’them’ mentality is the real killer - it kills happy homes, relationships, nations and people. Muslims, Christians, Jews, black, white, Asian, disabledâ?¦ anyone who doesn’t fit within the perimeters of ’normal’ has a fat target of discrimination on their head. This has been the case throughout history.

As a society we must be aware of this and condemn poisonous views that look to maim, torture, or kill those of any background.

We must bond together, even in our small communities, because it is too easy to judge when you don’t dedicate time towards understanding and appreciating different people and identities.

Kia kaha (stay strong in MÄ?ori) is being used in NZ at the moment, but it should be expanded further. Stay strong together and celebrate what a range of qualities we all bring to the table.