The Wagga Sri Lankan community have been left reeling following the devastating news that hundreds of lives had been lost in multiple attacks.
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Yapa Bandara, the principal of Wagga Sinhala School, said he could not believe when he heard the news.
"It was overwhelming," he said. "Sri Lanka had gone through a difficult time for 25 to 30 years, but 10 years ago the country came out of that and was peaceful.
"This is something that nobody could believe or understand."
Jihadist group Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the bomb attacks in Sri Lanka on the weekend that killed 359 people in what officials believe was retaliation for assaults on mosques in New Zealand.
About 500 people were also wounded in the bombings.
The first six bombs - in three churches and three luxury hotels - exploded within 20 minutes of each other. Two more explosions - at a downmarket hotel and a house in a suburb of the capital, Colombo - took place in the early afternoon.
Mr Bandara said it was heartbreaking to know so many of the victims had simply been praying and partaking in the Easter service before the brutal bombing took place.
"Everybody went to the churches in that morning to pray," he said.
"This cannot happen in this world. How can any human do this?"
Mr Bandara said the Wagga community had banded together but many were struggling to come to terms with what had happened.
"We contacted family and friends and although they are OK in my family, I still see all those in the country as my family," he said.
"It's like it has happened to us. We have that bond, even here, we are a single family so we felt that pain."
Mr Bandara said he was grateful to the wider Wagga community and the support that has been shown.
Mr Bandara said he will continue to pray for the victims and their families and hopes the international community learns from the tragedy to ensure it never happens again.
"This is not religion, there is something wrong with the way some people think and behave," he said.
The Sri Lankan community will be holding a vigil on Sunday in the Victory Memorial Gardens from 5.30pm and welcomes all to join.
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