Thirty-one-year-old Bangladeshi Muslim Shahriar Haque says he feels "nervous" and "scared" after Friday's Christchurch mosque shooting (March 15).
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Mr Haque moved to Port Macquarie just over a month ago from Qatar with his wife Maimuna to study a Masters of Information Technology at Charles Sturt University.
Mr Haque said he loves Port Macquarie but can't help but feel unsettled by the attack.
"It is shocking to hear this a month after coming here," he said.
"It is very close to home and there are a few things that made it very relevant to me.
"The Bangladeshi cricket team was touring and missed the attack by a few minutes and I am a big fan of the Bangladeshi cricket team.
The main suspect is also an Australian and from NSW which makes it scary.
- Shahriar Haque
Mr Haquest attends a prayer session every Friday with around 20 other Muslim men in Port Macquarie.
He said the sessions are peaceful.
"We often have a short sermon and it is always on a peaceful topic like last week was loving your spouse.
"You are very relaxed when you are at prayers and for this to happen is just terrible."
Mr Haque said he was motivated to speak out because of Charles Sturt University's growing international community.
He said after the attack he surveyed people in Port Macquarie to see their response to Muslims and it was mixed.
"People said they would be happy to be friends with a Muslim but some said their parents would be uneasy if they knew they were socialising with Muslims."
He said Charles Sturt University is providing support to students affected by the attack.
Mr Shahriar labelled Senator Fraser Anning's comments linking the shootings to immigration as "disappointing" but didn't believe he should resign.
"If he got voted in properly he shouldn't resign because he has opinions that people don't agree with."
Mr Haque hopes to stay in Australia once he finishes his degree and continue his work as a software engineer for General Electric, his previous employer at Qatar.
And Mr Haque believes most people in Australia are tolerant.
"The locals here are really friendly and don't seem uncomfortable.
"I have lived outside of my country all my life so I have been exposed to being an outsider so I know when the locals feel uncomfortable you can tell by their body language.
"The people here are good."
Charles Sturt University offering support
Deputy Vice Chancellor of Research and Development at Charles Sturt University Professor Heather Cavanagh said the university is still checking whether any student at the university has any relatives or friends caught up in the tragedy.
Ms Cavanagh said there are several hundred Muslim students across CSU campuses.
"We stand completely beside them and in support of them," Professor Cavanagh said.
"The Muslim community in Port Macquarie has just been amazingly supportive of the international students irrespective of their creed, race or colour.
The university has counselling available for students.
Professor Cavanagh said CSU has students from 85 countries around the world so it would be unusual that there would be no student affected by major natural disasters or terrorist attacks.