Shining a light on Wintec refugee students for World Refugee Day

Tuesday, 18 June 2024

World Refugee Day is an international day designated by the United Nations to honour refugees around the globe. It falls each year on 20 June and shines a light on the rights, needs, and dreams of those forced to flee. This year, World Refugee Day focuses on solidarity with refugees – for a world where refugees are welcomed.

With around 180 students who identify as former refugees at the Centre for Languages, it is appropriate that we celebrate their strengths and achievements on this day while also reflecting on the challenges they face. Below we have shared stories from some of our current refugee learners which give a glimpse of the hardships they have each endured before arriving in New Zealand, the challenges they faced in the re-settlement process, and their gratitude for the support and opportunities that have given them hope for a brighter future.

Our students' stories

Mir Hussain Gardi Hussain and Fatima Hussaindad from Afghanistan

Mir Hussain and Fatima arrived in New Zealand on 18 September 2015 from Mazar-e Sharif, the capital of Balkh province and the regional hub in northern Afghanistan near Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. With four children (three sons and one daughter), they had busy lives, but with ongoing bombing, it was also very dangerous, so they decided to leave. The city was captured by the Taliban in 2021. Fatima described their home city as very cold and windy in winter and very hot in summer. It was dusty all the time.

The first few years in New Zealand were very challenging for the family as neither of the parents had any English and the children were all busy studying. Everything was unfamiliar and different from their homeland. Fatima’s sister, who was already based in New Zealand, was a big help in the initial period, but she passed away in 2018. By then, however, the family had more or less adjusted to life in New Zealand. Once they had settled down to their new environment, they were able to carry on with the traditions they have brought with them from Afghanistan.

In 2019, Mir Hussain and Fatima came to enrol in the Intensive Literacy and Numeracy (ILN) programme at the Centre for Languages, Wintec. The programme aims to provide literacy and numeracy training to migrant and refugee-background students who arrive in New Zealand with no English and many with no literacy background in their first language. They receive a combination of training in literacy and numeracy and basic English language skills in listening and speaking.

Mir Hussain and Fatima were hoping the programme could help them with their daily tasks of going shopping, communicating with tradespeople or anyone who turned up at their doorstep when their children were not home. They were also hoping to be less reliant on their children for help with communication. Over the years, their English has improved slowly, and they can now at least understand and speak some English, although there is still some way before they can become fully independent. Mir Hussain’s and Fatima’s English language journey has also been frequently disrupted by health issues. Mir Hussain is currently taking a break from studying to recover from a thumb amputation.

Both enjoy coming to class and being a part of the student community here at Wintec.

When asked what advice they would give to new refugee arrivals, both agreed that learning English must be a priority as knowing the language is key to settlement.

“It is important to study, work hard, and to help the country in which you live.”

Apart from a few accommodation issues (the family were moved a few times and they have also spent nearly a year in emergency housing), Mir Hussain and Fatima are grateful for the help and support they have received from the government and from Wintec.

Homairah Hanif from Myanmar

Homairah was born and raised in a refugee camp in the northwestern border of Thailand. The family had already lived there for 21 years before she was born, and they spent a further 14 years in the camp. Homairah described the living conditions in the camp as poor and they couldn’t leave to go anywhere except when they were very sick, they would be taken to the hospital in Mae Sot, a small town closest to the camp. With no access to a computer and only one phone that the family used to communicate with their relatives and friends, they knew very little about the outside world.

Homairah went to school in the camp and learned how to read and write her mother tongue but nothing much else.

One day, the UN came to meet the family and give them a choice of re-settling in either Canada or New Zealand. Because they knew some people in New Zealand, they chose to come here and arrived in 2018.

Life was hard for them in the beginning and the family had to make big adjustments. Everything was new and everyone in the family had to start learning English from the beginning. On top of everything, her mother became very sick, adding to the stress and worries.

Homairah started her education in Hamilton at the end of Year 9. She described her experience at this time as ‘terrible’ because she had no friends, didn’t know how to communicate with anyone, and didn’t know how to ask for help. She recalled crying every night. She felt judged and looked down on because of her English language ability.

“No one understands my background. Some (students) were mean. Some just ignored me. No one wanted to be my partner (in class).

“In my mind I always thought I wasn’t enough. I always felt lonely. I thought I would never be able to fit in.”

There were, however, some students from the same background who tried to include her and that made her feel better.

Starting from Year 11, she started studying Business, Accounting, Maths, and managed to pass these subjects with the help of her ESOL teachers. After about three and a half years at high school, Homairah decided to leave.

When asked what could be done better to support former refugees in New Zealand, Homairah said the public should be aware of people from a refugee background, pay attention to their needs because they have been through a lot of trauma, and encourage them so that they could do well here.

Homairah is currently studying NZCEL Level 4 at the Centre for Languages. She hopes she could study to be a doctor one day but if this is not possible, she would like to study Nursing at Wintec instead.

For her family, Homairah hopes for some stability in their financial situation and also their mental health. She talked about her father who struggled to fit in at his workplace because of his poor English. She would like her family to be accepted and included here so they can be happy.

Her advice to others like her is, “be kind to each other (because) words can hurt. Work harder. Don’t care about what people think. Try harder. Don’t look back. Don’t give up.”

Latifa Kiza from the Democratic Republic of Congo

Because of the civil war in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Latifa left her country, in which she lost members of her family in 2010.

She described the dangers and the terrible things that she, her older sister, her sister’s daughter, and her older brother faced while fleeing their country.

They were saved by a milk truck driver who hid them in his vehicle, and they ended up in Kenya. They then continued their journey towards Ethiopia and on the way, Latifa was separated from both of her siblings. Latifa was looking after her niece at the time and the two of them continued their journey alone. Latifa was 12 when they arrived in Ethiopia.

She remembered a kind lady who gave them a place to stay and looked after them until they were given shelter at a refugee camp run by the Red Cross.

After nine months in the Red Cross camp in Ethiopia, her sister (her niece’s mother) was found. To this day, they still have no idea where their older brother is.

“World Refugee Day gives (former refugees) strength. Strength to not feel bad about who we are,” Latifa said.

Latifa has been in New Zealand for 11 months now. She is grateful for the opportunity and support she, her sister, and her two nieces have received.

New Zealand gives refugee women who are single parents, like Latifa’s sister, refuge and supports them to have better lives here.

Latifa would like to complete the NZCEL Level 3 (Applied) (Academic) that she is currently enrolled in and then study Health and Wellbeing so that she can help people. She would also like to go back to Ethiopia one day to look for the lady who helped her to pay her back for her kindness. She hopes to open an orphanage there one day to give orphaned children better lives. There are so many homeless people there she said, and she would do anything she could to help people to survive.

About her horrific past experiences, Latifa said she used to ask god the question, “Why me?” all the time but realised that that did not help the situation. She advised anyone going through the same emotion to continue to be strong, have patience and hope. They should also try to get to know the people here in New Zealand, be respectful and friendly.

Karen Tatiana Sanchez Iquinas from Colombia

Karen was born and lived in Colombia until 2012. In 2012, she was finishing her last year of high school with her mother while her father was trying to establish livelihood for his family in neighbouring Ecuador. In 2013, he went back to Colombia to get Karen and her three younger siblings, leaving behind their mother and two older brothers. Life in Ecuador was tough. The entire family had to work to survive and there was no time to go to school. Their father had started a food business, and all three children went out to sell on the street from a food cart. They were in Ecuador for five years before they were accepted as refugees and came to New Zealand in 2017.

Karen recalled that the first few years were difficult but also good. The family was supported by five New Zealand Red Cross volunteers, and one could speak Spanish so they were grateful as no one in the family could speak English.

They had to start learning English, learning how to drive, and other essential skills to survive in New Zealand. Karen was grateful for the opportunity to study, and she marveled at the fact that one can study and work at the same time here. She hopes that one day she can become an early childhood teacher. She would like to be a good teacher and have better control of her language. She hopes that her brothers and sisters can all find good jobs but above all, she would like their father to have better English so he can get a job and be happy.

Karen’s advice to anyone studying English is to keep studying until they reach a higher level. She herself is now working on completing NZCEL Level 3 (Applied) (Academic) and will continue until she graduates from Level 5. She said she had tried to take short cuts but, in the end, realised that she needed to continue in the English language programmes because the more proficient your language is, the more opportunities will open to you.

Like many former refugees in New Zealand, housing was a big issue for Karen’s family. Trying to find a suitable house to live in and manage the day-to-day maintenance and expenses was a constant headache, but the family was grateful to be here, receive education and have better employment opportunities.