'We feel very scared, very scared to leave'

The Syrian family afraid to leave their own home

You flee your war-torn country in the hope of finding a better life, and after years in a refugee camp you finally hear of your new home: New Zealand.

“Since we arrived in New Zealand we were amazed with how amazing the people were here in New Zealand and the support . . . my family and I were settling well in the community and school,” the former refugee said.

Makes you feel good, doesn’t it? But I’ll just stop you here for a second, because this is a heartbreaking story that contains some distressing content. I’ve decided not to name the family due to their position; they have two special needs children and are all facing a difficult and stressful time.

Back to where we left off.

In 2020, their lives began taking a dark turn. Little things at first: eggs thrown at their Mosgiel property. Some local kids were identified and a meeting was held between parents and police and it stopped. But it stopped only for a short time. Some of their children were picked on at school, and then things escalated.

Windows of their Murray St home were smashed, and stones and eggs were thrown at that Kāinga Ora home, as well their cars and the children as they played in their garden

“My wife was abused walking home from the store and they took her phone and threw it away into the road while coming home, and told me to leave here and didn’t like her headdress,” the man said via a translator.

By now, those behind the frequent attacks had grown from a small group to “many others teens and adults”.

“We believe so that it is a hate crime towards my family and it directly targeting the kids, my wife, and me and my home.”

The experiences had left their five children reticent about attending their respective schooling, and “they don’t want to walk outside”.

And when inside, the family are constantly monitoring their sensors, installed to detect intruders.

That happened on Monday night when a small shed on the property was targeted in an arson attack.

That experience had now left them fearful, and while Mosgiel was their home they may now be forced to move outside the town.

One issue likely delaying any move was the size of the home they required, but now the focus was on safety for the family. (As an aside, if you want to know more about housing waiting lists, including a territorial breakdown and numbers of rooms required, check this out.)

I couldn’t get anymore from Kāinga Ora on this, as they required a privacy waiver, which due to language barriers and timing made this impossible, but we can say the agency is aware of what is happening.

Until then, the family had suggested making the street safer, through having lighting and cameras installed, traffic-calming measures and a fence on their property to keep out intruders.

“We want this family safety helped first, as our main concern safe home, safe family and happy kids to go to school.”

But he also wanted to share his story to “make people aware of what is happening here to my family and many others”.

“We feel very scared, very scared to leave.”

Police wouldn’t comment on specific allegations, but confirmed they were investigating a small shed fire that occurred on Murray Street, Mosgiel around 6:15pm on Monday.

“It is being treated as suspicious.

“Enquiries into the circumstances of the incident are ongoing.”

But while police investigate the matter, and Government representatives have various meetings to discuss what to do, some of the local community have come to help.

Enter Tahuna Eriepa, who lives around the corner from Murray St.

When he heard about the family’s plight, he urged others in the community to rally around and say no to racism.

“I was just so disgusted, I just went around to see if they were alright.”

When he first moved to Mosgiel he heard about Murray St being “the bad street”, but it hadn’t been that way for years. However the concerning behaviour towards the family over the last two years was a concern, he said.

Eriepa, along with others, was maintaining a more active watch on the area and letting the family know they were supported and were welcome.

There were also plans for a community barbecue on the street.

Meanwhile the family’s advocate, Natalie Sinclair, said she was shocked to turn the corner and see the emergency services vehicles outside the house on Monday night.

Her first thought was that it was a Christchurch mosque-type attack.

“I would do anything to ensure this beautiful family’s safety.”

Thanks for reading, and I have added this link to a Givealittle campaign here.

If you have any thoughts, please share in the comments below.

And if you want to know a bit more about where refugees end up settling, I wrote this piece a few years ago.

---

It certainly feels like the election cycle is heating up, with National now promising a new medical school at the University of Waikato. While increasing medical school placements is a good thing for a struggling health sector, this will have an impact on Otago. However the party is promising to lift Auckland and Otago numbers by an extra 50 places.

To me, the decision to nix the Interprofessional Learning Centre, which was pitched as an educational facility for University of Otago and Otago Polytechnic students at the new Dunedin Hospital, feels premature.

Surely this is now the time to invest in one of the city’s best assets, the medical school?

The council has released more details on the FIFA Fan Festival™ (love the ™). The free event will be held at the Dunedin Town Hall and Glenroy Auditorium on six selected days from Thursday July 20 to Sunday July 30. 

For example, you could watch NZ v Norway on July 20, and watch performances by Bic Runga and DJ Tina Turntables a few hours before.

Or, on Friday 28 July, you can watch England v Denmark (kicks off at 8:30pm), and watch Ladyhawke perform. Ladyhawke!

And I’m very pleased to report that Dimmer will be returning to play Dunedin again, this time on November 17/18 at Hanover Hall.

The band’s tour will coincide with the release of a new live double album - documenting the group's sold-out triple night residency at Avondale's Hollywood Cinema - called Live At The Hollywood. More details here.

Here is a video of the band’s last appearance in Dunedin:

And lastly, please reply in the comments if you know where this is?