Immigrants starting to give up hope
Some immigrants whose families have been torn apart by border closures have called for the Government to act.
In Palmerston North’s Bridge Club yesterday, opposition spokesperson for immigration National MP Erica Stanford listened to local immigrants pouring their hearts out, feeling hopeless and desperate for action.
Kelvin Purchase, 32, said he arrived in New Zealand from South Africa on March 17 last year, landing a job at agricultural company Kiwi Tech International Limited based in Bulls.
With flights into New Zealand being so expensive, his wife Miacheila and children Sage and Knox, then 3 and 2 years old, stayed in South Africa as he worked to provide, sending 60 per cent of his wages back to them.
Purchase hoped they would be able to join him, but with borders closing, many spouses and children remain stuck in home countries around the world.
He is one of thousands of people struggling to reunite with their loved ones across the country.
Immigration advisers, lawyers, National MPS and families have been calling on the Government to act urgently to reunite families for months.
Stanford listened to Purchase and four others painfully tell their stories. She said she would take them with her back to Parliament and push for a change in policy.
‘‘We are a country built on migrants and hardworking migrants who come and give back to our society and make our country more rich and diverse.
‘‘When I took over the portfolio I didn’t expect things to be such a mess. You will hear the Government blame everything on Covid . . . but in my world it’s a convenient excuse.’’
Purchase said he applied almost 20 times to have his family reunited with him, but with no light at the end of the tunnel he has given up hope and will return to South Africa in May.
‘‘I just didn’t know how long it would be. If they said six months, three months, at least you would know a time frame, but you just don’t know.
‘‘If you have an end date it could be bearable, but when you keep thinking maybe next week, maybe next week it’s terrible.’’
Purchase said his daughter had begun to question why her father wasn’t around.
‘‘I wake up at 4.30am every morning to read bedtime stories to my kids, and I come home early every eventing to talk to them getting ready in their morning.
‘‘I’d rather go home ... Money is nothing compared to family.’’
Laura Wier, his boss at Kiwi Tech, said losing an immigrant of his calibre was a great loss for the business and the nation.
‘‘We’ve always suffered shortages trying to employ engineers.
‘‘We don’t have the people being trained up in New Zealand and there aren’t many in the regions.’’
Wier said Purchase had taken all of the stress in his stride, but staying away from his family was too painful. ‘‘He is an amazingly resilient person and we will miss his good humour.’’