Former refugees loving new life in Nelson
It’s been just over a year since the first of 21 former refugee families from Colombia were re-settled in Nelson. They fled conflict and violence associated with the world’s longest continuous war, where fighting between rebel groups and Government forces has left more than six million people internally displaced. Two families who have found a new home in Nelson spoke to
about how life is shaping up. When Francia Carabali learned she was coming to New Zealand, hope soon turned to fear ... she was told that in New Zealand, authorities steal babies.
Francia, whose words were translated by Red Cross Refugee Services interpreter Norma Sequera, said her neighbours told her New Zealand was a ‘‘terrible place’’.
‘‘’You will have your baby there ... then they will take the baby off you’,’’ she was told.
She was pregnant when she learned she would come to New Zealand, after initially fleeing to Ecuador; she told the refugee agency she was scared her children would be ‘‘stolen’’.
‘‘The woman said, ‘no no, that’s not true, don’t listen to what [your neighbours] say, it’s a beautiful country’.’’
Nearly a year after arriving, Francia has found peace.
‘‘Ecuador was a very difficult place to live because I was Colombian, and there wasn’t much support,’’ she said.
‘‘When I came here, I found there was a lot of freedom, and the first thing I was quite shocked about was how safe I was.’’
She was grateful for the amount of support she received, particularly as she gave birth to her daughter after she arrived here; she also has a nine-year-old son, Alejandro.
‘‘It’s a completely different life ... here, the system is so helpful, I have support to raise the baby.’’
Her neighbours had embraced her and the neighbourhood children would come around and play.
‘‘Alejandro is very friendly, so the parents of the children come here and talk to me and want to help me. They say if I need anything just to call them, or tell them.’’
Alejandro’s English was getting stronger, and he would help Francia with supermarket shopping, ‘‘doing the talking’’ on behalf of his mother.
But Francia’s own English language skills were improving, too, as she studies through an ESOL programme for mothers with young children, at Victory School.
She wants to train to work with elderly in resthomes, and hopes her children will stay committed to their studies and become working professionals.
As she gets established in Nelson in the short-term, she’s been able to connect with other Colombian families.
One of the families at the centre of the growing Colombian community in Nelson is Maria Carmen Cuero, husband Domingo, and their four children.
Maria Carmen said her ‘‘dream’’ came true last year when they were married at All Saints Church. About 150 guests attended for the ‘‘Colombian style’’ wedding, with lot of food cooked and donated by the Colombian and wider Latin American community that turned out to celebrate. ‘‘It was very nice,’’ she said. ‘‘There is a pastor who is Latino and speaks Spanish, who came down from the North Island to do the wedding in Spanish.’’
The same pastor comes to Nelson every couple of weeks to hold a Spanish church service in the Victory Hall. Maria Carmen said she was grateful to be able to practice Christianity freely, and in their own language.
‘‘Before I came here, I thought it would be very difficult to find a pastor, or someone to speak Spanish, to keep the family together and praying in Spanish, because English would be very difficult for me,’’ she said.
‘‘But now there is a beautiful community and they all come, and pray, and the children are very happy.’’
Her children were also becoming more involved with sport, with eldest son Cristian playing football for Tasman United.
She felt ‘‘very satisfied’’ to see them so happy, and to see her husband employed at a tomato farm in Richmond.
She was making more friends, and was waiting for her English to improve so she could ‘‘talk even more’’ to Kiwi friends.
‘‘People here are very gentle, the city is very green and blue, with a lot of beautiful beaches.
‘‘I love everything in Nelson, it’s the city of my dreams.’’
She continually prayed for God to bless New Zealand, because of the support and kindness the country had offered her, her family, and others like them.
Red Cross community services manager Chris Stuart said welcoming 21 families from Colombia had been a ‘‘truly rewarding’’ experience for Red Cross teams and volunteers.
‘‘They’ve added a wonderful richness, and a new learning curve for us as well,’’ she said.
In welcoming any new ethnicity, there were challenges in finding enough interpreters, and Red Cross staff members had to learn about a new culture and history.
Just over a year since the first family arrived, the community is becoming more established and new families from Colombia will be arriving later this year.
Stuart said they were always in need of more volunteers to help with the resettlement programme, and were particularly keen to have some younger volunteers.
For more information, visit www.redcross.org.nz or call the Service Centre on 03 546 5012.