Hopeful Waitangi for new Kiwis

Anwar Adeli held his baby girl, Medina, tight against his chest and hunkered down in his seat at Canterbury’s O¯ nuku Marae as a chill wind whistled across Akaroa Harbour on Waitangi Day.

Nearby, eldest daughter Lida and son Sameer shivered as they listened to Nga¯i Tahu chairwoman Lisa Tumahai talk of a ‘‘bright and essential future’’ made possible following apologies for historic breaches of the Treaty of Waitangi.

It was a message that would doubtless have had profound meaning for Adeli, his wife Fatima Sharifi and their young family, who were attending a service to welcome them as new citizens.

The 42-year-old fled his home in Afghanistan more than five years ago to escape persecution by the Taliban and al Qaeda.

Working for a nongovernmental organisation, he faced the constant threat of kidnap by terrorists – and worse.

‘‘It was not safe for my children. I was worried for my life because the Taliban always followed us.’’

He now works for an engineering company and life is better. ‘‘My children’s school is good, my job is good – everything is good,’’ he said.

Lida, who was around six when they left Afghanistan, agreed. ‘‘It is really good here because it is a safe place and is quite cool. I can’t wait to get citizenship, it is really special,’’ she said.

That sense of inclusion felt by the Adeli family, along with another 48 new citizens from 12 countries, had echoes in the progress Tumahai felt had been made in the 21 years since former prime minister Jenny Shipley delivered the Crown’s formal apology at the same marae.

She told the 300-strong crowd: ‘‘It was more than an apology – it laid the foundation for a partnership moving forward.’’