Family living in ‘extreme uncertainty’

Successive downpours have forced a migrant family to hunt for temporary shelter for a third time after their rental home was swamped by debris-filled floodwater.

Amit Bhardwaj and his family are moving from one friend’s house to another in need of shelter since Friday’s deluge.

The family’s Sandringham rental was flooded twice in the torrential rains of the past week.

“My son is scared of rain now. He had to walk 400 metres in water to get to safety,” Bhardwaj told the Weekend Herald.

The 11-year-old, who is 1.2m tall, walked from their Parish Rd home to Sandringham Rd in 90cm deep floodwaters.

“We have been living in extreme uncertainty. . . like we have nowhere to go.

“All our belongings are still inside the house, most of them are damaged, my car was sunken in the water, and emergency services had to tow it out.

“It is a very terrible time for us, we don’t know when or if the home will be safe to live in,” he said.

Bhardwaj’s wife Namita and son Sahishnu were inside the house when it started raining last Friday and they sent him photos of the water rising around the property.

“My son was on the phone and crying, he was scared. He has not seen something of this nature before. I had to assure him everything will be fine. At that time there was less water coming inside but outside the level was beginning to rise.

“I work in the CBD, I finished and was on my way to catch the train, but the service got cancelled. So I took the bus and the journey was disrupted because they had to stop a lot. I got off at Newmarket and had to walk in the rain to my car which was parked in Mt Smart Stadium. It took me 2-3 hours to get home.”

By that time, friends had taken Namita and Sahishnu to their home in Blockhouse Bay.

“When I got inside my house to pick up clothes, water was coming from between the wooden panels on the floor. The whole carpet was damaged, beds and electronics as well. The whole house was in a mess.”

The landlord came two days later and told Bhardwaj they would prioritise the clean-up of their rental.

Since then, the family — who moved to New Zealand from India in 2018 — have moved again to another friend’s house in Sandringham near the Hindu Temple.

Bhardwaj said his situation was quite stressful having just returned to the country after being stuck in India on a migrant worker visa.

“For migrants like us, our life is anyway uncertain. I went overseas in

February 2020 and was stuck there for 25 months before I could come back here. The Government gave us two years visa but did not include residency.

“We can’t take leave or the employer won’t give us the job or reduce our hours . . . this is a genuine fear.”

Although the family had some help from Civil Defence in terms of food and living costs covered for a few days, he was unable to be there for his wife and son.

“I have been doing six days this past week at work. I am working extra so my wife can stay with our son.

“The property manager told me I don’t have to pay rent, but I don’t know for how long. I assume the landlord would want the money.”

Bhardwaj said he had to find another shelter for his family within the next four days, and it would be difficult because “thousands of people will be looking”.

“When you live at someone else’s house it is not your own, my friends are nice but it is not the same. My belongings and clothes are still stuck in the rental, I have been wearing the same clothes for the past week.”

Migrant Workers Association president Anu Kaloti said Deputy Prime Minister Carmel Sepuloni’s office had confirmed to them that all temporary visa-holding migrants affected by the Auckland floods were eligible for the support available through Civil Defence and WINZ.

“Any migrants in need of support can call into their nearest evacuation centre or Work and Income office to seek help. They can also ring the 0800 numbers designated for the relevant government agencies providing assistance,” Kaloti said.

Anyone concerned about their work rights could also contact the association for advice.

“Migrant workers must not fear taking time off work if that’s what they need to bring back some form of normalcy amid stressful times.”

A Ministry of Social Development spokesperson said Civil Defence payments were available for those affected by flooding and non-residents may be eligible.