SOMALIA
Farhan Osman moved to New Zealand from Somalia 15 years ago and now calls himself a Kiwi, but he’s not sure Trump will agree.
The 34 year old and his wife are raising their four young children in Hamilton.
He says Kiwi life is relatively stress-free compared to Africa.
‘‘I love New Zealand, it’s a very peaceful country.
‘‘Life is easier here – you get in the car, go to work then come home and play with friends then go to the mosque.’’
Osman was 19 when he arrived, after he’d spent five years in a refugee camp.
He still has vivid memories of Somalia.
It’s also a beautiful country, he says.
‘‘My father used to take me to the beach.’’
But those memories are also intertwined with the dangers of living there – the fighting and having to flee his house. He remembers the first time he saw a dead body. ‘‘I saw people I know killed. It was hard to see someone you know alive and speaking five minutes ago, now lying dead – it’s horrible.’’
Osman went to secondary school when he arrived in New Zealand, then university and now he works for the Ministry of Social Development. Trump’s ban confuses him. ‘‘Imagine, for example, if Australia said they were banning New Zealanders from visiting. ‘‘What if Australia lumped us all as one and banned everyone, because of a few,’’ he adds. It’s not fair on the 12 million Somalis worldwide, he says, ‘‘We are global people I have a friend in Australia, a cousin in the UK, a friend in Kenya and relative in the US.’’ Osman does have New Zealand citizenship and is still unsure if he can enter America.
I love New Zealand, it’s a very peaceful country.