Mosque victim and family desperate for new home
A Christchurch mosque attack survivor, his wife and their four children are facing homelessness in two weeks.
Mohammad Sahadat had been in the country for only three months and was a chef at Indian restaurant Bawarchi when he was shot at the Linwood mosque on March 15. He suffers panic attacks and can no longer work after losing the use of his arm.
He will undergo major surgery on February 10.
Sahadat, who was granted permanent residence in September under special visas created in response to the attack, needs help finding his family an affordable home before they have to vacate their temporary housing at the Linwood Park Village on January 31. The homes are being removed so the site can return to being a park.
To be eligible for public housing, applicants need to have lived in New Zealand for two years from the date they are granted residency. The Ministry of Social Development (MSD) is trying to find the family a private rental, or possibly a transitional house.
Before the terror attack, Sahadat had been living ‘‘a dream come true’’ after moving from India. He had earned enough to bring his wife, Tarnnum Praveen, and their four children – aged 11, 9, 7 and 5 – to New Zealand. Through a translator, Sahadat said he spent ‘‘many years planning and thinking of coming here’’.
‘‘He was living a good life, his job was good, he had a satisfactory life, going smooth and easy ... and then [the attack happened],’’ the translator said.
Sahadat had been living with a colleague and paying rent.
His family arrived after he had been injured and they moved around friends’ homes, then spent 22 days in a motel before securing a Linwood Village home for $100 a week.
He received more than $50,000 in donations from Victim Support and the Christchurch Foundation, and has used the money to support his family during the
10 months off work. He receives
$470 a week in ACC payouts. Sahadat’s wife and children are working with authorities to get visas. He does not have a driver’s licence, so finding a house with at least three bedrooms close to a mosque and schools is important.
He wants the Government to make an exception to the twoyear residency rule for mosque victims who cannot afford private rental prices. MSD rules state the requirement can be waived where the applicant receives a main benefit but not ACC.
O¯ tautahi Community Housing Trust, which owns the Linwood Park houses, was working with MSD and tenants to ensure they had homes to move to, senior housing adviser Bob Hardy said.
Mohammad Sahadat and his family have to vacate their temporary housing at the end of the month.