News from the Ground | World Refugee Day – Community as a Superpower
New Zealand is one of 14 countries that are currently listed on the UNHCR website as resettling UNHCR mandated refugees on an annual basis. The number of arrivals in New Zealand per year through the Refugee Quota Resettlement programme is currently set at 1500 and are resettled in 13 regions around the country. The largest number of arrivals for the 2024-2025 financial year are from Syria, Afghanistan, Myanmar and D.R. of Congo. The national and ethnic make-up refugee arrivals in New Zealand depends on world events, humanitarian needs, and the response of the government at the time. From the 1950s to early 1970s, those that arrived on New Zealand shores as refugees were Hungarians, Chinese, Russian Christians, Czech and Ugandan Asians. Mid 1970s to mid-1990s saw the arrival of refugees from Chile, former Yugoslavia, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos, and groups from Iran and Iraq. It is after the official establishment of the Refugee Quota Resettlement programme in 1987, changes to immigration laws and more widespread conflict led to increasing diversity in refugee arrivals.
The increase in diversity and population numbers led to refugee communities coming together as cohesive collectives, forming incorporated societies and later inter-ethnic coalitions to advocate for common needs and issues, and to support each other. Developing cohesion and building trusting relationships within and between refugee communities is not easy given the divisions and misunderstandings due to ethnic, tribal, religious, and political conflicts in their countries of origin. Renewed tensions in these countries can catapult seemingly cohesive inter-ethnic communities to becoming hypervigilant and open ethnic divisions. It is important to have an awareness and understanding of these dynamics but also the power of communities to work together for the collective good when differences can be put aside.
In Nelson where refugees from Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos were resettled informally in the 1970s through the support of church and philanthropic groups became a formal resettlement location in the mid-2000s. While the largest resettled populations since then are Burmese, Karen and Chin ethnic groups from Myanmar; there are smaller communities from Bhutan, Pakistan, and Colombia. Freyja Stocker (Refugee Health Social Worker, Nelson Marlborough Public Health, Health New Zealand - Te Whatu Ora) stated that strong community led collectives have developed organically within the different resettled communities. She stated that the level of organisation and support within these communities is inspiring and that there is a lot to learn from the resilience, strength and the sense of community displayed.
Feelings of isolation, anxiety and a sense of disconnect occurs when there is not much engagement with the host/mainstream community. Refugees come with experiences of oppression and inequity, betrayals, violations of rights and violence. These experiences can make engaging with mainstream communities more difficult. Thus, it may be that members of the host community need to make the first move to welcome refugee families to be part of the community. Ari Jan (Refugee Resettlement Case Worker, Presbyterian Support South Canterbury) who works with resettled families in Timaru said little gestures like a group of females handknitting winter woollies to be distributed or members of the Rotary group supplying free firewood go a long way to creating a sense of community and togetherness. Timaru has only been a resettlement location since 2020 and is now home to a growing Syrian community. Ari said organised events members of both the mainstream and Syrian communities are involved challenges assumptions and raise awareness. Street festivals, soccer matches and visits to rest homes are among those organised by Presbyterian Support to enhance intercultural connectedness.
Annette Mortensen (Training & Development Manager, Refugees as Survivors New Zealand) who has extensive experience working with communities in several different roles and services, is a strong believer in the slogan ‘Nothing About Us Without Us’. A lesson learnt early on in her career is that the only way to get anything done was to work with communities. To do that, services need to question entrenched attitudes and shift the way they engage and deliver so that services and communities can work together as a collective superpower. The needs and challenges of the individual, ethnic/national group and resettlement location may be unique but if we all take the time to know, understand and respect each other’s similarities and differences, we can reduce some of the inequities that are holding us back from achieving the best possible for all of us.
Together we are a superpower.
Interviewed and written by Dulani Abeysinghe, eCALD® Educator, Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora
Image credit: provided by Presbyterian Support South Canterbury
