Tom Kitchin
Somali refugee Marian Hussen shares her story of arriving in New Zealand and the difficulty she had in getting a recognised qualification.
Marian Hussen remembers growing up in a peaceful Somalia before it erupted in civil war.
“I grew up in a very good culture, we were Somalia, we loved each other, beautiful neighbours, beautiful land … we never had any fighting. Then this thing happened and don’t know why it happened.
“It was the hardest time in my life, human against human, we don’t know why we are killing each other.
The 61-year-old arrived in Christchurch as a refugee in 1994. She and Afghan refugee Ghulam Dawlat met with about 20 others for the first Walk a Mile in a Refugee’s Shoe event in the Christchurch Botanic Gardens on Saturday.
The event, run by the Canterbury New Zealand Business Association (CNZBA), aims to increase awareness of refugees in New Zealand.
The association was pushing messages through schools and the community to increase awareness.
small group of people gather in the Christchurch Botanic Gardens to ‘walk a mile in a refugee’s shoe’ and hear their stories.
“Many refugees from diverse countries live in NZ, yet they remain largely unknown to us,” a statement on the CNZBA website said.
“Through this fundraising campaign we are reaching out to the wider community of NZ to walk a mile in a refugees shoes.”
Hussen told her story to the group walking along beside her. She described the difficulty she faced when New Zealand would not recognise her gynaecology qualifications.
She did not have the money to retrain as a gynaecologist New Zealand.
Canterbury and New Zealand Business Association marketing coordinator Devi Alagappan, centre, says the event aims to increase awareness of refugees in Christchurch.
“It was the hardest, shocking time. It didn’t give me a chance to retrain, I was shocked, but I accepted [it].”
She eventually gained a Master of Health Science from the University of Canterbury and worked in psychology.
She spent time counselling some of the victims of the Christchurch mosque attacks.
“I’m an educated woman, I know war and my job is to enhance the people’s life. I’m teaching the people to come from nightmare to normal life.
“Everyone is coming and supporting us, I really admire [the New Zealand] Government’s response – I see New Zealand as a very good country.”
Afghani refugee Ghulam Dawlat has started his own tiling business after five years in New Zealand.
Ghulam Dawlat, 32, arrived in New Zealand from Afghanistan five years ago, following his father-in-law who moved here about 11 years ago.
Dawlat was a farmer in his home country, but this year started a tiling business, NZ Professional Tiles, in Christchurch.
“In here, life is very good, I’m very happy living here, it’s a beautiful city and country, there’s not any problems. My country, [it was] very hard living there, everyday is fighting, every day people die.”
He lives with his Afghanistani wife and two New Zealand-born children in Christchurch.
Similar events are scheduled to continue in Christchurch.
Source: Stuff
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