This New Zealand City Is Helping Syrian Refugees Get Settled In!
This New Zealand City Is Helping Syrian Refugees Get Settled In!
Dunedin, New Zealand, is now home to about 50 refugee families from Syria, and they've been helping to get new families settle in for over a year now. Find out more here about how refugee families are living in Dunedin.
Dunedin, New Zealand, is now home to about 50 refugee families from Syria, and they've been helping to get new families settle in for over a year now. Find out more here about how refugee families are living in Dunedin.
Last year, the city of Dunedin, New Zealand welcomed 50 refugee families as part of a special emergency intake for the country, and every two months, six more families arrive to find peace in the small city. Dunedin is one of six New Zealand cities resettling refugee families, but there seems to be something extra special about this inviting town, and now they'll be getting an extra $1.34 million to help even more.
Everyone was understanding, everyone was compassionate with us... We felt like we're home.
Zeina Al Ashkar
Radio New Zealand, May 11, 2017
The city offers housing services, primary health care, interpretive services, mental health services, and dental services to its new residents, as well as help learning English and retraining to do their old jobs in a new country. For Ghazwan Al Ashkar, that means pharmacy, which he worked with in Syria. For his wife, Zeina, that means periodontry.
I know so many Syrian men and women who want to do something positive [for] this community... This community gave us everything.
Ghazwan Al Ashkar
Radio New Zealand, May 11, 2017
What do you think of Dunedin's treatment of refugees? Talk to us about it in the comments below, and share with your friends to see what they think.