Fleeing for freedom

“My operations colleagues are probably sick of hearing this story, but my family is originally from the Kurdish regions of Iraq. My parents were freedom fighters against Saddam Hussein’s Baath Regime and spent most of their time in Iraq in the mountains. Between 1986 and 1988 hundreds of thousands of men, women and children were executed during a systematic attempt to exterminate the Kurdish population in Iraq in the Anfal campaign. The mountains and villages that my parents travelled through were the main targets of this chemical bombing operation. Most of dad’s family died in the chemical bombings and life in the country became untenable for my family (mum, dad and two older brothers). We originally fled to Iran, where I was born. My parents then moved onto Pakistan where we settled in camp and urban settings whilst we made our case with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to grant us travel to the West,” says Kara.

“During this time, there was a lot going on with the fall of the Soviet Union, the first Iraq war, Baltic War and Rwandan genocide so relative to what was happening in the world, our family’s case was appropriately not considered urgent. Over the next 9 years, our family grew from 5 to 7 (2 more brothers were born) and we continued to move between camps and housing as our financial situation allowed.”

“In 1999, we were fortunate enough to get sponsored through the UNHCR Quota Programme into Aotearoa New Zealand. When we agreed to come here, we didn’t know where it was and after accepting the offer, learnt it was not in Europe but in the Pacific Ocean. The refugee cohort that came before us used to send us supermarket flyers and it always surprised us how cheap chicken was. We were also told to bring leather jackets because they would be expensive in New Zealand so, my dad sold the rest of what we had in Pakistan to buy jackets for us. Looking back though, the only time we wore them was on the flight over.”

“When we arrived, we stayed at the Mangere Refugee Centre for a few weeks. Luckily our sponsor was Kurdish and helped us navigate life in New Zealand. In NZ, my youngest brother was born taking the family to 8. After being bullied for not knowing English for a while, I found my feet and completed all my schooling and eventually went to Auckland University to receive my conjoint degree in Accounting, History, Marketing and Politics. I then moved to Canberra to complete a Masters in National Security Policy Making at the Australian National University, which led me back to Iraq.”

Back to Iraq

Working in Iraq in 2014 when ISIS was invading didn’t deter Kara from working in the humanitarian sector on the ground.

“I was working for Heartland Alliance International, which provide legal and mental health support for refugees or internally displaced people. I saw and met so many different people during my time here. There were people who had fled after being tortured, women who had gone through female genital mutilation and many more heart wrenching stories. I initially started as a volunteer and eventually became the Head of Programmes. Hearing about atrocities and seeing it on the ground, and especially with ISIS coming in, it was a surreal experience. During all this chaos, a silver lining for me was that I also met and married my wife, Dastan while I was over there.”

Working at INZ

After his work in Iraq, Kara returned to New Zealand and joined INZ in 2016 as an Immigration Officer in the Henderson branch processing Skilled Migrant Category applications.

“Being in lots of uncomfortable situations in my life has helped me constantly put things in perspective. I’ve been very lucky to have been given lots of opportunities in INZ. Since I’ve been at INZ, I have worked in a wide range of areas including in Suva, Fiji, the National Documentation Office (NaDO), Henderson Office, Manukau Office and the Immigration Contact Centre. I have been lucky enough to have worked with incredible people and led some great teams. The scope of what you deal with gets complex in some areas, but it’s always been centred around how you can do what’s best for New Zealand. I look forward to solving more challenges in my new role,” says Kara.

World Refugee Day is coming up on the 20th of June and this is always a great opportunity to celebrate the strength and courage of people who have been forced to flee their home country.

“I want to take this opportunity to appreciate my former refugee parents, who dedicated their lives to creating a future for my brothers and me. Their optimism in the future has shaped the way we see the world. I am certain that so many other refugees have also paved the way for their future generations and the future of New Zealand.”