To whom it may concern,

 

We are “The Starfish Collective”, a small charitable organisation based in Õtepoti/ Dunedin.  Our mandate is to assist human beings in distress locally, nationally and internationally and also to promote dialogues and actions which move towards peace and towards climate and environmental justice.

The following are the true stories of two young people, Lama Zaza and Abdallah Lababidi, who are Syrian refugees, both residing in Lebanon.  Both are the eldest child and both have become separated from their families and are alone in Lebanon.  In both cases their parents and siblings are all in Dunedin, Aotearoa/ New Zealand and both families are distraught with worry about them.  Lebanon is not, currently, a kind or safe place for any Syrian refugee.  Both Abdallah and Lama have UNHCR File numbers.  

We know of only two such cases in Dunedin, where an entire family minus one member are living here.  The government of Aotearoa/ New Zealand has accepted these families, who are now settled here, as former refugees.  Both families have resided here for seven years and both have now obtained New Zealand citizenship.  They are Kiwi families now and the absence and suffering of the eldest child, in both families, is causing them intense distress and trauma.  Both families have already suffered losses and displacement due to the civil war in Syria.  We have a responsibility to support these families in reuniting.  In the case of the Zaza family, the mother has recently (June 2023) suffered a stroke and needs the support of her eldest daughter, Lama.

Furthermore, if there are only two families in Dunedin in this situation, we believe that there must be very few families in similar situations in Aotearoa/ New Zealand as a whole.  We would like, therefore, to urge the Minister of Immigration and the Minister of Foreign Affairs and their departments to give consideration to these cases.  We understand that no two cases are the same and that criteria must be met.  But we would also ask for the mercy and compassion of the government of Aotearoa/ New Zealand  for these families who have been separated.  Having worked in this area for a number of years, we know that our New Zealand government departments do hold sway with the United Nations High Commission for Refugees in Beirut and can recommend individuals for family reunification.  

We have created and are now circulating an online petition, which can be found on Change.org.

The following are Lama and Abdallah’s stories, written in their own words and translated into English.  

 

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

Lama Jamal Aldin Zazah 

 

UNHCR file number LBE-22-05615

 

Hi, my name’s Lama, I’m 33 years old.  I was born in Homs, Syria and am the oldest child in my family.  I went  to Lebanon with my parents when the war came to my country.  While in Lebanon, I married.  With my husband, I was then given a separate UNHCR file number from my parents and siblings.  

My parents were accepted to come and live in Dunedin, New Zealand.  By that time, I had had my first child and was living with my husband and his family.  I was very upset that my parents were going to the other side of the world, but prayed that in the future my husband and children might join them, and knew that they were going to a safer life.

Unfortunately, about a year after that, when my second child was born, my husband began physically and mentally abusing me, along with his mother and family.  I don’t know why this happened.  I wondered whether it was because my own parents were no longer around to protect me.  I was treated with hatred and violence and my husband and his family even encouraged my young children to beat and abuse me.  Finally I couldn’t stand it anymore and ran away.  I have since heard that my husband has taken the children to Saudi Arabia with him.  I know I will probably never see them again.  As a woman in the Middle East, I have no rights in this matter.

I moved into a tiny room in Lebanon.  I feel depressed and grief stricken at losing my children.  I tried to get work, but could not find enough to pay the rent.  Moreover, Lebanese society discriminates against Syrian refugees like me and against women who are divorced.  As well as this, a woman living on her own is not safe in the Middle East.  I have been harassed by Syrian and Lebanese men and verbally abused and spat at by Lebanese women.  So now I’m afraid to go out.  I face abuse even if I go to the market to buy food.  Mostly I sit alone with my grief in the small room.  I can’t cover the rent.

I feel a lot of shame and guilt.  I should be helping my parents in their old age, but I can’t.  Instead of helping, I’m causing them suffering.  They fear that I will be raped, that happens a lot to women living alone here.  And they fear that I will be returned to Syria, as the Lebanese government has made a pact with the Assad government to return Syrian refugees.  Hundreds of people have already been returned to Syria against their will.  If I’m returned, I will be imprisoned, tortured and maybe even killed.  My parents know this.  They are not rich, but they send me money when they can, so that I can survive and to keep me from sleeping on the street.  They are distraught about my situation and it consumes them constantly.  It has spoiled the enjoyment that they otherwise feel about living in New Zealand and seeing my siblings thrive in school there.

On 18th June 2023, at 11pm, my mother, who was already in Dunedin hospital for heart issues (which I believe were also a result of her heart being broken by my situation) had a stroke, which has left her paralysed down one side of her body.  My youngest sister is only 16 and still attending school at Otago Girls’ High School.  My brothers are working.  My Mum needs me by her side to help her in her recovery and to do housework which she is no longer able to do.  My mother is only 57 years old, but she has suffered a lot.  This suffering has taken its toll on her health.  I fear that I may never see my Mum again and my Mum and my family fear this too.

All I want now is to be permitted to come and live with my parents in Dunedin and help them.  I will also study English and look for work.  I will be a good citizen.  Please help us.

With thanks, Lama.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Abdallah Lababidi

(Parents and siblings in Dunedin, NZ)

UNHCR Number: LEB-18C34406

  

Hello, Salam Alaykum,

My name is Abdallah Lababidi.  I am 31 years old.  My parents, Sabah and Mohammad, have lived in Dunedin, New Zealand, for the past seven  years.  My siblings also live in Dunedin.  

At the time, when my parents and siblings resettled in New Zealand, I was married and tried to start a life and family in Lebanon.  The situation in Lebanon rapidly deteriorated and my wife and I were soon living in poverty.  As you will know, the government and financial situation in Lebanon now is terrible.  This has been exacerbated by Covid 19, which has destroyed many businesses and killed many people.  So many Syrians have come to Lebanon as refugees that many Lebanese discriminate against us.  This has led to all kinds of terrible actions, particularly by Syrian youths, who have been known to beat men and children, burn tents in refugee camps and insult and sometimes even rape women.  If anyone complains, we are told to “go back to Syria”

I worked in textiles and sewing for nearly ten years, from age 15, in my birth town, Halab, in Syria. My father is a tailor by trade and I also trained in this area and worked with him. Then, in 2012, we fled from Syria, because of the intense bombing in our area and because we were in fear for our lives.  In Lebanon I worked for seven years in a cream processing factory, where we worked turning milk into cream. Unfortunately, as the economy declined, Syrian refugees were discriminated against more and more.  I was very lucky and managed to keep my job for a long time after others were dismissed.  They said I was a hard worker.  Despite working, however, my wife and I were finding it harder and harder to survive.  My wages remained the same, but prices for basic items in Lebanon have quadrupled in recent months.  We began to struggle even to pay for food and rent.  Then, just a few months ago, I was told there was no more work for me.  This made our situation extremely desperate and my relationship with my wife also deteriorated under this pressure.  Eventually we separated. We had no children.  My ex wife’s  parents are still here in Lebanon and she now lives with them. 

My family has tried every possible means for bringing me to New Zealand.  My mother saved up $5000, in case money was an issue.  So far all doors have remained closed.  It’s really tough when they’re all on the other side of the world and I’m here.  The Lebanese are rounding up Syrians and returning them to the regime of Basshir Al Assad.  If I am returned, I will either be imprisoned and tortured and possibly killed or, forced to serve 10 years in Assad’s army, fighting for a cause I don’t believe in and killing innocent people.  The regime often “punishes” people who have escaped as refugees and then returned by putting them into the most dangerous situations in the army where they are killed.

I feel really alone now, because all my family are in New Zealand.  I live alone and sometimes feel really down.  I would be delighted to be given the opportunity to join the rest of my family in Dunedin, New Zealand.  My brother Ahmad has married and had a child since settling there.  I haven’t met my new sister-in-law or my little niece yet.  The rest of the family say that they’re very happy there and that life is peaceful and free of discrimination.  I am hard working and would be happy to undertake any form of employment.  Also, as I am one man alone and now single again, I would be living with my parents and two unmarried siblings in their home in Dunedin.  I know I would settle well, because I would feel safe and reassured by my family, who already feel settled and happy.  And I would do my best to improve my English language and be a productive citizen of New Zealand.

Many thanks to you for reading my story.

Abdallah.