Thursday September 24, 2015
BY CHRIS HARROWELL
Former Somali refugee Adan Abdi is enjoying life in New Zealand.
Adan Abdi wants to a forklift driver and is learning to support the All Blacks.The 29-year-old former Somali refugee arrived in Auckland in May in search of a new life.He lives in Manurewa and is studying warehousing and distribution at Skills Update in Takanini.
Abdi was born in the Somali capital Mogadishu but moved to the port city Merca when civil war broke out in his homeland in the 1980s.
His journey to New Zealand began when he left Somalia with his brother and an uncle.
"It was very difficult with safety, education, and general life," Abdi says.
"We went to Egypt to improve our lives. I lived there for eight years and studied English and Arabic at Cairo University."
Abdi applied to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in 2008. Three years later he was in Cairo when the political upheaval known as the "Arab Spring" arrived in Egypt.
Protesters in numerous Middle Eastern and North African countries took to the streets to demand political reform and an end to state repression.
"In Egypt before that it was normal, no problems, but after that everything changed," he says.
"Life was difficult and you couldn't go outside."
While studying in Cairo, Abdi worked as a restaurant waiter, delivery boy, security guard and Arabic language tutor.
He was interviewed by Immigration New Zealand officials in Cairo and late last year got the news he would be able to move to Auckland as a refugee.
He hopes to one day to be joined by his relatives, who he says he feels a responsibility to.
"I will look for work here as I want to help my family. t was an important thing for me when I arrived to get skills so I can find a job."
Since arriving in Auckland, Abdi has received assistance from the New Zealand Red Cross. He's been assigned a volunteer and case worker who will help him get settled and assess his progress and needs.
The talented athlete loves running, swimming, and football, and is keen to understand the country's obsession with the All Blacks.
"I've tried to learn about rugby. I'm better now and understand it more."
PROVIDING VITAL SUPPORT
Claire Speedy, of the NZ Red Cross's Pathways to Employment Programme, says refugees like Adan Abdi are supported to get into training and English language courses and helps people from refugee backgrounds find work.
"That first step into employment is the hardest... They just want someone to give them a chance.
"Their lives have been on hold and they are now living in peace and ready to get stuck in."