Lock-in easier here than Syria

Being locked in a Covid-19 bubble for five weeks is tough but does not compare to being locked in an apartment in Syria during the ongoing conflict.

Former refugee Fadi Matar says one is a piece of cake, and the other is certainly not.

"Syria was a very scary life because every day you think maybe this is your last day.

"You see death all around you. You think maybe the next person will be me. I worried for my family every day.

"[Bombs] would come close to our house sometimes. I never knew if my house would blow up."

Mr Matar said he and his wife Rusul were living and working in Syria when conflict broke out in 2011.

They escaped with their daughter Fadia to Thailand about six years ago and lived there as illegal immigrants before coming to New Zealand in October last year as refugees.

Mr Matar said the Covid-19 lockdown had been a new experience.

"The advantage is I can get more time with my family and do some activity, and Rusul and I can focus on our English study.

"The disadvantage is, because we are studying, sometimes it is annoying when the children disrupt us."

He said settling into New Zealand life, even under lockdown conditions, had been relatively easy because of the support of Red Cross volunteer Jill Guy.

"She is very kind to us. She is a very perfect person for us."

Ms Guy had helped with things like appointments with doctors, dentists, Work and Income and Housing New Zealand, as well as enrolling the children in school and preschool, and the parents in English classes.

She had gone above and beyond when she bought a push-chair for Rawia’s third birthday during lockdown, he said.

She bought it so the family could go on walks together and not leave little Rawia too tired.

She also made regular video calls to the family to make sure they were happy.

"She is more than just a friend," Mr Matar said.

"We count her like a member of our family now."

Ms Guy, a recently retired cafe and restaurant owner, said in the past she had helped people at Youth Wellness and the Malcam Charitable Trust into jobs or education.

"When I retired, I had more spare time and I wanted to do something that was life changing for other people."

Red Cross national migration manager Sue Price, of Dunedin, said former refugees across the country were coping remarkably well.

They had already gone through a lot of adversity and were used to dealing with major change, but the volunteers had made their resettlement even easier, she said.

"Just knowing that they’re connected to somebody in the community if something goes wrong, or someone that they know will be there for them

... It helps them feel part of the community."