Letters: Welcoming refugees a win-win

Refugee supporter Ross Fallen (left) greets refugee protester Phillip Rewiti, aka Bear Rewiti last year. Photo / file

Welcoming refugees a win-win

New Zealand is very fortunate to be able to offer sanctuary and a bright future for those escaping the hell of distant war-torn places like Syria.

RNZ presenter Jesse Mulligan's wonderful Friday afternoon interview with Syrian refugee Alaa, now a proud Dunedin resident, was a timely reminder of how resettlement here is win-win for both New Zealanders and our new citizens.

Alaa, who fled the killer regime that was targeting him as a dissident university student, escaped to safety in Malaysia only to learn that Assad's assassins had killed his father in Damascus.

He described the joy of receiving an emailed resettlement offer from New Zealand and the unexpected delight of arriving to a warm welcome at Dunedin airport followed by ongoing friendship and support from the locals.

Three years on, he can barely believe his luck at landing in such a beautiful, friendly and peaceful place.

Alaa's story had me thinking of the positive global reaction to Helen Clark's 2001 'Tampa Boys' and their fantastic contributions to so many aspects of New Zealand life as they've grown to adulthood here.

I shed a tear as I reflected on the short-sighted sabotage last year of Whanganui's chance to do the right thing by embracing people like Alaa and welcoming them into our community, with significant central government support.
CAROL WEBB
Whanganui

Vulnerability a sign of strength

I support the worthy comments of Max Warburton (Letters, February 22). Shame, among a number of similar inflictions, is something many experience as a result of a variety of trauma and life experiences.

There are mental health issues that are both unnecessary and certainly more avoidable if societal attitudes were more favourable to people who struggle for whatever reason, if many were less inclined to judge.

I also very much agree that vulnerability, particularly for males, and the ownership of that, is something to be celebrated rather than feared as is very commonly the case. Far from being weak, it is a sign of strength and of our natural state of being, in my view.
I believe we need to review our approach to what it is to be masculine, and indeed feminine, so that neither gender feels pressured to try to live up to some created ideal which is far removed from what it actually is to be male or female and who we actually are as people in relation to both.

Acceptance, allowance and accommodation in a non-judgmental society is paramount, in my belief. My own views are born of my own experience and learning in a journey through mental health issues.
PAUL BABER
Aramoho

Rabbit hunt

Tuesday's Chronicle article about "

bunnies in the firing line

"made me think about the timing of this action.

Easter is just around the corner and some children might think the Easter Bunny could be in danger.

Still, I guess, if he does meet his demise there will be plenty of chocolate substitutes in the shops.

I assume they will be using silencers on their rifles to avoid waking the dead.
DOUG PRICE
Castlecliff

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