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What’s it like to… is a fortnightly column where New Zealanders from all walks of life share first-hand experiences. For World Refugee Week, Daniel Gamboa, CEO at the NZ National Refugee Youth Council in Wellington, talks with Paulette Crowley about the day when gunmen threatened his life so his mother pulled him out of school – with no chance to farewell friends – and their eventual journey to New Zealand.
“I was born in Colombia. It’s a beautiful country but it’s been in a civil war for the last 60 years. It has one of the biggest numbers of internally displaced citizens in the world.
My father was an abusive man and would hurt my mum a lot. He left us when I was 6 years old. It was a relief but meant my mum had to work really hard. She saved up enough to open a restaurant when I was 10 years old.
The rebels started coming to the restaurant, demanding protection money. One day they wanted her to keep their guns and weapons, but she said she wanted nothing to do with that. They got angry and said they knew where I went to school. They told her, “In five minutes we can get him and kill him.” They started shooting around the restaurant.
She ran to my school and got me out of there. I was crying, I didn’t understand. We didn’t say goodbye to anyone. I blamed her but I remember her saying, “One day you will understand why I’m doing this for you.”
It was 30 hours on a bus to Ecuador. We had nothing and crossed the border by foot. The UNHCR (United Nations High Commission for Refugees) told us we were refugees. We didn’t know what that meant.
We lived in a shelter and things were really tough. There were many times that I would eat but my mum wouldn’t. We were constantly discriminated against because we were Colombian. They thought we were taking their jobs. At school, one teacher kicked me out of class. He said, “Get out - I don’t teach Colombians”.
In 2012, the UNHCR told us, “We know life is really tough for you here and we would like to offer you another country to go to for safety.” Nothing was guaranteed and we couldn’t choose the country, but New Zealand immigration officers were interested in us. We didn’t know anything about NZ, but my mum said anything was better than what we had.
We were told if we were approved it would take from two to five years. Mum was devastated. She said, “Please don’t forget about us.”
NZ is a resettlement country with an annual programme of 1500 places referred by UNHCR. Since World War II, New Zealand has resettled more than 35,000 refugees. According to UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, a record 117.3 million people were forcibly displaced at the end of 2023 due to conflict, violence, or climate-related disasters.
Two weeks later we were told NZ had accepted us as emergency refugees and we would travel there in one week. They would support us, pay for our airfares and teach us English. We were so happy but also scared. It sounded too nice to be true. People around us said it sounded like human trafficking. Who does this for anyone?
The first thing we noticed when we got out of the airport in Auckland was how fresh the air was. They took us to the refugee settlement centre in Māngere. We were the only ones there and it was really quiet and calm. I felt relieved but mum felt scared.
They taught us so many things - how to turn off a fire alarm, how to lock a door, NZ culture, how to speak English. The immigration officer came to welcome us and said, “See, I didn’t forget about you.”
We started our lives from zero, once again, when we were resettled in Lower Hutt. We had social housing and volunteers to help us. They showed my mum the laundry and she thought it was the kitchen. I wish I could have taken a photo of her face.
I was 18 then and went to high school. I worked really hard but felt I didn’t belong there - I was too mature - so I went to English language school. I picked the language up quickly and started helping my Colombian community with filling out forms and translation.
My mum struggled as she felt isolated and wasn’t able to pick up English as quickly as me. She had always been so independent and busy, and she was used to being in defensive mode. Now she didn’t have to worry but her body didn’t know that. She started developing chronic pain. That was really hard, but she found a church community that gave her a lot of support, especially with language.
I learnt enough English to go to university and study political science and human development. I met other young people from refugee backgrounds. Young people who are refugees usually become the head of the household because they learn the language better. They don’t really enjoy their youth because they are taking care of their parents. We decided to set up the New Zealand Refugee Youth Council in 2015.
I started there as a volunteer. After I graduated from university I went to work in government, then started as the CEO of the Refugee Youth Council a year ago.
I stilI live with my mum to support her. She has ups and downs, but she is doing really well. When she feels healthy, she cooks for the Colombian community - she is well known for her cooking.
I have transformed my refugee background to help others and give back. I recently became a Justice of the Peace and had the chance to advocate for refugees’ voices at the UN in Geneva.”
The NZ Refugee Youth Council this week stages the internationally acclaimed play White Rabbit Red Rabbit by Iranian writer Nassim Soleimanpour. The play explores the themes of freedom, oppression and the power of theatre, and stars a young cast with refugee backgrounds. For more information, see https://www.facebook.com/nz.refugeeyouth/
