Syrian-born Constable Ammar Alsaleh in his Whanganui home. Photo / Bevan Conley
Syrian-born Constable Ammar Alsaleh in his Whanganui home. Photo / Bevan Conley
In his tranquil one-bedroom home overlooking the Whanganui River, Ammar Alsaleh is a long way from home.
Alsaleh is the youngest of six siblings and grew up in Idlib, southwest of Aleppo, where he worked to help manage the family pistachio farm with his father.
When the civil warbroke out in Syria, Alsaleh’s life changed.
In Aleppo — where Alsaleh lived most of the year — the conflict intensified, and they could not visit his family’s pistachio farm due to it being taken over by a branch of Isis (Islamic State).
A family home was bombed. In 2016, there was a chemical attack 2-3km from where his family was staying: “There was no safe place”.
Two days before leaving for New Zealand, Alsaleh got stuck in an area of Aleppo where fighting between the rebel forces and the Syrian army was taking place.
He was trapped with his sister, brother-in-law, and two nieces, and to escape they were evacuated by rebel forces through a path full of bodies.
“I had to walk on bodies, literally on dead people; it was horrible.”
Initially, Alsaleh’s visa to join his Kiwi ex-wife was rejected by Immigration New Zealand and he was forced to miss the birth of his son.
But in 2015 he left Syria to come to New Zealand.
Constable Ammar Alsaleh at the Royal New Zealand Police College graduation ceremony in Wellington. Photo/ Supplied
He began working at a freezing works in Napier, but not long after his arrival his passport expired. This left Alsaleh in a precarious position, either he could return to Syria or apply for refugee status in New Zealand.
“There was a big possibility that if I went back I would be arrested at the airport and taken to join the army.”
In the freezing works Alsaleh discovered a strong sense of community.
“It’s just such a happy environment. You just laugh all the time and make jokes to make the day go quick.”
Whilst applying for refugee status, and during a conversation with a friend who is a detective, Alsaleh decided he wanted to give back to his new home country by starting a career in the police force.
Alsaleh said many refugees have a complicated relationship with the police.
“Me being a refugee myself, I know refugees in New Zealand, and I have very strong relationships with them — they don’t trust the police.
“And I don’t blame them because where they come from, police kill people.”
There was an under-representation of Arab communities within the New Zealand police, he said.
“When the mosque attack happened in Christchurch they sent police officers to the mosque here in Talbot Street, and they got a bit involved as a security measure, but they didn’t talk to anyone.
“It’s not to blame them, but they just don’t have Arab policemen.”
In the future, Alsaleh wants to join the national ethnic partnerships team which works on relationships with minority groups within the police.
“I think I’d be most valuable there, they can use me to get involved more.
“It’s about being more a part of Arab occasions and Muslim occasions in general, I know say the police celebrate Diwali, but they don’t with Arab celebrations because there isn’t Arab policemen.”
He would like to build a greater level of trust between police and refugee communities.
“It’s just by talking and showing up to certain occasions, and becoming more involved in the refugee environment.
“As a police officer I’ll be able to tell them about my experience and they will believe me more, about how we treat people, and that it’s different from Egyptian or Syrian police, it’s totally different.”
Constable Ammar Alsaleh with Rabia Talal Almbaid, who works in the national ethnic partnerships team for the New Zealand police. Photo/ Supplied
New Zealand police senior partnerships adviser Rabia Talal Almbaid, who is also Syrian, said they were committed to supporting ethnic staff across the country.
“It’s very challenging when your first language is Arabic to learn all of the legislation, and I can very much relate to that.
“We’re working on increasing and maintaining the ethnic representation across all levels of police to reflect our diverse ethnic population in New Zealand.”
For Alsaleh, he is grateful to be starting out in his new career: “I wish Kiwis would know how much I thank them because they welcomed me with open arms, and I got a new home.”
Eva de Jong is a reporter for the Whanganui Chronicle covering health stories and general news. She began as a reporter in 2023.
