A chance to be in the same boat as the Tampa refugees
Four years since the arrival of the Tampa refugees, New Zealanders will have the opportunity to hear their incredible
story in the world premiere of Pacific Solution: From Afghanistan to Aotearoa.
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The Auckland section of it DOCNZ International Documentary Film Festival is from the 15th - 28th of September at the
Academy Cinema, Lorne Street. Tickets for DOCNZ International Documentary Film Festival are on sale at the Academy
Cinema. For more information visit www.docnzfestival.com
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The Tampa refugees are 438 Afghanis who on the day the World Trade Center crumbled were awash in a small boat off the
coast of Australia, fleeing the persecution of the Taleban regime.
The refugees who were rescued by the Norwegian freighter, MV Tampa, were plunged into a cloud of controversy when they
were refused entry into Australia and then accepted into New Zealand.
Directed by James Frankham, Pacific Solution: From Afghanistan to Aotearoa tells of the Tampa refugees experiences, the
new home they find in New Zealand, and the remarkable quest of their families to join them.
Producer Dr Annie Goldson believes the story is an important one to tell as refugees are often misunderstood and it is
an opportunity to open people’s eyes.
“There are parts of the world that are falling apart as a result of events such as the Cold War and the rise of the
Taliban. Therefore my sense is that there are moral, historic and legal reasons to support such refugees,” says Dr
Goldson.
Those who attend will be able to increase their knowledge on the topic by participating in a question and answer session
at the end of the documentary with producer Dr Goldson. As well, a number of families who participated in the
documentary will be present. New Zealand is one of only 16 countries that regularly accept refugees, taking in a quota
of 750 a year. “Significant social and economic value is added to our country by refugees and their families,” says the
Auckland regional coordinator for RMS Refugee Resettlement, Jill Conway. “It is RMS’ experience that the vast majority
of refugee children grow up to be fluently bilingual or multilingual. As New Zealand continues to pursue expanded global
economic opportunities, such attributes can only be beneficial.”
RMS Refugee Resettlement is the national resettlement agency which works to help refugees build new lives in New Zealand
and was the key agency involved in the resettlement of Tampa refugees.
There is a common misconception that refugees choose to come to New Zealand. In fact they are forced out of their own
countrys in order to escape persecution and conflict and therefore have little choice. This is what differenitates
refugees from immigrants.
RMS Refugee Resettlement helps people such as the Tampa refugees through public education, refugee policy and service
provision. The later includes a volunteer programme where volunteers are partnered with refugees during their initial
resettlement when they are getting to grips with the New Zealand way of life.
Pacific Solution: From Afghanistan to Aotearoa is superseded by the documentary Seoul Train allowing attendees to
experience two eye-opening refugee stories at once. Seoul Train, directed by Jim Butterworth and Lisa Sleeth details the
flouting of international laws by major countries and follows activists who try to help North Korean refugees who are
attempting to escape their country.
The one-off screenings of the two documentaries will be at 8.45pm on Wednesday September 21st at the Academy Cinema as
part of DOCNZ, New Zealand’s first International Documentary Film Festival.
Our Road to Kosovo is the third refugee documentary in the festival. This screens at 8.30pm on Tuesday 27 September and
tells of the struggles of an Albanian family forced to live in a refugee camp during the 1999/2000 Kosovo conflict.
The Auckland section of it DOCNZ International Documentary Film Festival is from the 15th - 28th of September at the
Academy Cinema, Lorne Street. Tickets for DOCNZ International Documentary Film Festival are on sale at the Academy
Cinema. For more information visit www.docnzfestival.com
ends
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comprising of two-six members for non-profit clients.