Syrian dad: I'm frightened for family

New Zealand needs to let in more refugees from Syria, say locals.

A Syrian living in Hawke's Bay is calling for New Zealand to open the door to more refugees as millions of his countrymen flee bloodshed.

The Hastings father asked his name not be published to avoid possible recrimination against his brother and sister's families, struggling to survive as several groups fight for control of Syria.

"I'm frightened for them, a lot, because they are in a very bad situation," he said.

"Their houses have been destroyed, their businesses have been destroyed - they have nothing."

His conscription-age nephews, if they were located by the authorities, "could be taken into the army at any time so they could use them to kill their own people," he said.

"I sometimes cry from what I see on TV."

He said New Zealand had "a heap of room" to take in refugees "but nobody listens".

"I am really disappointed. New Zealand is a big place. Lebanon has New Zealand's population and more than 1.5 million refugees. Jordan too."

Relatives living in Lebanon suffered miserable conditions.

"It has been inflicted on them without it being their fault, this disaster."

He said the Hawke's Bay Muslim community could do little - only the Government could make the decision to allow more refugees to settle.

He said he has lobbied government departments to let more Syrians into New Zealand.

"It is not their fault they have this disaster. We are all human, we all need help sometimes, but our Government is doing nothing about it. I try and try and try but they do nothing.

As of August 25 the United Nations High Commission for Refugees said 4.1 million Syrians were registered in Turkey, Iraq, Lebanon, Jordan, and North Africa, but the actual figure is higher.

Tukituki MP and Associate Minister for Immigration Craig Foss was expecting the discussion over whether New Zealand's quota of 750 refugees should be increased to "heat up" in Parliament.

"We do our bit but at the end of the day we are very small," he said.

Mr Foss recently visited Turkey which borders Syria and has 1.9 million Syrian refugees registered with the United Nations.

"There is no simple answer to this, other than for the people causing the chaos to stop," he said.