Azam Moradi was happy to leap about the citizenship ceremony stage as her friend took photos of her big day. Photo / Judith Lacy
Azam Moradi was happy to leap about the citizenship ceremony stage as her friend took photos of her big day. Photo / Judith Lacy
The mayoral chain gleamed as the new citizens were accompanied to the front of the Refectory at Massey University by their personal photographers.
At times, it was a juggling act as people made their way to the stage to accept their citizenship certificate while the new New Zealander before them was having their photo taken.
But everyone was happy as they reached a milestone in their journey.
Palmerston North City Council held two citizenship ceremonies on Thursday.
Some of the freshly minted Kiwis bravely wore clothing suited to more tropical climes as the temperature reached just 7 degrees.
Accountant Azam Moradi’s smile was nearly as wide as the distance she has travelled to become a Kiwi. From Iran, she moved to New Zealand 10 years ago. She has an accounting degree from Alzahra University, a female-only state-run institute in Tehran.
Daniel Shafiev is also an accountant. He works at Palmerston North City Council in the infrastructure department.
Shafiev, his wife Diana Shafieva, and their daughter Emiliya Shafieva came to Palmerston North in 2015 for Shafiev to study at IPU New Zealand.
They are from Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan.
Shafieva works at Red Cross and said Palmerston North is a vibrant city with so many nationalities.
Emiliya, 17, goes to St Peter’s College and is a kitchen assistant at Bupa Riverstone Retirement Village.
Mayor Grant Smith said citizenship is two sides of a coin. On one side are rights and privileges and on the other duties and responsibilities.
Originally from Bhutan, Sabita Tamang came to Palmerston North in 2016 as a refugee. Sabita and her daughter, Reetusha Subba, 10, are now New Zealand citizens. Photo / Judith Lacy
The new citizens at the afternoon ceremony were from India (23), the Philippines (eight), Samoa (seven), South Africa and Pakistan (five each), Nepal, Tonga and Uzbekistan (three each) and Brazil, China, England, Fiji and Iraq (two each).
There was one each from Bhutan, Canada, Colombia, Cyprus, Egypt, Iran, Ireland, Romania, Slovakia, Taiwan, Thailand, and the United Kingdom.
Rangitāne kaumātua Wiremu Te Awe Awe welcomed the new citizens to the best iwi in the country and said they have to cheer for the All Blacks now.
Palmerston North MP Tangi Utikere said New Zealand citizenship is highly valued around the world. He is proud of the city’s diversity and encouraged the new citizens to do their part to make sure Palmerston North is the best it can be.
Via a recorded video message, Minister of Internal Affairs Barbara Edmonds told the attendees that until today New Zealand was their home. Now it is also their country.
Azam Moradi, who works for Te Whatu Ora, is now a New Zealand citizen - a status that opens windows for her. Photo / Judith Lacy
Among those receiving their citizenship certificate at the morning ceremony was Massey University vice-chancellor Jan Thomas.
She wrote on LinkedIn that she ticked “departing permanently” on the outbound immigration card when she flew out of Brisbane in January 2017.
“Within a few weeks, I knew I had made the right decision. Having admired Aotearoa from across the ditch for years, it was great to finally understand it, ‘get under the hood’, as Kiwis say. I threw myself into learning about my new country’s history, geography, languages and people.”
Thomas wrote moving countries is a big deal.
“Just when you think you’ve got the hang of it, you put your foot in it - you sit on the table, you swear too much, you suggest pavlova was invented in Melbourne.”
New Zealand - three islands at the bottom of the world - is fabulous.
Smith said the council helped fund the restoration of the Refectory.
“Part of the reason to contribute funding and dialogue with the community was to host some civic events there. To date, we have done this three times and for a number of specific meetings.”
It was a nice touch to have people with links to Massey and the Riddet Institute receive their New Zealand citizenship at the fantastic venue, he said.
