A refugee from Afghanistan who arrived in the country without being able to speak a word of English came third in a spelling bee just five years after arriving and is now studying political science and history so he can make a difference.
Abbas Nazari was only 7 when he was among 430 people rescued by the Norwegian freighter Tampa from a sinking fishing vessel off Australia in August 2001. New Zealand accepted 131 of those refugees, including Mr Nazari, his parents and siblings.
Mr Nazari said he did not understand the gravity of the situation at the time. "Because I was young and everything seemed like a really big adventure, but looking back on it now there was a huge, huge learning curve. Not just for me but for my parents because they were used to a certain way of living and their world was turned upside down, in a good way, but that took a lot of time and a lot of adjusting to get used to."
It took the now 19-year-old just two years to become fluent in English while attending Riccarton Primary School in Christchurch, which he put down to hard work, staying home watching TV and reading books.
"As a kid you pick things up quite easily and I picked up English quite easily. I don't look at learning English as a huge achievement. I only came here when I was 7 so it became natural to me but it's harder for people who come here at an older age."
