New citizens setting fine examples

• Published date: 26 January 2023
• Publication title: Clutha Leader

In recent years every ceremony seems to set a new record number of new citizens and the frequency of events has increased markedly. I love the vibrancy and enthusiasm that our new citizens bring to our district and the positive contributions they make to our economic, social and cultural wellbeing. They are honest, committed, hard-working families and individuals, all with a story to tell on how their life’s trajectory now finds a new beginning in our communities. We can all be enriched by their presence, and I have personally gained so much from the friendships and awareness I have developed through interactions

One that stands out for me is an inspirational young local who has shown a rare mix of extraordinary qualities like humility, strength, honesty, and a depth of character that always searches for the positive no matter how dire the circumstances. For most of the time I have known Maia Matubis, her situation was precarious to say the least. Trapped in the brutal reality of an immigration grey area that at times seemed incapable of lifting its head from the rule book to consider the cruel inhuman consequences, she wasn’t allowed to work once she turned 18 and was no longer shielded by her parents’ visa. She wasn’t even allowed to study, despite the fact that she was a gifted student that held dreams of one day excelling, possibly as a doctor.

You may remember Maia’s story from a couple of years ago. By the time our paths crossed, this young lady had already endured a couple of years with her life suspended in limbo while distant people weighed up the merits of allowing her to stay in New Zealand or banishing her to the Philippines where her parents had lived over a decade before. To Maia the real threat existed of being wrenched from her parents and siblings and never being allowed to return permanently to New Zealand.

Fortunately for Maia she got lucky, with good people like then MP Mark Patterson and the former international director at the Southern Institute of Technology, Chami Abeysinghe, just managing to tip the pendulum in her favour for a last-minute reprieve, and a chance to...