The first of 750 Syrian refugees fleeing civil war for a new start in New Zealand were welcomed today at a ceremony in Auckland.
But even as they arrive, there are calls for the Government to take in more of the millions displaced, and the Immigration Minister isn't ruling it out.
Hussein Tahouf and his young Syrian family are among those settling in to a new home and a new chance at life.
They fled their home in Syria four years ago, one year into its brutal civil war.
Eleven million others have followed them since.
After four years of waiting in a Lebanese refugee camp, now they're among our newest New Zealanders.
"I feel like a stranger in Syria. I feel like a stranger walking the streets in Lebanon. But here I felt free. I felt like a free man," says Mr Tahouf.
Their story is one of hundreds behind the faces on show in the year's first intake of refugees. Eighty-two Syrians arrive here this month, and alongside others from conflict zones around the world they were welcomed today in Auckland.
The Syrians are among 750 refugees to be accepted this year as part of the Government's quota.
The Red Cross says that number needs to rise, and Immigration Minister Michael Woodhouse isn't ruling it out.
"The Minister of Foreign Affairs and I will be taking recommendations to Cabinet and I am aware for calls to increase the quota.I've got an open mind about it and I'll be taking those recommendations to Cabinet later in the year," says Mr Woodhouse.
All new arrivals spend their first six weeks at the Mangere Refugee Resettlement Centre. The facility itself is an old army barracks which has now become severely outdated, so the Government's investing $24 million to open a new one in June.
The work will expand the centre's capacity from 160 to a maximum of 300 refugees.
And that's room Mr Tahouf hopes will be put to good use, as more Syrians get the chance to make New Zealand home.
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