Separated for six years, Afghan family reunited in time for Ara graduation

If spring is a season of new beginnings, then the story of Ara Institute of Canterbury graduate Fatima Bahrami would be hard to beat.

Just days after being reunited with the family she’d not seen for six years, the 25-year-old Afghan refugee crossed the stage at Ara Spring graduation.

The Diploma in Business (Leadership and Management) graduate was among 440 students celebrating at Christchurch's Wolfbrook Arena on Thursday.
Among those witnessing her achievement were her parents and three of her siblings, who arrived in Christchurch only days before the ceremony, ending six years of separation.

"It is a proud moment for me," says Fatima. "There were times when I thought my family might never attend my graduation ceremony."

_{Fatima's family together before the graduation ceremony (Left to Right)} 

When Fatima fled Afghanistan in 2021, she was just 19 years old.

Living in Kabul while her family remained in Herat, she had little time to prepare for what lay ahead. As the Taliban advanced across the country, she faced the prospect of losing opportunities that many young women elsewhere take for granted.

So, she escaped to Pakistan where, despite holding a visa, she spent years fearing deportation back to Afghanistan.

"I didn't even have a chance to say goodbye to my family," she says.

After arriving in New Zealand through the United Nations refugee resettlement programme, Fatima spent six weeks at the Māngere Refugee Resettlement Centre before beginning a new life in Christchurch.

Starting over in a new country brought challenges. She had to adapt to a different culture, improve her English and build a life away from everyone she knew.
Education quickly became part of that journey.

Studying business at Ara helped her gain confidence and develop new skills, while support from tutors, classmates and members of the Christchurch community helped her settle into life in Aotearoa.

Today, Fatima proudly describes herself as an "Afghan Kiwi".

While completing her studies, she was also working towards another goal: bringing her family to New Zealand.

As the eldest of five children, she spent time navigating immigration requirements and advocating for her family's application, including responding to questions about the support needs of her sister Khadija, who has autism.

After completing their own six-week stay at the Māngere Refugee Resettlement Centre, Fatima's parents, Khan Ali and Amena, and siblings Khadija, Narges, Mortaza and Fazela have all arrived in Christchurch.

Within days, they were in the audience watching Fatima graduate.

The ceremony was more than the culmination of study. It was a moment Fatima had once only dreamed of; celebrating a new life in New Zealand with the family she left behind six years earlier.

"I am proud of what I have achieved," she says. "But I am happiest that my family is here with me."