Afghan New Zealanders
{{Use New Zealand English|date=July 2024}}
{{Infobox ethnic group
|group = Afghan New Zealanders
|population = Afghan New Zealanders
5,250 Afghan-born (2018){{cite web |title=Afghani ethnic group |url=https://www.stats.govt.nz/tools/2018-census-ethnic-group-summaries/afghani |publisher=Statistics New Zealand |access-date=8 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210817115516/https://www.stats.govt.nz/tools/2018-census-ethnic-group-summaries/afghani |archive-date=17 August 2021 |url-status=live}}
|popplace = Auckland, Christchurch, Hamilton, Wellington, Palmerston North
|langs = Pashto, Persian (Dari and Hazaragi dialect), New Zealand English
| religions = Predominantly: Islam
{{nowrap|(Sunni majority and Shia minority)}}
| related_groups = Afghan diaspora, Pashtuns, Tajiks, Uzbeks, Hazara
}}
Afghan New Zealanders are New Zealanders whose ancestors came from Afghanistan or who were born in Afghanistan. The New Zealand government categorises Afghanistan as Central Asian. https://aria.stats.govt.nz/aria/#ClassificationView:uri=http://stats.govt.nz/cms/ClassificationVersion/ys69SsOCPi6Mc4jR. valid from 10 July 2022. Retrieved 11 September 2024.
History of immigration
Afghan migration to New Zealand started in the late 1980s.{{Cite web |title=RefNZ Statistics |url=https://www.refugee.org.nz/stats.htm#Table_69: |access-date=2023-09-06 |website=www.refugee.org.nz}} By mid-1990 a new wave of Afghans had fled Afghanistan to escape the civil war that followed the withdrawal of the Soviets and the fall of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan in 1992. Many of these Afghans had close ties to high ranking Afghan officials in the previous government and many also were high-ranking officials in the army themselves, starting their lives from scratch and calling New Zealand home.{{Citation needed|date=September 2023}}
131 Afghans came to New Zealand as refugees on the MV Tampa during the Tampa affair in 2001.{{cite web |last1=Phillips |first1=Jock |title=History of immigration - Multi-cultural New Zealand: 1991 onwards |url=https://teara.govt.nz/en/history-of-immigration/page-17 |website=Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand |publisher=New Zealand Government |access-date=8 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210506011140/https://teara.govt.nz/en/history-of-immigration/page-17 |archive-date=6 May 2021 |date=1 August 2021 |url-status=live}}
Following the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in late August 2021, the New Zealand Government offered 1,253 visas to Afghans.{{cite news |title=New Zealand Afghanistan special representative to support evacuations |url=https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/453076/new-zealand-afghanistan-special-representative-to-support-evacuations |access-date=8 October 2021 |work=Radio New Zealand |date=7 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211007091723/https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/453076/new-zealand-afghanistan-special-representative-to-support-evacuations |archive-date=7 October 2021|url-status=live}} The New Zealand Defence Force participated in international efforts to evacuate Afghans who had worked for Western military forces.{{cite news |title=370 evacuees from Afghanistan headed for New Zealand, Foreign Affairs says |url=https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/450252/370-evacuees-from-afghanistan-headed-for-new-zealand-foreign-affairs-says |access-date=28 August 2021 |work=Radio New Zealand |date=28 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210828120409/https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/450252/370-evacuees-from-afghanistan-headed-for-new-zealand-foreign-affairs-says |archive-date=28 August 2021|url-status=live}}{{cite news |last1=Manch |first1=Thomas |title=Possibly hundreds left behind as New Zealand Afghanistan evacuation mission ends after Kabul terror attack |url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/126201780/possibly-hundreds-left-behind-as-new-zealand-afghanistan-evacuation-mission-ends-after-kabul-terror-attack |access-date=27 August 2021 |work=Stuff |date=27 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210827011137/https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/126201780/possibly-hundreds-left-behind-as-new-zealand-afghanistan-evacuation-mission-ends-after-kabul-terror-attack |archive-date=27 August 2021|url-status=live}} By early October 2021, only 428 had arrived in New Zealand. In response, the New Zealand Government dispatched a special envoy to the Middle East to help 825 stranded Afghan visa holders to leave Afghanistan.
Notable People
See also
{{Portal|New Zealand|Afghanistan}}
References
{{reflist}}
{{Immigration to New Zealand}}
{{Afghan diaspora}}
{{Pashtun diaspora}}
Category:Asian diaspora in New Zealand
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