43 images Created 14 Jun 2016
Muslim Refugees at Home in New Zealand
Muslim refugees from Tunisia, Malaysia, Syria, Iran, Afghanistan and Iraq celebrate their faith, community and family values by regularly gathering together in social occasions like this picnic in Cornwall Park, Auckland.
The men arrive with warm greetings all round, sit on the communal mat and talk about their children, work and sport as all blokes are wont to do. The women, sitting a discreet distance on their own mat are animated and engaging with each other and especially with the younger children who gravitate around their mat. All the while, children run around playing tag, football and on scooters.
Soon it is time for prayers. The women find somewhere more private as the men line up to make their devotions.
The children quieten but continue playing, only stopping as the praying becomes more earnest.
After the prayers, food is heated on the barbecue and a seemingly never-ending spread of Middle Eastern delicacies is revealed.
The elders then relax and continue talking as the more youthful members of the group take up a challenge from a nearby group of picnicking Fijians for a friendly football game.
– Photographed for the story, Test of Faith, written by Joanna Wane, published in North & South magazine, June 2016
The men arrive with warm greetings all round, sit on the communal mat and talk about their children, work and sport as all blokes are wont to do. The women, sitting a discreet distance on their own mat are animated and engaging with each other and especially with the younger children who gravitate around their mat. All the while, children run around playing tag, football and on scooters.
Soon it is time for prayers. The women find somewhere more private as the men line up to make their devotions.
The children quieten but continue playing, only stopping as the praying becomes more earnest.
After the prayers, food is heated on the barbecue and a seemingly never-ending spread of Middle Eastern delicacies is revealed.
The elders then relax and continue talking as the more youthful members of the group take up a challenge from a nearby group of picnicking Fijians for a friendly football game.
– Photographed for the story, Test of Faith, written by Joanna Wane, published in North & South magazine, June 2016
