Celebrating the 10 Year Anniversary of the Tampa Affair

In August 2011, people around New Zealand came together to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the arrival of over 100 refugees who were rescued by the Norwegian ship the MV Tampa when the boat meant to take them to freedom nearly sank in the middle of the ocean.

10 years ago, a small wooden fishing boat carrying 438 mainly Afghan asylum seekers became stranded in international waters north of Christmas Island. They were taking on water, and many had given up hope when the MV Tampa, a Norwegian freighter captained by Arne Rinnan, came to the rescue. The Tampa brought on board all 438 refugees (369 men, 26 women and 43 children) and took the group to Christmas Island.

After a significant political controversy, 131 of the asylum seekers were ultimately accepted for resettlement in New Zealand, and over the the last 10 years, more than 250 relatives of the original Tampa refugees have been reunited with their family members and have gone on to build new lives in New Zealand.

Helen Clark recently acknowledged the 10 year anniversary of the arrival of the refugees, saying that New Zealand’s decision to accept them was one of her proudest moments as prime minister (Dominion Post, 13 August 2011).*

Now years after their arrival in New Zealand, many of the Tampa refugees have families and careers and are giving back to the country that took them in and gave them the opportunity for a new life. Here are just a few of the success stories from those who came to New Zealand via the MV Tampa:

“10 Years After the Tampa” by Shabnam Dastgheib, The Dominion Post, 13 August 2011
Including “Wellington Survivor Stays in Contact with Rescuer”, “Tampa Refugees Find New Life, Jobs”, “Young Family Finds Peace” and much more.

“Tampa Refugees Resurface as Kiwis” by Tom Dusevic, The Australian, 20 August 2011

“Tampa Refugees Marry” by Bevan Hurley, NZ Herald, 28 August 2011

“English Second Language for Spelling Wizard”, The Press, 24 March 2008

*“Helen Clark Proud of Tampa Move” by Tracy Watkins and Shabnam Dastgheib, The Dominion Post, 13 August 2011

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