Ibrahim Omer, MP for the Labor Party list
I recently had the privilege of having the opportunity to travel to East Africa, where my family and I come from. I was born and raised in Eritrea before being drafted into the Eritrean Army, where conscription is not just for one or two years, but for as long as the government wants. For many, it is for their entire life. I knew I had to escape, so I made the perilous journey to a refugee camp in Sudan. I arrived in Aotearoa as a refugee in May 2008. I am now a proud Kiwi and an even prouder Member of Parliament.
During the trip, I spent time in Ethiopia, where I met with several United Nations agencies and NGOs where we discussed the current war in northern Ethiopia, one of the deadliest on the planet. I then traveled to Rwanda to participate in an Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) conference in Kigali. The IPU is a forum where parliamentary delegations hold a global dialogue, covering a wide range of social and political issues, promoting peace, democracy and sustainable development. This time, the focus was gender equality. I was also excited to meet my parents in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia: it was the second time I had seen them in 20 years and the first time since I became a parliamentarian.
Being back in Africa brought me face to face with the challenges my old home faced. The world is witnessing major crises: natural disasters caused by climate change, conflict, and terrorism. While these are global phenomena, Africa often ranks first in terms of impact. In the words of Neema Chusi, head of the African Union Secretariat for Peace and Security, the continent is “on fire”.
Military conflicts, violence and coups are becoming more common throughout Africa. The Tigray conflict in Ethiopia has killed hundreds of thousands of people and displaced millions. With the involvement of the Eritrean government, this became a regional conflict, but it has received little attention from the international community. Hopefully, a new peace agreement will resolve the civil war in Ethiopia, but conflict, political instability and terrorism are once again raging on the continent. Terrorism in the Sahara-Sahel and Somalia regions, political instability in Sudan and the military coup in Mali are just a few examples.
Climate change-induced drought has ripped through East Africa, killing millions of cattle, and most of the region has been unable to harvest crops for three years, leaving millions of people exposed to hunger and starvation.
Here in New Zealand, our Government is taking steps to reduce emissions, as part of the global effort to tackle climate change. For example, we’re supporting businesses and schools to switch to greener energy and making it cheaper for families to buy electric vehicles. We are also providing financial support to developing countries to help them respond to the impacts of climate change.
New Zealand is a long way from the rest of the world. Our isolation got us through the worst of the Covid-19 pandemic. But it also protects us from many of the challenges and suffering in other parts of the world. We have our own challenges here at home and there is no easy solution to the cost of living, but we are taking a number of steps to ease the pressure on families. We launched our cost of living package, which includes an extension to our fuel tax cut, reduced fares for road users and half-price public transport until January 2023, permanent half-price public transport for the Card of Community Service. Since the day we took office, we have worked hard to raise wages and reduce cost pressures on Kiwis, through measures like cheaper doctor visits, free school lunches and the family tax credit. There is no single solution to the pressures facing people right now, but our changes will help ease the pressure for families.
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