Inside the Mangere Refugee Centre

  • 07/09/2015
Inside the Mangere Refugee Centre

By Heather du Plessis-Allan

Probably the biggest news out today is that 750 Syrian refugees will be heading this way – our Government has given in to pressure and agreed to help out.

We've been following the journey those refugees have taken on foot, by train, through so many countries.

So after all that, what will they see when they get here? Story went into the Mangere Refugee Centre to find out.

At the moment there are 133 refugees at the centre or on their way. They sleep in the World War II barracks and eat their meals in a communal food hall. They're allowed in and out of the centre as they please. Everyone gets an allowance.

They're there for six weeks and days are jam-packed. English classes are in the morning, then there's lunch. After lunch, there are classes to get them ready for work and afternoon orientation classes to get to know how things work in New Zealand, like the driver's licence system.

Watch the video for the full Story report.