This was not a moment of weakness or desperation. It was calculated, premeditated crime. For nine months, Ahmadi ran a network of chop shops through Christchurch and Wellington, trading in other people’s property for profit until police finally caught up with him.
The court called it serious and sophisticated offending. His starting sentence was five years, somehow it was cut down to just over three. Three years for stealing from the very country that gave him refuge. It is disgraceful.
Refugee status is not a reward for lawbreakers. It is a humanitarian lifeline built on trust. New Zealand opened its arms, and Ahmadi responded by thumbing his nose at our laws and exploiting the system that saved him.
This is not a victimless crime. It has hurt ordinary Kiwis. It has made every honest migrant look over their shoulder. It feels like our refugee programme has become a revolving door for opportunists who see New Zealand as an easy mark.
The Crown prosecutor was right to say it clearly: “There is no culture in the world where it is acceptable to chop up cars and sell them.” That simple truth should end the tired excuses and the political tiptoeing.
Once Ahmadi’s sentence is served, deportation must follow immediately. Refugee status is a privilege, not a permanent shield from consequences. If you betray the country that saved you, you lose the right to stay here and you can whāk off.
Keeping him here after release would insult every decent migrant who came to New Zealand to contribute, not to exploit. It would send a message that our laws are flexible for some and meaningless for others.
Our justice system bends over backwards for offenders like Ahmadi while victims are left with higher costs and no sense of closure. It is time this country stopped rewarding bad behaviour and started enforcing real accountability.
Ahmadi’s case should be a turning point. When a refugee abuses the very system that saved him, he does not deserve another chance. He deserves a one-way ticket back to the opium fields of Afghanistan.
Abdul Ahmadi is not us.
Matua Kahurangi is just a bloke sharing thoughts on New Zealand and the world beyond. No fluff, just honest takes. He blogs on https://matuakahurangi.com/ where this article was sourced.
7 comments:
Couldn’t agree more.
DEPORT! DEPORT! DEPORT!
Guled Mire is from overseas originally and is doing wonderful things after settling here. We are lucky to have such great people choosing NZ as their place to call home. A beacon for all of us, irrespective of where you happened to be during the accident of your own birth.
Jevon Mcskimming was born and raised in New Zealand Ditto ACT party leader Tim Jago. Just sayin’.
I agree deportation should be compulsory but why should New Zealand pay for an aeroplane ticket?
Take the bastard to the 12 mile marker and make him walk the rest of the way.
Do Immigration think that he will have changed his evil nature in prison ?
Don't be so bloody stupid and naive !
Put him on a raft and push him off downwind.
I wonder if Anonymous at 7.56am is patting him/herself on the back for their bizarre strawman 'argument'? Just wondering...
Giddy Hugh, that bloke wasn’t putting up a strawman argument, it was just your bog-standard whataboutism.
A strawman argument is a logical fallacy where someone distorts or exaggerates an opposing position into an extreme or weakened version, then attacks that distorted version instead of the actual argument. This misrepresentation makes it easier to refute the opposing stance but avoids engaging with the real issue. In contrast, whataboutism is a rhetorical diversion tactic where one responds to criticism or an accusation by deflecting attention to a different issue, often by saying "What about Y?", thereby shifting the discussion away from the original topic without directly addressing it. While a strawman involves misrepresenting the opponent's position, whataboutism redirects or derails the conversation to avoid dealing with the original point.
I went to school with a Hugh, really good fella but his last name was Jass. Have a good day mate!
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