Another violent refugee in court. When will we start deporting?
Another week and another former refugee has appeared before a New Zealand court for violent offending. This time it was La Que, a man who once fled danger overseas only to create it here by threatening to kill his former wife with a large kitchen knife.
Compared to some of the recent cases involving ex-refugees, this one may not sit at the most extreme end. However, that is hardly reassuring to the woman who now lives in constant fear of running into the man who held a knife to her face and told her he would kill her. Her victim impact statement made it brutally clear. She stopped going for walks. She lives with a lingering sense of dread. She believes he may one day carry out his threat.
“I have a constant lingering fear of him and his threat to kill me.”
The judge accepted that Que had shown remorse. He arrived at court with a thousand dollars in cash and a letter of apology. He has been in New Zealand for years, held down work, learned English and built a life in Nelson. His lawyer even suggested cultural misunderstandings may have played a part - what whākn’ joke!
None of that changes the basic reality. A woman and her family were terrorised. A man armed himself with a large kitchen knife, put it to her face and told her he would kill her. For that, he has walked away with two months of community detention and six months of supervision.
New Zealand has always prided itself on giving people a second chance. We take in refugees, we offer safety, and we help people rebuild. At some point we must ask how many chances are too many. When someone has been granted the privilege of a new life in this country and then repays that generosity with violence, the line must be drawn far more clearly.
This case may have been a one off. The police even suggested as much. Fine. Then let this be his one chance. If Que offends violently again, there should be no debate and no excuses. He should be deported immediately. The safety of New Zealanders must come before the comfort of offenders.
Compassion cannot be a one way street. Accepting refugees is an honourable part of who we are. But it comes with the expectation that those welcomed into our communities live by our laws and respect the people around them. When someone picks up a knife and threatens to kill, they have crossed a line that should not be crossed twice.
New Zealanders deserve to know that the goodwill we extend is not being taken for granted. Victims deserve to know that the system is on their side, not the side of those who terrorise them.
If we fail to act the next time, then the consequences will sit on the shoulders of a system too afraid to put public safety first.
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