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Quote:Jack Reihana is among a group of men and women, known as the 501s. Deported from Australia, he is now trying to start over in Christchurch.
Forced from the country they call home for their crimes and now trying to make it in the land of their birth. EMILY SPINK looks at how Australian deportees are settling into Christchurch life.
Jack Reihana always knew he would go to jail.
And when that time came, he knew it would be the turning point. He just didn't expect to have to say goodbye to his family and home in the process.
Jack Reihana; "I feel like I've been crucified four times."
The 45 year old is a convicted criminal and among a growing group of men and women in New Zealand known as the "501s" – Australian residents sent back to their birth land, named after the legislative statute number.
Reihana, who moved to Australia as a child, was sentenced to three years' jail for torturing a man, who was an alleged child abuser. He had been "out of trouble" for 20 years before he took matters into his own hands. It is now a major regret.
Jack Reihana is looking to establish a support group for Kiwis being sent back to New Zealand from Australia.
In January 2016, he was deported after Australian authorities cancelled his visa.
"I feel like I've been crucified four times," Reihana said of his journey from jail to deportation. "Australia was home."
Police figures reveal 660 people were removed from Australia between January 1, 2015 and January 19, 2017 under Australian legislation introduced in December 2014, which meant Kiwis who had committed crimes and been sentenced to jail for 12 months or more could be deported.
It is expected up to 1500 will be sent to New Zealand.
It was a Friday night in January 2016, when Reihana stepped off a plane and was met by the "welcoming committee".
"It was the police. Firstly, he wanted to shake my hand and it was like, you never shake a policeman's hand."
Reihana spent his first weekend at a motel and on the Monday, Helen Murphy entered his life.
Known as Mum or Auntie to the 501s, Murphy leads the Christchurch branch of PARS – a group tasked with supporting returning offenders.
Corrections has budgeted $300,000 a year for five years for providers such as PARS to help returning offenders settle back into New Zealand life.
PARs ensures every new arrival has a cell phone, IRD number, can find rental accommodation, see a GP and have food to get them going.
"New Zealand is trying to do the best it can," Murphy said.
David Gray has been deported from Australia and is now working on the justice and emergency services precinct in Christchurch and trying to start a new life.
Reihana said without the support of PARS and the Male Survivors of Sexual Abuse Trust, he would not have made it through the last year.
"We've come back to nothing," he said. "It's been hell. I isolated myself. I don't have any friends. I can't go anywhere because I'm used to having a car."
The former truck driver had contemplated suicide. "What is there for us and what is there for me? I'm doing the best that I can."
As a child and a ward of the state, he was put into boys' homes in New Zealand and was subjected to abuse. Since returning after more than 30 years away, he has struggled with flashbacks.
"People say you can't step back in time, but yes you can."
Male Survivors of Sexual Abuse Trust manager Ken Clearwater warned the country was yet to fully grasp the extent of the emotional effects of deportation on returning offenders. He was aware of at least 10 deportees who were sexually abused as children while in state care.
"Some of these guys are a result of that failed system. Because of their behaviours they've been sent back to New Zealand and isolated from their support people. So they're not only dealing with the trauma of getting sent back here, but then there is all the other stuff."
In Christchurch, Reihana has struggled to find employment due to his mental health. He has been in and out of Hillmorton Hospital and is "slowly pulling away from them".
"I've always had food in my cupboards. Coming back here, I struggle to put my food in my cupboards. Sometimes I wish I was in prison."
His main concern is for the welfare of his adult children in Australia. "With all this happening, my kids are the ones that are suffering."
Reihana is now planning a support group that would enable Christchurch's 501 community to meet up, support each other and talk through their experiences. Their first meeting will be held in February.
"We're all hurting, us 501s. People outside 501 don't understand us and what we're going through. They look at us for the crime we committed. They don't look at us as people.
"I admit we've done wrong, but just give us a go."
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/88722558/australian-deportees-are-filing-into-ne...