YOUR INDUSTRY
HORTICULTURE CAREER OF CHOICE FOR ZIMBABWEAN REFUGEE Words by Elaine Fisher
Tam Cole-Holt discovered a love for horticulture while working on an organic farm in England
Resilience and positivity are among the personality traits which make for a good horticulturalist. A grower in Motueka has exercised these traits more than most, and not just in her horticultural career. Tam Cole-Holt, now assistant block manager pipfruit for Birdhurst Ltd, arrived in New Zealand with her family in 2000 as a refugee from Zimbabwe’s brutal regime. “My family was given just two weeks to leave the country and arrived at the airport with two suitcases each and $US500 between us. I was 16,” Tam says. “New Zealand and Canada were the only countries who cared about what was happening in Zimbabwe, and said if you can get to us, we will help you. We were supported when we arrived with transport, accommodation and to get on our feet by a group set up to assist refugees from Zimbabwe. It was challenging but coming to New Zealand was the best thing we could have done.” Tam’s aunt and uncle back in Zimbabwe had been the printers for the Movement for Democratic Change – Tsvangirai (MDC–T) the opposition party to the ruling
Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front (ZANU–PF) party. “When ZANU-PF found out about that, they targeted our family. Given all the murders and disappearances which were happening at the time, we had no option but to leave.” Tam still speaks fondly of the bounty of the land of her birth.
My family was given just two weeks to leave the country “It is a beautiful country with so many natural resources including wonderful soil and climate. You can grow just about anything there. It was a prosperous country but unfortunately it did go downhill from the late 1970s when the independence war started. Today unemployment is at 90% which is hard to wrap your head around. It is not a place you would want to be.” Starting over in a new country was not easy but Tam was determined to make the most of the opportunities. NZGROWER : AUGUST 2021 17
