'Don't go': Woman aiming to be NZ's first refugee MP too scared to go to US
Green Party candidate Golriz Ghahraman, a refugee who has been in New Zealand for 26 years, is fearful of travelling to the United States because of Donald Trump's stance on immigration.
Speaking to Newshub, Ghahraman said going to the US was too risky given she was born in Iran, despite holding a New Zealand passport.
"I wouldn't travel to America right now. I wouldn't want to face what people are facing - held in handcuffs and being interrogated by security forces," she said.
"Personally, I wouldn't want that for anyone. I'd say 'don't go'."
Originally from Iran, Ghahraman – a barrister based in Auckland – has been confirmed to be a Green Party candidate for the next general election.
A victim to Iran's extreme Islamic regime in 1990, Ghahraman was nine when her family fled to New Zealand.
Now aged 35, she has made some solid achievements as a human rights lawyer.
She even worked as a prosecutor at United Nations tribunals for Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia, where heads of state were on trial for mass atrocities.
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To further boast her credentials, Ghahraman gained her masters degree in International Human Rights Law at Oxford University.
Back in New Zealand, she is now in the High Court representing family members caring for severely disabled relatives.
