Anwar Adeli held his baby girl Medina tight against his chest and hunkered down in his seat at Canterbury's Ōnuku Marae as a chill wind whistled across Akaroa Harbour on Waitangi Day.
Nearby, eldest daughter Lida and son Sameer shivered as they listened to Ngāi Tahu chairwoman Lisa Tumahai talk of a "bright and essential future" made possible following apologies for historic breaches of the Treaty of Waitangi.
It was a message that would doubtless have had profound meaning for Adeli, his wife Fatima Sharifi and their young family, who were attending a service to welcome them as new citizens.
New Zealand's newest citizens celebrate officially becoming Kiwis during Waitangi Day celebrations at Ōnuku Marae in Akaroa.
The 42-year-old fled his home country of Afghanistan more than five years ago to escape persecution by the Taliban and Al-Qaeda.
Working for a non-governmental organisation, he faced the constant threat of kidnap by terrorists – and worse.
"It was not safe for my children," he told Stuff. "I was worried for my life because the Taliban always followed us.
"We [once] travelled to another province and the Taliban kidnapped the people and killed them."
Enveloped in a korowai, New Zealand Governor-General Dame Patsy Reddy (left) told guests at Ōnuku Marae she saluted the "strength and resilience" of their ancestors.
Life became so dangerous he brought his family to New Zealand, where other relatives helped them settle into life in Christchurch.
He now works for an engineering company and life is better. "My children's school is good, my job is good – everything is good," he said.
As well as marking the first day of his new citizenship, Waitangi Day was extra special for Sameer – it was his seventh birthday.
"I like the beautiful views and mountains in New Zealand, but I don't like the cold," he said.
Dame Patsy and Ngāi Tahu elder Sir Tipene O'Regan shared a laugh - and views on the treaty - on Waitangi Day.
Lida was around six when she left Afghanistan but can barely remember her home country.
"It is really good here because it is a safe place and is quite cool. I can't wait to get citizenship, it is really special," she said.
That sense of inclusion felt by the Adeli family, along with another 48 new citizens from 12 more countries, had echoes in the progress Tumahai felt had been made in the 21 years since former Prime Minister Jenny Shipley delivered the Crown's formal apology at the same marae.
She told the 300-strong crowd: "It was more than an apology – it laid the foundation for a partnership moving forward.
"While settlement negotiations are a frustrating process, requiring immense compromise for iwi, it can be a process that also brings some healing for the generations of hurt and loss endured."
Sir Tipene's rousing speech had many in the crowd close to tears.
Governor-General Dame Patsy Reddy also saluted the "strength and resilience" of those Ngāi Tahu ancestors who fought for redress from the Crown, saying the apology marked a new era that holds "a new set of challenges but also opportunities to build a sustainable future".
Ngāi Tahu elder Sir Tipene O'Regan had guests near tears when he spoke of how institutional racism had been "endemic" in the nation's politics for more than 150 years.
But he said advances over the past decade had forged "much greater mutual acceptance and respect for race relations".
As the sound of tui and bellbirds floated down from the nearby trees, he added: "If we fail to perpetuate and constantly renew our faith in the treaty and its principles … then they will recede and wither with neglect."
Raj Uppal and his wife Aman moved from to New Zealand from Punjab in India 10 years ago.
Now living in Christchurch, they were gaining their citizenship with eldest son Guri, 7, while their younger boy Anmol – already a proud Kiwi – watched on.
Uppal said: "We love this country – it is really friendly and has great nature, scenery and culture."
Aunty Polly Parekino Rhodes during Waitangi Day commemorations at Ōnuku Marae.
There was a moment of laughter when Christchurch Mayor Lianne Dalziel joked she felt overdressed in her ceremonial robes when she greeted Canadian Llew Bardechi.
Blew celebrated the occasion by wearing a garish pink and blue waistcoat and shorts – complete with pink jandals – that he had specially made for the ceremony.
"Doing the ceremony on Waitangi Day really gives you a very clear feeling of what we are becoming a part of and the history of the nation you are joining," he said.
Akaroa Chief Fire Officer Mark Thomson shares a hongi with Aunty Polly Parekino Rhodes.
Welcoming the new citizens, Dalziel said: "Each one of us or our ancestors made a journey to make Aotearoa New Zealand home – by waka, by ship or by plane.
"It is that journey we all have in common and that is one of the foundation stones of our nation."
Canadian Llew Bardechi shares a laugh with Christchurch mayor Lianne Dalziel over who has outshone the other in the clothing stakes during the citizenship ceremony.