Fifteen people from around the world walked out of the Marlborough District Council chambers as Kiwis yesterday after a citizenship ceremony.
People from countries including Zimbabwe, Brazil, Italy, Canada and the United States became New Zealanders in a short ceremony where they pledged allegiance to the Queen.
Ethel Mathetha and her son Michael, 21, from Zimbabwe, were two of those granted New Zealand citizenship.
Ethel and her six children arrived here from Zimbabwe in 2003 after her husband moved to New Zealand the previous year.
"We wanted to start a new life. My husband came [to New Zealand] to see whether it was all right to raise a family here."
Some of the family had already become citizens and others were still waiting for their chance.
In his speech to the group, Mayor Alistair Sowman said choosing to become a citizen was a commitment to the future rather than a rejection of the past.
At the end of the ceremony, he joked about their new status as Kiwis: "I hope you'll all be singing the national anthem at the All Blacks matches."
By SIMON WONG - The Marlborough Express
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