The 14-year-old sister of two Afghan refugee siblings killed in a crash with a milk tanker near Shannon had to be used as a translator on behalf of police to break the news of their deaths to her own parents. 

Ali Sina Suleiman, 20, and Samar Suleiman, 24, also known as Ali Sina Ghulum Abbas and Najma Ghulum Abbas, died on September 6 in a crash between the car they were travelling in and a milk tanker. 

The crash happened on State Highway 57 near the small town of Shannon, south of Palmerston North. 

Samar Suleiman (right) with her close friend Mahjabin Anwari. 

A supporter of the family said the siblings were Afghan refugees who moved to New Zealand in 2017, escaping a life of possible torture and imprisonment in Pakistan where they had been living, non-registered. 

Community member Raza Nayeel said Ali and Samar were born in Pakistan when their family moved there as refugees, but life was difficult there and they faced harsh penalties if they were caught unregistered. 

“It was hard economically and also for legal status, they were not able to have privileges as other common people,” Nayeel told the Herald. 

Ali Sina Suleiman was 20 when he died in the crash near Shannon. 

They were also not entitled to study or work in Pakistan, so chose to move to New Zealand for a better life. Ali and Samar, as well as their two siblings and their mother, arrived here in 2017. Their father, who came later, was reunited with them in 2021. 

Ali and Samar had exciting lives ahead of them, with Samar studying in the medical imaging field, and Ali, an enthusiastic football player, planning to go to Europe to study some type of auto-mechanic engineering. He hoped to work on cars, Nayeel said. 

But those dreams were not to be. 

Nayeel said their 14-year-old sister was the first to find out the tragic news of their deaths. 

“She was the first one who was informed about the incident because Mum and Dad, they don’t speak English very well, so the police had to use the child to let the parents know about the incident,” he said. 

“She took everything on her in the first instance until I went there and started supporting them.” 

The Muslim family also faced further heartache when they were told they were not able to see or wash the bodies before their burial, due to the condition they were in. 

Ali Sina Suleiman was a keen football player. 

“Their mum is always talking about how she couldn’t see their faces before they were buried in the ground.” 

Their deaths will have a “lasting impact” not only on Ali and Samar’s loved ones but the refugee community as well, he said. 

The siblings were “very happy being in New Zealand”. Ali was a keen football player, and Samar was a social person who got along well with everyone in her community, he said. 

One of Samar’s best friends, Mahjabin Anwari, said they had been close ever since Samar moved to Palmerston North. 

Anwari, who moved to Melbourne, saw her friend in 2020 for an engagement party, but Samar was unable to make it to her wedding last year. 

“I never thought I won’t be able to see Samar after moving to Melbourne,” she said. 

Samar Suleiman (left) at her friend Mahjabin Anwari's engagement party in 2020. 

“Samar was known as a person with a kind heart. [The] loss of a friend is a cruel and cold companion. Samar will never be forgotten.” 

The siblings’ funeral was held in Palmerston North on September 14. 

Melissa Nightingale is a Wellington-based reporter who covers crime, justice and news in the capital. She joined the Herald in 2016 and has worked as a journalist for 10 years.