The 44-year-old was burdened with them when he worked as a television journalist in Iraq, and narrowly avoided being killed when his car was bombed by Islamic extremists.
Mr Alsaad said he became a journalist in Iraq in 2003, and for about a decade, he worked for Al-Fayhaa — a neutral independent television news channel, broadcasting from Suleymaniyah, in northeastern Iraq.
"Most of the stories that I presented were related to financial corruption cases and security issues related to uncovering those who financed and supported terrorism, in addition to issues related to human rights being wasted in Iraq."
As a result of his work, he was subjected to many death threats and assassination attempts from gangs and militias supported by extremist Islamic parties in Iraq.
The closest he came to death was when his car was bombed.
Some of his colleagues were not so lucky, he said.
"In 2020, my colleague Ahmed Abdel Samad and cameraman Safaa Ghali were assassinated."
They had been covering protests in the southern city of Basra when extremist Islamic gunmen opened fire on their car, killing them both.
After a year of investigations, the gunmen were arrested and one was sentenced to death.
Despite the dangerous nature of his job, he continued to do it because he felt it was his duty, he said.
"When I present a story of the suffering of an oppressed family to the public, I feel a great victory that I have achieved.
"Journalism for me is the lifeboat of the disadvantaged and the poor.
However, the danger eventually took a toll and he and his family had to leave the country for their own safety.
They have spent the past eight years living in Indonesia, under the protection of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
Mr Alsaad said life was also tough in Indonesia because he was not able to work there.
But now that he had moved to New Zealand, life was looking good for the first time in a long while.
"When I set foot on the grounds of Auckland Airport, I felt reborn.
"I was wondering, can I now write and publish my stories without fear or death?
"At the same time, I am sad because my colleague Ahmed Abdel Samad did not taste this freedom and happiness."
For the past month, he and his family have been living at the refugee resettlement facility in Mangere, Auckland, but yesterday they moved to their permanent home in Dunedin.
He said he planned to continue his journalism career in New Zealand.
"I hope to continue serving the community and developing the environment through journalism.
"I thank New Zealand for giving us the chance to live again."
