Racism a reality in New Zealand too

Renu Khajuria

New Zealand is as racist as Australia, made so evident by the Christchurch mosque shooting that claimed the lives of over 50 persons. Racism can be experienced at workplaces, schools and elitist clubs. “Many here are calling it a terror attack when it’s a racist attack,” said a student from the Auckland University of Technology. “In terror attacks, no single religion is targeted. When a bomb explodes in a public place, it takes away everyone irrespective of their religion. This attack happened inside a mosque, specifically targeting one religion.

“We have the same skin colour, be it an Indian, Pakistani, Sri Lankan, Fijian, Syrian, Afgani, etc. Everyone is on the radar. This time Muslims were targeted, maybe next time it’s the Sikhs. I am totally terrified,” she said.

A banker sounded equally upset. “The biggest hurdle in fighting racism is the reluctance to admit that it exists. Accept it, register such cases. Changing gun laws will be of no use if the police keep functioning the same way,” he said.

Nevertheless, immigrants are quite happy with the response and conduct of New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern following the terror attack.  “The response from the Prime Minister was really appreciable. All her speeches assured that New Zealand is home to immigrants, too, and violence towards them will not be tolerated,” said Kawaljeet Singh Pannu, a former DSP with the Chandigarh Police.

Shades of discrimination 

The Prime Minister, however, needs to go the extra mile if she wants to address racism, which is prevalent at workplaces, schools and elitist clubs. For instance, on my first day at work, my husband insisted I carry a salad sandwich instead of roti and sabzi for lunch. Why? Because, he said, the Kiwis don’t like Indian food and there was no point in eating alone on the very first day in office. Luckily, there are Indian-Fijians at my workplace who eat the same food as us.

Khushi, a 10-year-old living next door with her parents, wasn’t that lucky.  Her mother said that initially only the Indian-origin kids spoke to her at school. Gradually, they figured out that it was because of the food she took to school. Now, the mother said, she wants to eat what others kids at her school eat — chicken nuggets, salad, sandwiches and fruits.

Just like your food habits, even your name could keep you from fitting in.  “If you have Kaur or Singh as your second name, you get rejected. It’s better to apply for jobs using some other name so that you at least qualify for the interview,” said a woman who works as an accountant. She shared her resume was rejected by about 180 firms before she landed a job. Interestingly, she was born and brought up in New Zealand. Yet, she had to face rejection. She feels it’s just a community thing, the locals don’t want immigrants to get good jobs.

Darkest day

The country continues to be in a state of disbelief following the ghastly terror attack. The Prime Minister, within 24 hours of the attack, said the gun laws would change and less than a week later these were. New Zealand has relatively a high level of gun ownership. It has more than 1.2 million civilian-owned firearms — that’s about one gun for every four people, according to Small Arms Survey that provides estimates for gun ownership around the world.  According to the new law, all military-style semiautomatic and assault rifles will be banned. Many immigrants, however, feel it’s not enough to curb the menace of racism. The police, they say, need to be more sensitive and prompt in handling complaints of racism.  

Local MP Kanwaljit on racism

Have you ever received any complaint from Indian community about racism? 

My office at times has received some complaints. Overall, I can say with confidence that in case anyone experiences racism, New Zealand has avenues such as the Human Rights Commission to address it. 

Indians face racism at workplace. Indian nationals don’t get the jobs they deserve because of their accent or overqualification. Your views... 

I am sure any place has its challenges as well as opportunities. Indians and the people of Indian origin in New Zealand have achieved a lot in all spheres, starting from being the governor general, judges, police and armed forces personnel, parliamentarians, professionals such as charted accountants, lawyers, doctors as well as cyber security and IT experts, university professors and researchers.