If you doubt discrimination in NZ read this…
Continuing in our series of Migrant Tales – first hand accounts of the migrant experience of New Zealand, taken from locations around the net.
This tale was first published on expatexposed.com, a not-for-profit, self-help and mutual support forum for NZ emigrants. Probably the only uncensored NZ centric emigration forum on the net:
If you doubt discrimination in NZ read this…
“I might share a bit of your background as I’m an Asian who moved from US to NZ under skilled migrant visa with my white partner. It has felt everything but safe and peaceful living here.
From supermarket, book store, restaurant to fancy lawyer office you name it. It took me six months to recognize the intensity of discrimination toward Asians in NZ. Why did it take that long? Because I didn’t believe discrimination could exist to such a degree in what form outside appeared to be a progressive country. The reason why it feels more intense in NZ compared to the other part of the world is that it is in the open here. People don’t feel bad, or shy, or think twice to discriminate against you. To make it worse, nobody around you will care if something bad happens to an Asian. Do you copy me? Most Kiwis just don’t seem to think it’s wrong. That’s when I put it into the most severe category, Open Discrimination Acts. Like you, I have spent most of my adult life in the US and I get along well with people from all walks of life regardless of their skin color. I have never experienced anything like this living in the US. To witness one is painful, to live it even worse.
Verbal abuse from teenagers or cold treatment at shops is normal. My favorite one was the time when my partner and I went to a very good law firm to have our documents certified for immigration. We entered the office together, the gentleman with whom we had the appointment came and greeted my partner. I was there standing next to my partner, and guess what, he didn’t see me. I was invisible! Come on, this is a law firm for God sake be professional or at least be mature.
My other favorite one was the time when we went to the police station for finger prints (also needed for immigration). Again we went together, the officer at one point told me that I must have spent most of my time cleaning or washing dishes as my hands were so dry. I guess he assumed that I was my partner’s maid and my duty was to do all the household cleaning? Are you kidding me? Just because someone is Asian they must be a maid.
This one is the last as I’m getting tired of my own experiences. I was a regular for a couple months at one coffee shop with two other Kiwi ladies who were my neighbors. We usually went there after walking our dogs and we usually sat outside by the courtyard so we could bring our dogs. It didn’t take long when the owner approached one of my kiwi neighbors sitting next to me. But again she didn’t even look at me or talk to me, not even say hi when she approached our table.
After listening to what she had to say, I got the message. She was trying to tell us that our dogs, but more so the big one (who is mine), are not welcome anymore as the customers had complaints about it. Let me put this straight, out of the three dogs, mine happens to be well trained and the best behaved of the three and he never once barked in the restaurant. One of my neighbors had a hard time to control her dog a couple times as hers can be a bit of a nuisance being still quite young. But I’m not dumb. The owner was struggling to articulate her problem, then played it down as she couldn’t quite have the reason to kick me out as like I said my dog was well behaved. She told my neighbors it is not about her it is about other customers and maybe my dog can wait outside! That was it for me. It worked perfect for the owner, as if my dog is out then I will never go back and that’s exactly what they want. My other two neighbors are still regulars at the place, of course with their dogs and nobody seems to complain anymore even though one of the dogs barks all the time. Do you copy me?
If you doubt the discrimination and think that maybe your highly skilled profession will make them treat you differently, the answer is NO. If you think that if you speak English the way that it supposed to be spoken they will treat you differently, NOPE. If you think that by living in a good, high-end neighborhood like we did will make you feel safer, the answer is again NO. If you think maybe if you have money and can afford to go to the better shops or restaurants where people will treat you a bit more professionally, the answer is still NO.
Well we definitely had enough, why do we want to contribute more than NZ$6,000 a month into tax when the whole culture is so rotten. What is there for us in NZ anyway, we wanted to live in a peaceful place but NZ is so disturbing. Sky rocketing crime rates, child abuse hitting the ceiling and domestic violence is the norm.
We are moving in a month from now. It is relatively easy for us to move as my partner’s profession is in high demand. Early this year I discovered this website and showed it to my partner. I somehow never felt safe here and the experiences from others on this site confirmed to me that I wasn’t alone, so that was the start of looking for exit for us. We got the job offer within days of looking and are on the way out for good.
Hope my comment finds you soon before you take off so you can give yourself more time to think about the move. Please do think twice especially if you have children. NZ is not safe for them. No children should live through discrimination right on their face.”
Thanks for this post. It had confirmed alot of similar stories I hear about New Zealand. I don’t think I want to visit a country that is so outrightly bigoted. Seeing the way white kiwis tend to be so untight and lacking in manners in Australia is enough to put me off.
It is illegal for dogs to be on restaurant premises in New Zealand unless the dog is a registered guide dog for the blind with a blind person. If the local Environmental Health Officer finds out the proprietor will have a problem.
As a white person, white Kiwis feel comforrtable telling me about how much they hate the invasion of darker folk and Asians. The government’s campaigns are at odds with the will of the people, but the citizens feel they have no power to change those policies. They indulge this resentment, therefore, with interpersonal actions on a local level, as personal choices. When discrimination is practiced, in my experience, it is frequently just an impersonal passing-over as if the victim is invisible. The invisible treatment. Despite high profile beatings in Christchurch, this is actually the main way I see them doing it. But the effect on the person’s fate is devastating, because of the economy, which is terrible! No one has any money! I have seen this discrimination practiced mainly in their hiring and socialization choices.
Geeeez what a lot of negativity about NZ..sure there will always be a few people upset about any country..but bundle it all together and put it on a website..and you get this..We will always be a great caring kind country..and we still have half the world knocking on our door wanting to get in..I rest my case..From a real kiwi!
“Half the world wanting to get in” That statement is not supported by the latest immigration figures, nor by the exodus across the Tasman.
The net flow of migrants turned negative in March. PLT migrants exiting New Zealand exceeded arrivals by 530 on a seasonally adjusted basis. The net gain for the year to the end of March was only 6600.
“Half the world” is obviously going elsewhere.
You are judging a whole country by a few peoples ignorance. I hardly think that is fair or reasonable. Maybe you come across as rude or unfriendly? new zealanders in my experience are lovely and welcoming, maybe you are in the wrong area, but in saying that there are bad areas in every country, racism is not a problem that only exists in new zealand. It happens alot more frequently in the US than it does here. But yes, we are more open about it, which is a problem, but it shouldnt be the deciding factor in how you see NZ. I wish you all the best in your move.
Essentially what you’re saying is this (can you see how your statements conflict with each other?)
1.You’re the problem, not us
2.You’re living in the wrong area
3.Racism exists in NZ
4.Racism in NZ is acceptable because it happens more frequently in the US
5.Racism in NZ is a problem because New Zealanders make less of an attempt to hide it.
6.But come here anyway.
Why on earth would anyone want to emigrate after reading that?
For more about this issue read our blogs about racism in New Zealand
It is a fact that racial discrimination exists in New Zealand and immigrants often fall foul of it. Please read
Discrimination Against Asians Still A Key Issue In New Zealand
Racial Discrimination in the Workplace: Complaints to the Human Rights Commission
I’m really sorry to hear of your experiences in my country. The bigoted are people to feel sorry for rather than offended by, but I can understand your feelings have been hurt.
However, I must say this – we have had a family of Koreans move in down the ROW from us, into my father’s house (he’s the landlord). Not for this reason only of course, I went to introduce myself and make them feel welcome. All I got in return was the door opened a crack and grunts in reply to my conversation. Before long the crack in the door got smaller and I gave up and left. I now have no time for them. And I also mow their lawn as a favour for my Dad – not one word of thanks or gratitude from them. So you see it goes both ways.
All the best with your future life, wherever it may be.
It’s disappointing that your initial empathy had to be countered with the inevitable “however.”
Perhaps you’d do well to consider WHY your tenants greeted you in the way they did, perhaps it was something about your demeanor or appearance that gave them cause for concern. Perhaps their experience of New Zealanders up to that point had not been a positive one, perhaps they thought you were there for nefarious reasons, or perhaps it was just because their dinner was burning and they were too polite to tell you to come back later.
You degree of intolerance is shameful, next time try to create a better impression and please do not dismiss the experience of many migrants in New Zealand on the basis of one family’s reaction to you.
Think on this. If it had been a New Zealand family in the home how different would your reaction have been and would you have formed an impression of all other New Zealanders based solely on that interaction?
p.s. about the lawn. Maybe they think it’s included in the rent and you’re just the gardener?
I spent a terrible time in NZ, my husband worked at a flower company in CHCH and one of the ladies there used to call him f@@@ing brazilian; they DO say terrible things like Get the ### out of this country–EVERYTIME– they try to hit you and once they did we called the cops…SURPRISE; he said _ This is NZ you are in Chch get used to this. I heard in Fox Glacier in a restaurant that I was working in 2008 as a waitress That Brazilians girls put theire hands in kiwis underpants(Im not going to say the right place…) and one man – a farmer – said Where youre from? I said Brazil. He said- Hey, I have a farm I need someone to give me 4 kids and look after my sheep and myself since you are Brazilian you must be starving marry me.
How ignorant, please tell do they know about life, I really dont understand…
just for you to know, I´m a white person and my parents Europeans, they moved to Brazil I was Born in Brazil, so just this Girl is saying ITS BECAUSE YOU ARE NOT ONE OF THEM!
The Korean family might not speak English very well – they probably thought he was a maintenance worker. It is true that one becomes very untrusting here after enough sufficiently bad experiences. I hope that “honki” poster extends himself and tries to meet other immigrants.
To Jana – they really do not know anything about what other countries are like to live in. Their headlines focus on the worst parts of other societies, sensationalistic and negative things. So they think America is full of violence, gangs and homeless, and everywhere in South America is like the poorest area there. The newspapers foster this delusion, and unless Kiwis travel widely, they believe it. Even people who know better but cannot leave New Zealand prop up the fake image, to make themselves feel better about being stuck there.
It is not that Kiwis are “all bad” – it is that expectations are very different! It is not a “service-oriented society”.
“Even people who know better but cannot leave New Zealand prop up the fake image, to make themselves feel better about being stuck there.”
This is very true, I’ve heard from some immigrants that at first they didn’t like it here, now they “like” it and get “excited” about travelling to some red-neck town in the middle of nowhere during the holidays, what I believe to be rationalisation in the face of being unable to leave, you have to pity them sometimes…
I am from Myanmar(Burma) and i am planning to study in New Zealand in next 2 years. Is it safe for me to go and study there or change my plan to study some other country?
I think you would receive a better education for your money elsewhere, if you have options other than New Zealand (Burma is fairly isolated due to the coup and political regime, and I would think you would not want to go to another isolated place, but rather spread your wings and learn more about the wider world?), but the most important thing is to educate yourself with regard to “stranger danger”, rip-offs and other risks, wherever you go. Good luck to you.
Well, Kiwis are very friendly, they consider themselves warm and welcoming and I really fest that way for the first months in Auckland. After a while I found out that it would not make them your friend. We had situations, but nothing major. Wellington was the best on this aspect. When we moved to Christchurch the situation was different, everyone says clearly that they are only racist towards Asians and white people like me wouldn’t have problems until you open your mouth. I’ve met fantastic people here, but received plenty on insults here for nothing. It is the most racist city I’ve seen, travelled or lived. When enter in a shop they are friendly but as soon as you say that you “live” here the treatment is completely different. Apply for a good job? Forget!! You see an add that says experience, qualification, etc. You apply and get declined, the person appointed for will be a local with NO qualification. I worked in a international corporation in Christchurch Office, the criteria to be employed is a minimun Bachelor level. In a team of 15, only 3 had University education and they were happy to waive the criteria to keep locals. I suffered discrimination from clients and team mates on a daily basis. I got fed up and start to apply elsewhere about 50 applications and never was shortlisted for one single interview. In one agency they said that I meet all the criteria except one. In another the person from the National Office said, you are the most experienced and the most qualified, but the team believe that a local would be a better fit. I changed my CV to Rob Peters, from Timaru, qualified from the worst education provider (will not mention which) and only replace the company names in order to get rid of all clues of my real origin, but the same CV. I started to apply for jobs in the same companies that declined me (including all Chch Universities), in one week I had 15 calls for interviews!. Nobody will ever ever say that they have discrimination (as it is crime), but do the test yourself!
Thanks alot my friend!!! I will think of another place for my further studies.