Racism an unfortunate part of life

Jale Moala and his family were warned about the racism they might encounter when moving to Christchurch.

The family left Fiji in 2000 to escape political turmoil. They settled in Invercargill at first, then, in 2003, Christchurch.

‘‘While in Invercargill, the fact that we were different brought people to our door,’’ Moala said. ‘‘In Christchurch, it was what set us apart from the rest.’’

In the wake of the racism debate stemming from the abuse levelled at Fijian rugby player Sake Aca, Moala said some prejudice was inevitable in a country where one culture dominated. ‘‘That is no excuse for the level of intolerance and hostility people of colour face on a regular basis.’’

He remembered being called a ‘‘thieving n.....’’ while in a predominantly white neighbourhood, where he had gone to pick up a pair of metal gates bought on Trade Me.

New Zealanders were largely friendly, compassionate and caring, he said, but ‘‘more work needs to be done to train those who serve in the public service, like police, social services and health, to be culturally competent and aware’’.

Zion Tauamiti’s parents emigrated

from Samoa before he was born. He learned English when he started school, in a predominantly white part of Christchurch where the racial taunts reduced him to tears. ‘‘I was like, ‘It’s true. I’m just a brown kid and I am poor’. It just reinforced the rejection and not fitting in or belonging to that culture.’’

Bigotry followed him into adulthood. It was now maybe even more insidious, he said, as New Zealand became more multicultural and prejudices were forced underground, surfacing momentarily. Last month, a neighbour near his Cashmere home noted Tauamiti was ‘‘on the wrong side of town’’.

At Sunday’s senior rugby club final, he noticed Aca appeared to be the only brown player in the Christchurch team. Tauamiti felt a similar way in the crowd.

‘‘I’m sitting in the stands and it’s ‘old’ Christchurch everywhere. Everyone’s just white. You’re walking round on eggshells.’’