How long does it take to become Kiwi?
Green MP Golriz Ghahraman arrived as a refugee 28 years ago but she is still subjected to attacks relating to her heritage, and whether she is Kiwi enough.
New Zealand is preparing to double its refugee quota but does the country need to deal with xenophobia first?
The country has had a national conversation about prejudice towards the rainbow community thanks to Israel Folau’s anti-gay comments, and Ghahraman says these types of incidents produce an opportunity to have a wider discussion about Kiwi identity.
On Wednesday, Ghahraman tweeted in relation to the political debate over whether te reo Ma¯ ori should be compulsory in schools.
The Green Party has a policy to make te reo compulsory, while the coalition Government’s policy is to make the language ‘‘universally available’’ in primary schools by 2025. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has specifically avoided the word ‘‘compulsory’’.
‘‘Protecting the indigenous language of our country is a duty we owe to Ma¯ ori, to preserve a culture that was plundered & systematically suppressed by colonisation – but also because kids who learn languages thrive in all sorts of ways in their education. We won’t let this one go,’’ Ghahraman tweeted.
The Iranian-born Kiwi arrived in New Zealand when she was 9, and is a New Zealand citizen.
Broadcaster and former The Opportunities Party (TOP) chief spin doctor Sean Plunket responded: ‘‘Please don’t presume to talk for me Golriz’’.
He then said: ‘‘Sorry Golriz you are dead wrong there.
‘‘As a recent arrival perhaps you should use your ears rather than your mouth for a bit ...
‘‘When you talk about what ‘we’ owe, you presume to talk for me.
‘‘Not second class just recently arrived having abandoned your own country.’’
Plunket said the comments did not come from a place of xenophobia.
It was a ‘‘tongue-in-cheek’’ exchange, with an MP whose intelligence he respected.
Plunket said he believed Ghahraman’s comments created a ‘‘hierarchy’’, when all races in New Zealand were immigrants.
However, the use of the word ‘‘abandoned’’ may have been too strong, he said, adding that he was not disputing her right to be in Parliament, or whether she was a Kiwi.
On Friday, Plunket tweeted in the same thread, saying he agreed Ghahraman qualified as a Kiwi, ‘‘and not sure I have any right to say if she does or doesn’t.
‘‘This issue of identity is bloody complex though.’’ OUR IDENTITY
Ghahraman said this was an opportunity to have a wider conversation about Kiwi identity and what that meant.
She took Plunket’s initial comments to imply no foreigners would ever truly be Kiwis.
New Zealand’s rugged, farming, number 8 wire identity was rooted in its colonial settler past, which did not take into account Ma¯ ori identity and culture, and other migrant populations, she said.
That identity needed to acknowledge the shared values between New Zealand culture and migrant cultures, which would help support positive integration for people who come to new Zealand shores, Ghahraman said.
New Zealand clearly had aspects of racism and xenophobia, and some who harboured those views had been empowered to voice them publicly with the changing landscape engendered by United States President Donald Trump and Brexit in Britain.
And when Kiwis were struggling to keep their heads above water, due to issues with unaffordable housing and healthcare, it was understandable how xenophobia could creep in, she said. REFUGEES EN ROUTE
The Government is gearing up to make an announcement in relation to its promise to double the refugee quota within the next couple of months.
New Zealand takes 750 refugees a year, from countries around the world, including the Middle East.
In 2016, there was a nationwide campaign to double the refugee quota to 1500.
The former National government raised the number to 1000 but the Labour-led coalition has promised to up it to the 1500 which many called for.
The coalition is expected to make an announcement regarding the details of the plan to double the refugee quota at some point next month.
Ghahraman said her experience of arriving in New Zealand was positive and welcoming but that didn’t mean there were not issues with racism, xenophobia and identity.
Plunket said he supported increasing New Zealand’s refugee quota. New Zealand had the
‘‘As a recent arrival perhaps you should use your ears rather than your mouth for a bit ... When you talk about what ‘we’ owe, you presume to talk for me.’’ Broadcaster Sean Plunket
capacity, the space and a relatively well-structured society to be able to support more refugees, he said. GIVING A PLATFORM
Free speech, and discussions around issues like racism, were an important part of New Zealand’s growth as a country, Ghahraman said.
However, free speech should not limit other people’s freedom.
Giving people with racist or xenophobic views an official platform was harmful if they ‘‘hurt our national sense of solidarity’’.
Ghahraman said no-one of colour around her was surprised by the exchange on Twitter.
It was common for ‘‘10th generation Chinese-New Zealanders’’ to be told to ‘‘go home’’.
The upside of public exchanges was that they allowed people to have a wider conversation and hopefully grow together, she said.