Mum subjected to racist rant
Insults take gloss off new life in New Zealand. Audrey Malone reports.
A Colombian-Kiwi woman who was told to ‘‘go the f... home’’ while shopping with her 2-year-old daughter says some of the sheen has come off life in New Zealand.
Catalina Osorio cried as she recalled how she was abused by a driver as she was about to embark on a grocery shop at Hastings Countdown.
Her husband Robert was parking the car and Catalina was crossing the asphalt holding her daughter’s hand when a van came towards them.
‘‘I put out my hand to tell him to please stop, I had my daughter [Antonia] with me, but he didn’t care and kept going,’’ Osorio said.
‘‘My body language was like ‘oh my goodness’. Then he got out of his car and I had a really angry man coming to me.’’
The man started yelling at her, and Robert came to her defence.
Robert acted quickly and took a photo of the Waterforce van the man was driving.
‘‘I was worried for Antonia, I was worried for Robert. I was nervous, worried, filled with fear.’’
The South American, who moved to New Zealand just over three years ago with her Kiwi husband, said she was blown away with how proactively the company reacted – immediately apologising on behalf of the employee.
Waterforce launched an internal investigation, managing director Ron McFetridge said.
‘‘We take the professionalism of our business and our people seriously, regardless of whether they are officially working or not,’’ he said.
‘‘We were extremely concerned and upset about this situation and felt that it warranted immediate action.
‘‘I personally contacted the complainant as soon as we were made aware of the incident and extended our apologies and regret to her. I also explained the investigation we had under way, alongside an internal disciplinary process.’’
The behaviour of the employee fell short of the company’s expectations, but McFetridge believes the employee is genuinely remorseful. He wasn’t on duty at the time of the incident.
‘‘We have done everything within our control to make sure it doesn’t happen again and it has also sent an important message about our expectations of our team – both on and off the job.’’
However, it started a wider conversation with Catalina’s immigrants group Hastings – in they had all experienced racism of some kind in New Zealand.
Race Relations Commissioner Dame Susan Devoy said the Human Rights Commission received about 400 formal complaints of racism a year.
‘‘However, we know the overwhelming majority don’t complain or go public when they are on the receiving end of racist comments and jokes,’’ she said.
‘‘New Zealand is home to people of many ethnicities, cultures and backgrounds – being welcoming and accepting is what we stand for, and calling out racist behaviour should be part of what we do.’’
Minister of Ethnic Communities Jenny Salesa said racism was common around the world and New Zealand was no exception.
‘‘To pretend otherwise is to deny the existence of an issue that is prevalent in all societies, here and overseas, including societies where many ethnic minority communities originate from,’’ she said.
Public education and community engagement was the most effective way to eliminate racism, she said.
Salesa encouraged people to lodge a complaint with the Human Rights Commission.
Osorio agreed that racism was a global issue.
‘‘When I talk to my family, they talk to me about Venezuelans coming in, and complain. I tell them, I am doing the same thing in New Zealand, trying to make a better life for myself.’’
It was important to show empathy and understand that immigrants were missing their family, country, food, weather and social status, she said. It was a tough time for them.
Immigrants also needed to immerse themselves in the new society they were live in, which led to greater understanding, she said.
‘‘Technology has moved so fast allowing us to migrate easily around the world.
‘‘We just haven’t evolved quickly as technology.
‘‘I just don’t know going to go away.’’ if it’s as ever