Michele A’Court
Sitting in the sunshine in Vancouver, scanning the news from home, I felt a sudden rush of love for my country. I read the headline to my friend who left New Zealand for Canada decades ago. ‘‘Whale in Wellington harbour might mean Matariki fireworks postponed.’’ How cool, we both agreed, that the welfare of a wild creature who had dropped by, unannounced but very welcome, might be considered more important than a planned human celebration. I scanned the internet for anyone who thought this was eco-correctness gone mad, but couldn’t find them, not even on Twitter.
My friend and I talked about Matariki, how acknowledging Ma¯ ori celebrations has become a thing we all do, and how New Zealand has changed in the decades since she left. She is aware that Ma¯ ori words are said differently now – it’s not ‘‘mow-ree’’, and it’s not ‘‘koh-why’’ for those beautiful yellow flowers she misses. Which makes her nervous, she says, about even mentioning kowhai in conversation.
I try to explain the hilarity of English people arriving and hearing Ma¯ ori, writing it down for the first time, and then reading it back, badly. I said the message I get is that it’s OK to try, and still get it wrong – it’s the trying that matters. She says she might see if she can download an app that will help.
So that was some of the news of cultural shifts I brought her from home. And she told me the news from her part of the world, too. On my last night in Vancouver, we went to see a brand new art installation, part of the Vancouver Biennale curated by one of her friends. Paradise Has Many Gates has been built on the waterfront looking across to the city. Created by Ajlan Gharem, a Muslim artist from Saudi Arabia, it is a replica of a mosque. There are traditional mats on the ground, but the walls and roof are made of chainlink fencing.
It is a powerful thing, to see it on the waterfront. Even more powerful to stand inside it and look out at the cityscape at sunset. Vancouver is one of the most multicultural cities in the world, so this conversation about gates and fences is one they are having all the time. I couldn’t help thinking about migrant children separated from their parents on another border who were said to be ‘‘in cages, but not caged’’.
Borders are easy for someone like me to cross. I flew to California and spent my birthday at Disneyland. There were fireworks. It was spectacular. It would also be cool to see a whale.