Giving new Kiwis southern welcome
The message is simple – just say hi – but for many Southlanders it is not getting through. Evan Harding reports.
The Southland Multicultural Council this weekend celebrates 20 years in existence but it appears there is still work to do to make migrants in the region feel welcome.
The organisation wants Kiwis to say hi to migrants, talk to them, and invite them to their homes.
Southland Multicultural Council co-ordinator Meggy Bartlett McBride says the council helps migrants settle when they arrive, gives them advice on many issues, refers them to other agencies for assistance, and introduces them to other migrants and locals through hosting regular events.
Challenges migrants face include the language barrier, finding accommodation and work, the cold weather and having social interactions with locals.
Southlanders welcome migrants ‘‘to a degree’’, Bartlett-McBride says. It is a commonly held belief Southlanders are friendly people, and Bartlett-McBride agrees.
But she indicates there is always room for improvement, just as many migrants could make more of an effort to mix with the locals.
‘‘Because of their background they find it tough to get their foot in the door but once it is in, they are happy people, they like to give back to the community,’’ she says.
She encourages more Southlanders to go to the multicultural council events, such as food festivals, to get to know the migrants.
‘‘Give it a go, even just to say hello . . . migrants want more New Zealanders talking to them.
‘‘There is still a feeling of not being accepted, there is still boundaries between locals and migrants.’’
The occasional migrant is still belittled and discriminated against in Invercargill, she says.
‘‘It is getting less but it is still there. I don’t think it is going away, it is an issue around the world but we encourage them to speak up when it happens.’’
It would be hugely beneficial if a migrant got on to the Invercargill City Council, so their issues and concerns can be raised first hand.
But finding candidates from the migrant community is extremely tough. ‘‘If one person was in, the migrants would feel they belong to the community.’’
Brian Bellett, a former president of the Southland Multicultural Council for 15 years, says migrants have a huge amount to offer the community. They have boosted numbers in schools and churches, and work in all sorts of fields.
Loneliness is their biggest issue because they have left their support groups behind, he says. ‘‘I would just say to everyone . . . make them welcome if you see them around.’’
Southlanders are generally welcoming people but some do not see value in the migrants being in the south, he says.
‘‘Some people resent hearing another language spoken . . . but if we go to Spain we don’t speak Spanish. It is their language and that is what they know.’’
Neill Rumble, chairman of the Southland Multicultural Council, says more than 10 per cent of people living in Southland are born overseas. Migrants sacrifice a lot to get to Southland and they want to be accepted, he says.
Southland needs to keep the migrants because they have skills to offer, he says.
‘‘Our population is ageing and we have to have people to step up ... The days of being a one-dimensional area are gone.’’