By Aniram Itufolo
Aotearoa, the land of the long white cloud. A country proud of its multicultural diversity, inclusiveness and its friendly nature. However, the perils and negative effects of the racism that thrives within our country undermine the proud stance we hold in being inclusive.
Being a first generation New Zealand born Samoan in Christchurch forced to assimilate to New Zealand culture, I am well aware of the presence and negative effects of racism as I have experienced this countless times. The way in which racism within New Zealand culture casually presents itself allows it to fester and can manifest into our society unknowingly perpetuating racist ideas. Questions such as “where are you really from?” or statements such as “wow you’re English is really good” have often left me feeling less than and left with an identity crisis.s. A perfect example of this is this YouTube skit in the short film series ‘Misadventures of A Pacific Professional’ written by Tupe Solomon-Tanoai. It depicts the experience of a Samoan woman, Alofa, who holds the position of CFO within her workplace, however her capability is undermined by her colleagues based on her race and her gender. The microaggressions such as the repeated mispronunciation of her Pasifika name, her being asked to make coffees and the looks of disapproval, highlight and perpetuate her colleagues disbelief in her being qualified to do her job, due to her the stereotype that is attached to having brown skin. These types of microaggressions and stereotypes encourage the oppressive structures within New Zealand which limits the ability for those who do not fit as the norm to succeed and reach their full potential.
I know for myself the responsibility I have as a future social work practitioner is to be an agent of change, address racism when it occurs and to be an advocate for equality amongst New Zealand’s diverse population, but what does this mean for Aotearoa social workers as a collective? Do we all have the same understanding and responsibility to speak up? And how does this intersect with the emphasis that is put on practicing in a bicultural way that honours Te Tiriti o Waitangi? Do the radical neoliberal reforms the New Zealand government adopted in the 1980s create a discourse which works to counteract all of the bicultural and inclusive measures that have been implemented so far?
If we look at the history of New Zealand, the failure to uphold and provide Maori with their end of Te Tiriti o Waitangi allowed the opportunity for oppressive structures and systems to form. Harmful stereotypes of Maori were created and are still perpetuated today. The effects of colonisation are still being felt today as is evident with Maori overrepresentation in the negative statistics – stuck within the cycle of remaining in low socioeconomic status which is emphasised here in the health survey . It is a general understanding that many New Zealanders blame this on Maori themselves without acknowledging the oppressive structures that work against their livelihood and wellbeing. These kind of comments are easily located under any Herald article that involves Maori lives. This kind of treatment is not exclusive to Maori and this is evident with the recent terrorist attack in Christchurch. The phrase “They are Us” was circulated frequently in a way to include our Muslim community in Aotearoa, however the use of ‘they’ suggests the are of an ‘other’ category. Leigh-Marama Mclachlan challenges the notion ‘this is not us’ in this article by highlighting the violent racist history of New Zealand that is often dismissed (21 March, 2019).
Policies have been created with the intention to respond to the disparity of inclusivity, such as the Pūao-te-Ata-Tū initiative with child protection in the late 1980s. However I believe the day-to-day work of holding people accountable for racist actions is of most importance. Everybody has biases and different lenses that they view the world through: this is a given. However in order to grow and develop into a better society, it is important to be self-aware, not only of our actions but actions of those around us. This means questioning not only myself on where I could be perpetuating racist ideas but also amongst others. We in New Zealand pride ourselves on our diverse and multicultural population. It’s time to back up our words with our actions.
2019 Social work blog 413 /713 