Two years ago, Haider Khan started his te reo Māori journey. Since then, he says, a new world has opened up for him, and he’s uncovered connections that he’d never noticed before. Haider Khan was inspired to take up te reo Māori at precisely the wrong time. After hearing a coworker at Spark delivering a … Read more
People from immigrant backgrounds often struggle to find work in New Zealand, despite their qualifications. So why is the Office of Ethnic Communities looking for people to do its work for free, asks former race relations commissioner Joris de Bres. Last week, the Office of Ethnic Communities announced on Facebook that it was launching a … Read more
In our RNZ podcast Conversations With My Immigrant Parents, immigrant whānau across New Zealand have frank conversations about ancestry, love, expectation, acceptance – and food. We asked immigrant kids to listen to the podcast and share with us their responses. Last year, we had the immense privilege of making the first season of our podcast … Read more
Growing up Asian in white New Zealand, Joanna Cho tried to find a mirror in books. I went to a proud, decile 10 high school that had few POC. I prided myself on being part of the “white” group. When my boyfriend in Year 9 broke up with me, because his rugby mates teased him … Read more
Her mother’s job was a source of shame for Yawynne Yem growing up. Now checkout operators are essential workers as we hunker down against Covid-19. Any time I had to reveal my mum’s job to someone, hastened justifications would also fall out of my mouth, reeking of shame. “We’re a first-generation immigrant family…” “Oh but … Read more