Ki te whaiao, ki te ao Mārama
Some participants discussed the impact
of counterterrorism and other security
measures on their communities. They wanted
to see an end to ethnic profiling and police
violence against Māori and other ethnic
groups and thought the impact of counterterrorism measures needed to be monitored.
Dismantling racism in the justice system
would contribute to participants’ sense of
safety and security: “I (as a person of colour)
would feel safe and [feel like] I belong
anywhere I go in this country.” Another
commented:
I just want to feel safe outside with my
family. I think we’ve all been harassed by
people in public or know someone that’s
been assaulted because they were Asian.
Participants’ desire for safety and security
related not only to physical safety, but also
to psychological and cultural safety. One
commented that prejudice “poses a security
risk for ourselves and our children, both
via physical attacks and vandalism and
threats on social media”. Another called for
strengthened health and safety policies “for
all sectors and industries” that make explicit
the negative consequences for expressions
of racism.
Participants’ vision for change was
intergenerational:
Being able to know that my life and the
lives of my descendants can be lived out
free of danger, harm, anguish or hate.
That me and my descendants of Asian
heritage can thrive and succeed in the
same way as all other groups in Aotearoa
Adequate standard of living and housing.
Participants identified that wealth disparities
resulting in varying living standards were
directly linked to racism. They wanted the
links between racism and poverty to be
made explicit: “an anti-racist campaign
needs to highlight the issues of intersection
between racism, colonialism, poverty and
the divisions in our society.”
Te Kāhui Tika Tangata
Participants called for the gap between rich
and poor to be bridged and, in particular,
income disparity to be addressed. Income
disparity is “a key driver behind other
inequalities that disproportionately affect
diverse communities. There is a particular
need to address equity of employment
outcomes and ensur[e] a living wage.”
Some participants raised the impact of
racism on their access to housing and
the formation of housing policy. One
commented on the way in which:
anti-immigrant views, frequently
direct[ed] at immigrants from Asia,
continue to ‘percolate to the surface’ in
public discourse, for example, in debates
on housing affordability and policy.
Their vision was for equitable access
to housing and for housing policy and
provision to reflect their communities’ actual
needs: “no racism to me is ensuring we all
have adequate housing for our needs, not
what someone in a suit has said we need.”
Equity data
Participants emphasised the need to collect
good quality data to measure the nature
of the problem and to measure progress in
eliminating it:
We need data around racism. Lots of
people come and say I’ve experienced
racism, there’s a person at kindergarten
they just won’t talk to me. Sometimes
it’s just personality, so how do we define
whether it was a racism base or just from
people who aren’t engaging? Data is
really important.
Other participants agreed, saying “data is
imperative for informed change.” Another
noted:
To eliminate racism we have to
understand the state of racism in
this country. At the moment, we don’t
understand its extent. How do we
measure it on a world standard and
know that racism exists?
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