Strangers struggling to feel at home in a country that said it wanted them

Becoming a citizen does not necessarily mean acceptance for these new New Zealanders. Picture / Kenny Rodger

New Zealand prejudice against new settlers is feeding the country's skills shortage, a Massey University report shows.

It says New Zealanders pigeonhole immigrants and refugees who are Muslim or from the Middle East as having links to terrorism.

"This discrimination is felt by anybody from the Middle East or North Africa, and they need not be Muslim," said Professor Paul Spoonley, one of the co-authors.

"New Zealanders tend to see them as a group without distinguishing where they're from or what their religion is, so they're all regarded as connected to Muslim terrorism."

The findings are a wake-up call for a nation that considers itself a tolerant society, although Professor Spoonley maintained New Zealand fared well compared with other developed countries.

The report - Being Accepted: The Experience of Discrimination and Social Exclusion by Immigrants and Refugees in New Zealand - reinforced earlier studies that people from the Middle East and Asia are the most likely targets of discrimination.

Some respondents, including an Afghani refugee, said they resorted to hiding their ethnic identity to avoid abuse.

Discrimination was subtle rather than explicit, and existed mainly in the workplace, looking for employment, and in access to goods and services such as housing.

The report found:

* Employment barriers included little recognition of overseas qualifications, demands for New Zealand work experience, the sense of being an outsider, and issues of language and accents.

* Some landlords refused to rent to new settlers, and some schools were less than accommodating and cross-culturally unaware.

* New settlers found New Zealanders in general helpful and friendly, but many found interaction difficult; contributing factors included a lack of knowledge and understanding of other cultures, and media coverage that promoted a negative image of immigrant groups.

Many of the report's subjects said they had been unfairly overlooked for jobs and, once in the workplace, felt undervalued, ignored, or perceived as outsiders and excluded.

"The report shows that key people in our society continue to react to the ethnicity of new settlers rather than treating them on their merits," Professor Spoonley said. "We've got gatekeepers who decide access to accommodation and employment, and they are struggling to come to terms with diversity."

He said that in the face of the worst skills shortage in 30 years, New Zealand was missing out on the benefits that new settlers had to offer.

"If we don't fill those skill gaps with immigrants, how are we going to fill them? If we brought them here because of their skills and there are barriers, then reduce the barriers rather than put them in jobs where they are underutilised.

"We can ask immigrants to adjust to New Zealand, but what about the key gatekeepers adjusting to the immigrants?"

The research consisted of in-depth discussions with 23 new settlers from Asia, Africa and the Middle East. South Africans experienced the least discrimination.

The value of embracing new settlers could not be overstated, Professor Spoonley said.

"Dealing with this is not only important but necessary if New Zealand is to reap the full economic, social and humanitarian benefits of admitting immigrants and refugees."


What they say

Muslim refugee: "Some people are making fun of us and saying, 'You are a terrorist, or perhaps you are from bin Laden family and you are a Muslim so that makes you a terrorist'."

Afghani refugee: "My son is at school and he is ashamed to say, 'I am from Afghanistan'. He tells me, 'The students, they make fun of me'. Most people now feel guilt about being a Muslim. We try and hide it."

Female immigrant: "Employers bluntly ask the immigrant to change their name to an Anglicised name, because it is easier to pronounce ... it hurts that your identity is taken away and that you can't be yourself just to get a job."

South African immigrant: "When you have been here for six days and you walk in for a job application and you are asked, 'Do you have Kiwi experience?', you are understandably surprised and reply, 'No ... but I do have 15 years' experience in my field."'