Treating migrants as second class citizens
Migrant groups push to end 'hypocrisy'
Migrant support groups will today ask the Government to stop letting migrant workers into New Zealand "knowing full well there are no jobs for them", and to commit to helping those already here and grappling with unemployment. Immigration Minister Jonathan Coleman will be urged at a meeting this morning to do something about the plight of workers who have lost their jobs in the recession. A position paper, representing the views of about 200 people who attended a public forum in May, will also be presented to the minister, Migrant Action Trust spokeswoman Agnes Granada said. The other groups meeting the minister will include representatives from employers of migrant workers and Migrante Aotearoa, a migrant workers union. Ms Granada said her group was approached by five new migrants from India and the Philippines yesterday seeking help to find work - with three of them arriving a fortnight ago. "It is totally hypocritical that Immigration continues to freely issue new work-to-residence visas, while at the same time telling migrant workers already here they cannot renew their work permits because the jobs are meant for Kiwis," Ms Granada said. "It is unfair for New Zealand to continue taking new money from new migrants knowing there are no jobs for them here, and then telling them to get out when they have run out of money."
Thank god a reporter as wise and intelligent as Lincoln Tan is bringing this issue up. It really does seem to be the height of hypocrisy that we are still letting in so many migrants with the promise of work when we are about to considerably increase our unemployment rate and are actively culling those migrant workers currently here to give ‘kiwis’ jobs. We are mistreating these migrants the way NZ seems to have always mistreated migrants, we did it to Pacific Islanders when we needed manual labour and then suddenly didn’t, we did it to Asians when we needed their cash and then suddenly didn’t and we seem to be doing it now with everyone.
nACTional have a mass immigration plan to create dumb cheap ‘growth’ (one of the hidden drivers behind the Super City privatization blueprint) that isn’t being upfront with the reality of the unemployment situation that will cause deep cultural friction.
I don’t think we do enough to help migrants integrate into NZ society as it is. We don’t provide universal cultural classes for migrants to help them understand what the cultural norms of NZ society are and we don’t provide enough resources for the increased pressures on the infrastructure sudden immigration causes. This leads to resentment from the host culture and alienation of the migrant culture, I’m all for growth and a multi cultural society, but it requires resources to help integrate and resources to build the infrastructure. Those resources have to be provided up front and require real political leadership rather than open the floodgates and just hope for the best. That option doesn’t help migrants or host cultures.
posted by Bomber @ 8:17 am
5 comments
5 Comments:
The hysterical comments in the newspaper article and your comments on them do you no credit Mr Bomber. When people made the decision to emigrate to NZ, they made their decision based on the information available to them at the time - there were jobs available and the welcome mat was out on the websites etc. There is a long time lapse between the decision to go and the settling-in period in the new country, and as we all have seen, the economic situation has changed very very quickly. The migrants leave for their next country knowing they are taking a risk.
The first duty of the NZ government is to it's own citizens, new migrants come last, and everybody knows that, but the sentiment shown in the newspaper article denys such a hometruth. Of course jobs for citizens come first - always have and always will - go anywhere but anywhere in the world and that rule applies. As for the migrants on temporary work visas, they knew when they took up those visas that they were temporary and that they might not be renewed. If they have failed to take that into account, then too bad, it is not a problem they can lay at our door. Don't think I'm not sympathetic - it happened to me and my family in 1986 ! As for expending our resources on 'integrating' newcomers to our society, I say nonsense, it is the immigrant's responsibility to adapt to the new environment as quickly as they can. That's what I did when I went to live with my family in strange and foreign places, and the experience was a good one. It's not easy being an immigrant in a strange place, did the migrants ever think it was ? As for multiculturalism, if an immigrant is dumb enough to swallow all that piffle, then don't be surprised if they grumble here - it's only to be expected. You and your like do immigrants a huge disservice by prating on about 'multiculturalism'. Help them integrate Mr Bomber, integrate into our society, that's why they are here !
I'm with you bomber and I'd also say we have had enough white migrants and now is the time to get a better mix closer to the south sea environment we live in. Yep i think migrants are good but they do have to be integrated - into our true indigenous culture.
It seems like the Govt are using migrants in the same way that body counts were used in Vietnam - it makes it seem like you are getting somewhere but really you are just faking it.
You're talking about being nice ti migrants.
Tim will probably delete this post when he sees it.
Tim will probably delete this post when he sees it.
NEARLY 200,000 A YEAR IN THE PAPER THIS WEEK ON SOME KIND OF VISA TEMPORARY OR OTHERWISE.THAT MUST INCLUDE NEARLY 100,000 FOREIGN STUDENTS AND NEARLY 50,000 IN AUCKLAND ALONE.IF THAT FIGURE IS ALL ADDED UP THEN I DON'T THINK IT WILL BE THEM NEEDING INTEGRATING.IT WILL BE US!
Did I read that right Marty Mars? You are saying that the criteria for migrants should be skin colour. I really hate the "racist" label being thrown around carelessly, but I sure think it needs to be said here.
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