That’s Us, New Zealand’s first nationwide, anti-racism campaign, encourages Kiwis to share their stories about racism, intolerance, and hatred, and their hopes for the future.
Race Relations Commissioner Dame Susan Devoy says that through the campaign started by NZ Human Rights Commission on September 2, they hope that by raising the voices of those who face racial intolerance, other New Zealanders will take the time to listen and address the issue.
“Many people don’t think racial intolerance or racism is a problem, often because they do not experience it themselves,” says Devoy. “We suspect many of us don’t realise when something we say is unfair or biased, but we would if someone pointed it out to us.”
Devoy adds that New Zealand always had a problem with racial intolerance but what has changed in the past couple of years is that the country has grown to become incredibly diverse in less than a generation.
“Racial intolerance is on the rise overseas and closer to home. We’ve become very diverse in a short period of time. While overt racism is not widespread yet, we are confident New Zealanders are ready to take part in meaningful conversations that will talk about the realities of racism and what each of us can do about it.”
Although 400 formal complaints are received every year, Dame says that there are many others who have ‘casual’ or ‘quiet’ racist encounters.
“We know the overwhelming majority of people never complain or go public when a car drives past and the people in it scream a racist obscenity; when the woman registering students at university smiles at every other student but the brown ones; or your son is called racist names as he runs down the rugby field.”
She hopes that the campaign provides a platform for people to share such stories with other New Zealanders.
“Our national identity isn’t just about a flag. Our national identity is about who we are as people and how we treat each other on our streets, on our rugby fields, in our communities.”