Kiwi-Indian MPs facing the heat on student deportation issue
A sense of disillusionment is fast brewing up within the closely-knit Indian community in Auckland with regards to the ongoing student deportation issue. Community members are expecting some standout leadership on this issue to resolve it speedily in the best interests of all.
National MP Kanwaljit Bakshi's earlier comment, what appeared to be comparing Indian students facing deportation with faulty fridges from China, was understandably picked on aggressively by the Labour party backed unionists and national media alike. Social media sites were also abuzz with many comments and wild accusations flying in all directions.
Meanwhile, Bakshi has clarified his comment, and expressed his anguish for being "misunderstood".
“I was not referring to the 39 Indian students who are currently facing deportation due to issues with their student visas and my comments have been misinterpreted. What I was referring to was there are some training institutes in New Zealand that are being investigated by NZQA because concerns have been raised and clearly we need to resolve these issues. As an Indian immigrant to New Zealand and now an MP, I want to ensure the students, coming to New Zealand from overseas, are getting the best education possible. However, I acknowledge I could have used a better analogy,” said Bakshi.
Prime Minister John Key has also accepted his above clarification and has clearly stated that there is no need to discuss this any further.
On Monday, September 26 at a community meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Bill English hosted by Dr Parmjeet Parmar the students organised a protest outside the meeting venue.
An elderly protester said, “It was painful for the community to note that the protesting students were largely cold-shouldered, without any compassionate effort to be at least listened to, by those who matter in the government”.
Presumably, an opportunity was lost to at least acknowledge, if not demonstrate solidarity with the student deportation issue, an issue so important to the wider immigrant Indian community.
This comes against the backdrop of a claim made by Anu Kaloti, the lead organiser of the student protest and the representative of Migrant Workers Association that she was categorically denied a chance to meet with the leaders of government inside the meeting to convey their demands peacefully.
Previously, it was noted that no questions have been raised so far in the parliament by Indian-origin MPs within the government.
On an earlier occasion when Dr Parmar was contacted, she said, “Immigration NZ, Education NZ and NZQA are all working together to help students in question. These cases are being worked through and it would be inappropriate to comment on individual cases. However, the government makes no apologies for holding people to account if they have obtained their student visa fraudulently.”
Meanwhile, Indian Weekender reached out to Mahesh Bindra, NZ First List MP, to know what he was doing to safeguard the interests of the students. He responded, “Most Indian students have been victims of dodgy immigration advisors and unscrupulous education providers. Dodgy agents have benefitted from our faulty and loose immigration policies.
“This government's focus is on cashing in on the 2-3 billion dollars that foreign students bring in but they are not worried about how these students have been cheated and manipulated by some fly by night agents and education providers.
“The government needs to take responsibility for the plight of foreign students and fix our immigration system. So far the government has beaten around the bush and refused to address the issue but we shall continue to fight.
“My office at 21 East Tamaki Road, Papatoetoe continues to receive complaints from Indian students and we have been working on individual cases."
Demanding fairness for international students and expressing his disappointment over the government’s approach towards the issue, former Labour party candidate Sunny Kaushal said, “... comparing students to ‘faulty fridges’ that should be returned to their manufacturer, just demonstrates how arrogant and out of touch National has become. The government has continued the hands-off approach to international students' plight, treating them nothing more than a commodity.”
“International students are people…they are the victim to a cycle of exploitation, a part of which have been operating under the watchful eyes of the government agencies.
“The government must reconsider its decision and revoke deporting orders for international Indian students from New Zealand to minimise the damage to the reputation of multi-billion New Zealand international education industry,” Kaushal added.
In a recent TV interview, Tertiary Education Minister Steven Joyce conceded that ideally these fraudulent papers should have been picked up before the students entered New Zealand. A logic being presented by the Minister that 200 Chinese students were deported in 2012 under similar circumstances further proves that the visa issuing agencies still have not strengthened their visa issuance processes. But the logic is understandable, as New Zealand should not be seen as treating students from different countries differently.
What is evident so far from the issue is that genuine empathy is missing towards the hapless students and no leader is standing up with a solid intent to resolve it.
A sense of disillusionment is fast brewing up within the closely-knit Indian community in Auckland with regards to the ongoing student deportation issue. Community members are expecting some standout leadership on this issue to resolve it speedily in the best interests of all.
National MP Kanwaljit...
A sense of disillusionment is fast brewing up within the closely-knit Indian community in Auckland with regards to the ongoing student deportation issue. Community members are expecting some standout leadership on this issue to resolve it speedily in the best interests of all.
National MP Kanwaljit Bakshi's earlier comment, what appeared to be comparing Indian students facing deportation with faulty fridges from China, was understandably picked on aggressively by the Labour party backed unionists and national media alike. Social media sites were also abuzz with many comments and wild accusations flying in all directions.
Meanwhile, Bakshi has clarified his comment, and expressed his anguish for being "misunderstood".
“I was not referring to the 39 Indian students who are currently facing deportation due to issues with their student visas and my comments have been misinterpreted. What I was referring to was there are some training institutes in New Zealand that are being investigated by NZQA because concerns have been raised and clearly we need to resolve these issues. As an Indian immigrant to New Zealand and now an MP, I want to ensure the students, coming to New Zealand from overseas, are getting the best education possible. However, I acknowledge I could have used a better analogy,” said Bakshi.
Prime Minister John Key has also accepted his above clarification and has clearly stated that there is no need to discuss this any further.
On Monday, September 26 at a community meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Bill English hosted by Dr Parmjeet Parmar the students organised a protest outside the meeting venue.
An elderly protester said, “It was painful for the community to note that the protesting students were largely cold-shouldered, without any compassionate effort to be at least listened to, by those who matter in the government”.
Presumably, an opportunity was lost to at least acknowledge, if not demonstrate solidarity with the student deportation issue, an issue so important to the wider immigrant Indian community.
This comes against the backdrop of a claim made by Anu Kaloti, the lead organiser of the student protest and the representative of Migrant Workers Association that she was categorically denied a chance to meet with the leaders of government inside the meeting to convey their demands peacefully.
Previously, it was noted that no questions have been raised so far in the parliament by Indian-origin MPs within the government.
On an earlier occasion when Dr Parmar was contacted, she said, “Immigration NZ, Education NZ and NZQA are all working together to help students in question. These cases are being worked through and it would be inappropriate to comment on individual cases. However, the government makes no apologies for holding people to account if they have obtained their student visa fraudulently.”
Meanwhile, Indian Weekender reached out to Mahesh Bindra, NZ First List MP, to know what he was doing to safeguard the interests of the students. He responded, “Most Indian students have been victims of dodgy immigration advisors and unscrupulous education providers. Dodgy agents have benefitted from our faulty and loose immigration policies.
“This government's focus is on cashing in on the 2-3 billion dollars that foreign students bring in but they are not worried about how these students have been cheated and manipulated by some fly by night agents and education providers.
“The government needs to take responsibility for the plight of foreign students and fix our immigration system. So far the government has beaten around the bush and refused to address the issue but we shall continue to fight.
“My office at 21 East Tamaki Road, Papatoetoe continues to receive complaints from Indian students and we have been working on individual cases."
Demanding fairness for international students and expressing his disappointment over the government’s approach towards the issue, former Labour party candidate Sunny Kaushal said, “... comparing students to ‘faulty fridges’ that should be returned to their manufacturer, just demonstrates how arrogant and out of touch National has become. The government has continued the hands-off approach to international students' plight, treating them nothing more than a commodity.”
“International students are people…they are the victim to a cycle of exploitation, a part of which have been operating under the watchful eyes of the government agencies.
“The government must reconsider its decision and revoke deporting orders for international Indian students from New Zealand to minimise the damage to the reputation of multi-billion New Zealand international education industry,” Kaushal added.
In a recent TV interview, Tertiary Education Minister Steven Joyce conceded that ideally these fraudulent papers should have been picked up before the students entered New Zealand. A logic being presented by the Minister that 200 Chinese students were deported in 2012 under similar circumstances further proves that the visa issuing agencies still have not strengthened their visa issuance processes. But the logic is understandable, as New Zealand should not be seen as treating students from different countries differently.
What is evident so far from the issue is that genuine empathy is missing towards the hapless students and no leader is standing up with a solid intent to resolve it.
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