Over the last 4 months, I have singlehandedly sold a house, moved a 10 hour drive away from most of my friends, lived in my campervan, started a new job, bought a new house and begun the process of integrating into a new community. Life is good! My new school is an Area school just outside of Whangārei and my daily commute takes 15 minutes – without a traffic light, a crossing with a road patrol or a roundabout. On a busy day I might pass 3 vehicles on the way. This is not my first time to live in rural NZ, so I do have some of the basics sorted. I know how to indicate the sheer joy of passing another human on the road by picking up one finger from the steering wheel and raising it in a silent salute as we pass on the road. I know that nothing yells townie better than a pair of floral gumboots at Lamb and Calf Day and I also know that as a new member of a community where everyone knows everyone, I am definitely under observation . . . At the end of a long weekend of unpacking boxes after 3 weeks in my new house, I headed out on to the deck with a beer and registered the fact that my lawn was beginning to resemble a meadow. Kikuyu grass has been described as a plant with all the attributes of a rampant weed – my townie lawnmower took one look and packed a sad. Having travelled 650 kms in the back of a truck it took some significant persuasion and a few choice words just to get it to fire up – when it needed emptying halfway down the length of the lawn I soon realised that it was going to be a big job. It was 4 o clock on a Sunday afternoon and I got the sense that my new neighbours were poised to watch the entertainment in the manner of experienced Kiwi campers seated under their gazebo, beers chilled and sausages ready to go on the barbie, watching as the Aucklanders pull in to the empty tent spot next door. It’s starting to drizzle, they have an SUV full of hungry,sulky teenagers and a tent that has never been out of its packaging – tensions are rising and next door smug smirks are being exchanged . . . Whilst I have made other moves in my life involving bigger shifts both geographically and culturally, being in my 50s means I have more baggage – both physical and emotional – only some of which adds to my bank of resilience! However, I also have significant resources, which many who make much bigger life changes do not. As I was preparing to leave Palmy Girls’ High, we had a visit
from Abbas Nazari who spoke to our students about his family’s journey from Afghanistan to New Zealand as refugees, when he was just 7 years old. Ten years ago, a then 18 yr old Nazari spoke at TEDx Christchurch1 and received a standing ovation, he has since written a highly engaging book entitled ‘After the Tampa’. The story of his family’s perilous journey through Afghanistan, Pakistan, Indonesia and Australia, narrowly avoiding detention on Nauru, their time at Mangere Refugee Resettlement Centre and eventual settlement in Christchurch where they then lived through earthquakes and the March 15th Mosque shootings certainly adds a sense of perspective to my own modest life changes. It has also led me to reflect upon how we support newcomers – staff, students, whānau – into our community. What do we need to give them so that they can flourish? This includes practical tools (Do new staff moving from another district know that they may be eligible for Transfer and Removal expenses from the Ministry? Are staff moving from overseas offered OTT PLD and training about Te Tiriti? How do we support whānau who are speakers of other languages?) as well as emotional support (Are new students linked with a buddy student, how are they informed about school support systems? Do staff know that they are able to access EAP counselling support?) In reflecting on his family’s experience as refugees here in Aotearoa, Abbas Nazari is unfailingly positive about the support they received and the opportunities available to him and to his nieces and nephews who are second generation Afghani New Zealanders. He says, ‘After overcoming so many challenges, one of the remaining obstacles – one of the hardest issues to resolve for refugees – is the puzzle of identity. While I fully support refugee services, they cannot fix everything. The question of identity and belonging cannot be settled by some government policy.’2 For the student refugees who attended Nazari’s presentation, the discussions that teachers had as a result have undoubtedly led to reflection about identity and greater understanding on both sides. Since graduating from Canterbury University with a degree in International Relations, Nazari gained a Fullbright Scholarship and completed the Security Studies Programme at Georgetown University in Washington DC. Now back in NZ, the next edition of School Journals will feature an adapted version of his book
and he is available to speak at schools. He can be contacted on hello@abbasnazari.org His story is a clear challenge to those who would argue that taking in refugees is a net loss to our national balance sheet and also to those who merely see it as an act of charity or the exercising of our responsibilities as a first world nation, Nazari’s educational success and the sense of loyalty and social responsibility he feels to his adoptive country is a powerful message that supporting refugees benefits both our cultural capital and our nation’s bottom line. One of the whakatauki on the wall of my new office is: He aroha whakatō, he aroha puta mai – If kindness is sown than kindness you shall receive. I am grateful to those who have taken the time to welcome me into my new school community. As school leaders, thinking about the needs of newcomers and creating systems that show kindness is a smart thing to do for the long-term health and wealth of our school community.
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References 1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FDjbBtclk2c s p280 Nazari.A After the Tampa: From Afghanistan to New Zealand Allen & Unwin 2021
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Will you take up the challenge? Will you… nah but, will you?
Hear more from Taika about his story www.unteachracism.nz/foursteps