Ethnicity and race are essential as they give and define the identity of a person or group of people. An ethnic group comprised of people who share memories, have a unique culture, and have an established physical territory, common ancestry myths as well as a common history. This paper will examine two articles that focused on ethnicity between the local New Zealanders and white immigrants from other places who came to settle there and a reflection on the two articles.
The article explores the identity of Chinese New Zealanders who migrated to the country 140 years ago. The report presents Chinese New Zealanders population to be approximately 100,000 (Ip & Pang, 2005). The identity formation has been a sensitive issue as it implies socio-political factors in both the homeland and the host country. An examination of the essential elements which controlled and affected the Chinese community comprising of social-political dynamics is conducted. The New Zealand government established qualifications which the immigrants should meet as a strategy of controlling immigration process. Some of the requirements include social class, education levels, and educational backgrounds. The factors have continued to establish a backdrop against which the Chinese New Zealand identity is based on. Apart from the enacted legislation, the New Zealand Factor also incorporates the attitude of the people and this case it implied the Pakeha and Maori communities (Ip & Pang, 2005). The two cities form the dominant culture which has been involved in monopolizing the political power.
The Sojourners phase of isolation and ostracized identity happened in the 1860’s to the late 1940’s when the Chinese economy was weak, and New Zealand was discriminatory and hostile (Ip & Pang, 2005). Although total emergent multiple identities happened when China was economically stable particularly in the 1980’s, New Zealand happened to be more benign. The local born of the country was primarily reconciled as the immigrants remained unintegrated. The Chinese, New Zealand community, is made up of two broad communities comprising of the local born and the new Asians (Shambaugh D & Shambaugh L, 2005). The Chinese New Zealanders are considered to be uniformly successful and flourishing to outsiders. The rivalry between the New Zealanders and Chinese New Zealanders seems to be thicker than personal jealousies. The ‘Chinese Factor’ was weak in terms of prestige and cultural influence. The competition cannot be ignored even if the two belong to the same ethnic groups (Ip & Pang, 2005). The language differentiates them since the settlers can fluently speak and write English as opposed to Chinese whose language is limited. The locally born individuals obtained humility and inoffensiveness as they were forced to exist as a minority under a white monoculture while the immigrants grew up in societies dominated by Chinese and as a result, they did not have to apologize for their Chineseness. The ‘New Zealand Factor’ which was negative in terms of Chinese legislation and overt prejudice was very strong.
Chinese local-born people have been molded into its current form primarily based on what their ancestors underwent from the 1860s (Butcher, Spoonley & Trin, 2006). They predominated the descendants of the early migrants who were involved in various economic activities such as gold miners, laundrymen, market gardeners, and fruiters. They struggled economically to bridge the existing gaps although they were not involved in mainstream competition with New Zealanders. From the fact that their population was small, they were exposed to mass suffering such as pervasive social discrimination as well as prolonged separation from their cultural roots. The existing policies disregarded, therefore, being exposed to pool tax, tonnage ratios, and literacy tests and thumb printing. The exposure of the immigrants to torture and miserable life was aimed to preserve New Zealand for the whites. The exposure to discrimination regarding legislation and social has left an indelible mark on the identity of the old Chinese settlers. Their descendants are psychologically affected up to date. Although the New Zealand government opted to assimilate the Chinese women after World War II as war refugees, the plan failed as they were eager to preserve their culture and heritage (Ip & Pang, 2005). The government threatened the attempt to employ Chinese language teachers since it regarded Chinese identity to be undesirable. The emergent of multiple personalities named the Chinese New Zealander changed everything as the government started valuing Chinese. The 21st century has witnessed Chinese New Zealanders reside peacefully in China and involve in economic activity, therefore, leading to its growth.
Most populations regard themselves as the norm and that their existence is not an accident. Their less historical privilege and nature that define different ethnic groups of people. The ‘Paheka Ethnicity: Politics of White Privilege’ article by Steve Matthewman to explore the white privilege given to a particular group of people, inequalities, ethnicities, the grievances of the Paheka and Maori ethnics and biculturalism in New Zealand. The author examined the most ethnic population in the country, Paheka which is termed as New Zealanders of European origin and consider the privileges that accrue to them (Berghan et al., 2017). Whiteness in this country struggles to foresee their privilege. The whites in the New Zealand society are seen as the perfect representation of the way minority groups are judged and expected to conform. Racism is a significant incidence that happens in New Zealand as well as other places around the world (Matthewman, 2017).
The Pakeha have learned about other ethnics’ cultures and aspects and supported them. For instance, they supported the elements of Maori culture which involved things such as the inclusion of their version in the national anthem, using haka during international sporting activities, teaching the Maori language, Waitangi Day celebrations among others but opposed anything that challenged the existing structure of economic power (Marriott & Sim, 2015). The whites opposed the redistribution of material resources like the Maori ownership of the foreshore and seabed, the Maori university scholarships and medical school places and exempting rates on the Maori land as stated by Sibley, Liu & Khan (2010). There is the systemic advantage of being a white as it provided the people with a chance to live their lives without much social distresses resulting from race and ethnicity. Historical and current Paheka privileges have shaped ethnic relations within New Zealand as the two groups relate well with each other thus transact freely.
The sociology of ethnicity refers to skin colour and races which form part of everyday life. However, there is no unique identity or race key differences between the two as they have been employed in many places to imply each other. According to Matthewman (2017), in a sociological perspective, the Paheka are an ethnic group because they share common history, language, worldview, religion, and everyday customs. Paheka focused on biculturalism as they learned the Maori aspects and acknowledged their relationship with them (Sibley, Liu & Khan, 2010). New significant developments started in the 1990’s when the Paheka began calling themselves ‘second indigenous culture’ and claimed to be an ethnic group. They argued that New Zealand was a small country and that they should create their traditions. The claims raised by Paheka implied that they equal to Maori while most of them were more equal to others.
Such claims arise issues among the ethnic group as there are those who feel like they are being overtaken or deprived of their places like it was the case with Maori. Racial inequality constitutes inequalities in essential areas such as resources, health, and many others. Being white is an advantage as approved by a survey that showed that the Paheka had surpassed the Maori in all sectors. This is proven by the fact that the Paheka faced less discrimination case, have higher life expectancy than the Maori, and are less likely to lack formal education among others (Jamie, 2014).In conclusion, history is essential in resolving injustice cases. If people do not preserve their history, their future generations are likely to suffer as the Maori did in the hands of the Paheka.
The two articles are useful in analyzing aspects of racism and ethnicity. The address the issue of immigration and how new communities face challenges as they struggle to fit in a new social setting. Although the study presents two communities who were received differently in New Zealand, it shows how discrimination based on race can interfere with the social and psychological growth of immigrants. The Chinese were initially exposed to various sufferings immediately the migrated to New Zealand. The local-born did not fully accept them, and they experienced multiple challenges which significantly affected their growth and development (Shambaugh D & Shambaugh L, 2005). The New Zealand government was also involved in racism activities as it drafted the qualifications that the Chinese should meet for them to settle in New Zealand. At first, the Chinese were exposed to extreme sufferings as they participated in hard work like offering labor in the firms. The government did not acknowledge their residence in New Zealand. Before the development of the Chinese New Zealanders identity in the 21st-century life was difficult for the immigrants (Ip & Pang, 2005). However, the development of Chinese New Zealanders identity indicated that the immigrants were integrated and could establish their cultural setting as well as practicing economic activities. The case of Pakeha seems to be different from that of Chinese in New Zealand. The difference is associated with the fact that the Pakeha are whites. Since the New Zealanders has accepted ethnicity, they welcome Pakeha because they were whites. However, Pakeha embraced diversity and was not involved in race discrimination activities. Instead, they were focused on the social and psychological development of all residences irrespective of their background. Maori being the local-born were the ones who were observed to practice discrimination based on race. The articles share various commonalities as fact as racial discrimination is concerned. They successfully portray the whites to be superior.
The scenario of the New Zealand immigration is useful in explaining socialization involving people of diverse backgrounds. It is evident that all communities wish to practice their cultural practices without interference. However, for the people of different backgrounds to exist together peacefully, it is essential to focus on socialization rather than individual cultural traditions (Butcher, Spoonley & Trin, 2006). The inability of the local born New Zealanders to accept immigrants can be based on the need to preserve community interests. Socialization brings people of different backgrounds together, therefore, helping each other improve their well-being as well as promoting economic growth. From the issues addressed in the article, it is evident that socialization is essential in enhancing development. The integration of Pakeha in New Zealand brought various benefits to the local-born. The Pakeha also helped the local-born improve their welfare as well as the living standards. After the acknowledgment of Chinese New Zealanders identity, both China and New Zealand began registering positive economic growth (Ip & Pang, 2005). The articles are significant to prove that racial discrimination as an enemy of development. The reports present events which occur in our daily lives and also from the family. The fact that people of same backgrounds have a particular cultural setting which they are set to observe explains why it might be challenging to accept diversity. However, embracing diversity and socialization opens various opportunities which significantly benefits the involved parties.
Conclusion
Racial discrimination has been a global area of concern for a significant period of time. This has been facilitated by development of negative attitude towards people of different race. Racial discrimination was witnessed in New Zealand against Chinese who were immigrants and Maori who were natives. Initially, the situation was worse but as time progressed it kept on improving. The immigrants were later accepted as part of New Zealanders as time progressed. Diversity should be acknowledged as it facilitates national development as well as peaceful coexistence of people. The current growth and development of modern technology has made globe exist as one small village indicating that there is urgent need to embrace socialization. It is the high time that the existing stereotypes and norms concerning particular communities are abolished and embracing diversity. This will make earth a better place to live apart from enhance economic growth.
References
Berghan, G., Came, H., Coupe, N., Doole, C., Fay, J., McCreanor, T., & Simpson, T. (2017). Te Tiriti o Waitangi-based practice in health promotion. STIR.
Butcher, A., Spoonley, P., & Trlin, A. D. (2006). Being accepted: The experience of discrimination and social exclusion by immigrants and refugees in New Zealand. Auckland: New Settlers Programme, Massey University.
Ip, M., & Pang, D. (2005). New Zealand Chinese identity: Sojourners, model minority and multiple identities. New Zealand identities: Departures and destinations, 174-190.
Jamie W., (2014). “ACT Speech to Waikato Conference: Race has no Place in Law,” Scoop, July 29. Accessed October 15 2014.
Marriott, L., & Sim, D. (2015). Indicators of inequality for Maori and Pacific people. Journal of New Zealand Studies, (20), 24.
Matthewman, S. (2017). P?keh? Ethnicity: The Politics of White Privilege. A Land of Milk and Honey? Making Sense of Aotearoa New Zealand.
Shambaugh, D., & Shambaugh, D. L. (Eds.). (2005). Power shift: China and Asia’s new dynamics. Univ of California Press.
Sibley, C. G., Liu, J. H., & Khan, S. S. (2010). Implicit representations of ethnicity and nationhood in New Zealand: A function of symbolic or resource?specific policy attitudes?. Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy, 10(1), 23-46.
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