‘I Am a New Zealand Citizen Now—This Is My Home’: Refugee Citizenship and Belonging in a Post-colonizing Country

Abstract

In this article, we explore how a collaborative painting project with former refugee and host-society participants highlighted tensions regarding legal versus everyday citizenship in New Zealand, while also providing opportunities for strengthened social bridging and enhanced senses of belonging. Through a series of five painting workshops, participants explored how concepts of home, belonging and public visibility were imagined, normalized and contested within everyday practices of inclusion and exclusion. This process enabled individuals to connect through common emotions and experiences, and extend their social networks, generating a sincere sense of welcome and support within the group. Fostering such empathy was a key step towards enhancing integration for newcomers. Yet, participants also acknowledged that refugee resettlement does not occur in a space free from history and power and that, to develop a more inclusive understanding of everyday citizenship in New Zealand, post-colonial and current immigration conversations ought to be pursued simultaneously.

The experiences of refugee Muslim women in the Aotearoa New Zealand healthcare system

“…The experiences of the women in healthcare spaces point towards a deeper set of dynamics that speak to how refugee Muslim women are inequitably positioned within NZ society, and how they are perceived and regarded (cf. Powell and Menendian 2016;Kale et al 2020). Therefore, in order to tackle inequity, particularly in the health system, structural and institutional barriers need to be addressed first, to prompt other levels of othering and discrimination to reduce over time (Jones 2000).…”

Negotiating Health Amidst COVID-19 Lockdown in Low-income Communities in Aotearoa New Zealand

“…The diversity of the refugee population indicates that they bring different cultures, histories, gender expectations, linguistic competencies, human and social capital. Even though refugees in New Zealand possess diverse cultures, they face a similar level of marginalization in negotiating a system that is embedded in Whiteness and neoliberalism (Kale et al, 2018).…”

Te Tiriti in Conversation: A Qualitative Approach to Biculturalism and Multiculturalism in Aotearoa

“…Although multiculturalism in the literature is generally defined as having three aspectsdiversity, policy and ideology the participants in this study do not agree that these aspects are currently present in Aotearoa. Further contact between groups was highly promoted by participants within this research, and is backed up by past research that suggests social bridging and connectedness promote happiness and wellbeing (Kale et al, 2018). It is also worth considering if conceptualisations of multiculturalism should take into account experiences of discriminationif we have diversity, but see discrimination against migrants or minority groups, then how can we say we have succeeded in this diversity?…”

“…The nature of biculturalism, currently conceptualized as an indigenous-settler system (being relevant only to relations between Māori and Pākehā), did not capture the nuance of minority perspectives in this study. This was largely due to the current conceptualisation of biculturalism in Aotearoa, which the participants noted needed work: some participants went so far as to say that they felt treaty relations must be improved before the discussion of multiculturalism could occur (in line with research from Kale et al, 2018). Previous conceptions of biculturalism as a way of encouraging equality between Māori and Pākehā must be reconsidered; and we must consider if biculturalism in Aotearoa is simply a postcolonial ideology, or one that can be adapted to suit our growing diversity.…”

“…Although definitions of multiculturalism in the academic literature have evolved to encourage integration rather than assimilation, the policies of Aotearoa still seem to favour assimilation, for example with the large focus on employment for migrants (Kale et al, 2018). It seems that, as academics, we must broaden our definitions of multiculturalism to incorporate feedback from communitiesnamely that the majority must make more of an effort to encourage and support the integration of minority culturesbefore it can succeed.…”