Dame Susan Devoy
Wellington, January 29, 2017
The Human Rights Commission has called on New Zealanders to stand alongside Muslim New Zealanders in the wake of the United States’ ban on immigration from some Middle Eastern nations.
So many of us are feeling helpless but the one thing we can do is let our own decision makers know that we will not allow hatred and intolerance to spread and become normalised here at home: Not in our New Zealand.
Tearful Kiwi Holocaust survivors told me last week that they never thought they would witness a return to the politics of hatred, division and racism in their lifetime: but it’s happening. They urged us all to stand up for the rights of refugees, Muslims and minorities targeted by the powerful.
Hate starts small but so too does hope.
We need zero tolerance for hatred not just in our politics but in our everyday lives, we cannot afford to be bystanders and ignore injustice.
Last year, a racist Neo-Nazi said that he felt intimidated by something I wrote and my response to him was, “Good. We do not want you to feel comfortable, we do not want you to feel welcome wearing your Neo Nazi uniform in our public places.
It is a good reminder to New Zealand politicians to keep it clean as we approach our next general election.
We need to call out our own powerful decision makers if they use racism and division to push their campaigns, but it should not just be up to me – all of us need to let them know that we have zero tolerance for hate politics in Aotearoa.
Dame Susan Devoy is Race Relations Commissioner based in Wellington.
