Language beating

island migrants

From George Atkins In

Wellington.

The subjects of language, laws, quor and culture provide major roblems for Islanders in New ealand causing concern to govern lent authorities.

Language is causing problems to acific Island students as well as emigrants. The latter are often ustrated especially in the pubs be mse they feel they are being be ttled by pakehas (whites) when •guments arise. This is because they innot express themselves with their adequate English.

Island immigrants in New Zealand e mainly from Samoa, Niue, Fiji, >nga, Tokelaus and the Cooks. 3eorge Atkins is a Solomon Islands ournalist at present studying at the Vellington (NZ) Polytechnic School of Journalism.

Other Islanders in New Zealand are students from New Hebrides, Solomon Islands and the Gilbert and Ellice Islands Colony.

Some of the immigrants say they go to New Zealand for a change in life, and they think there are more chances to make money to send to their families at home.

Are they accepted by local people and what do the locals think about them?

Very many New Zealanders think of Islanders as “a mass of hooligans” who arrive from a so-called backward black world. Said one, “They are a group of uneducated persons who urinate in public after being to the pub and can’t hold whitemen’s beer because back home they only drink kava”.

The New Zealand’s Parliamentary Opposition Leader, Mr Robert Mul doon, has proposed a “Probation programme”, which, he says, will get rid of immigrants who break the law. Though this includes immi grants from Australia, England, and other countries, the heavier emphasis was on Islanders.

Mr Muldoon said, when outlining his proposal, that if Islanders behaved like hooligans, they should be de ported.

“This country has lots of its own problems already and it should not have any more from outsiders,” he said. “My probation proposal will see that immigrants have a certain amount of time to adopt the New Zealand way of life, and if they can not cope, they cannot remain in this country.”

Educationists say language and Western culture are causing the major problems for Pacific students.

There are a great many Island children who arrive in New Zealand every year only to find that their English is inadequate and they are doomed to struggle with wordy text books and subjects about which they know next to nothing.

The Education Department is one of the many organisations in New Zealand concerned about the welfare of Island immigrants and students.

Many people are now working on this and views from Islanders inside and outside New Zealand could be of help.