106 promise to

Business

106 promise to help re-build a nation

By Florence Syme-Buchanan

THESE days, Linda Wichman only goes to New Zealand for short holidays, mostly to shop and catch up with family.

In the Auckland airport departure lounge after an exhausting weekend trip, Wichman recently confided she couldn’t wait to get “home.”

Until five years ago, the softly spoken, attractive New Zealander had hopes of returning permanently to her homeland no longer. "I realised there was nowhere else in the world I’d rather live, this is my home now”. With that realisation, Wichman, along with over a hundred other expatriates, applied for and got the right to live permanently in her adopted home.

Married to leading businessman John Wichman with two Rarotonga bom teenage children, Linda Wichman was one of 106 people given permanent residency in the Cooks last month. The biggest group of flower-laden expatriates ever to be welcomed into the nation by a line-up of the country’s political and traditional leaders. All received simple white PR cer tificates from Immigration minister Inatio Akaruru in a colourful ceremony in their honour. Like the much smaller 1996 PR ceremony, Prime minister Sir Geoffrey Henry again scolded the new Cook Islanders about their inability to speak Cook Islands Maori.

He said there may be a time when per manent residency laws will require a non- Cook Islander to speak Maori fluently first.

Sir Geoffrey urged all 106 to “begin by learning the national anthem in Maori,

that’s your anthem as of today, the anthem you used to sing as a child is now no longer”.

“It needs to be remembered that the sta tus of permanent residence is conveyed on you because of the belief that you too have something to offer the nation that now embraces you,” said President of the House of Ariki, Pa Upokotini Ariki. While some had already made a “substantial con tribution” over many years to the Cooks, others were given permanent residency in the expectation that they would do the same, said the traditional paramount chief.

“Great societies have been built on the energy, drive and initiative of immigrant populations”.

When first recipient David Gragg was given his permanent residency certificate by Inatio Akaruru, it ended years of a very public legal battle between the American businessman and the immigration minister.

Gragg’s applications spanning 15 years were repeatedly turned down. Gragg is married to Cook Islands, businesswoman and artist, Joan Rolls.

It was a gathering of people from all four corners of the earth that were wel comed into the family of the Cook Islands - Filipinos, Samoans, New Zealanders, Australians and Britons made up some of the nationalities. Malcolm Laxton- Blinkhom was chosen by the others for his eloquence to give the speech in reply. But with emotions running high on the day, the Englishman fluffed greetings of Kia Orana in his well-rehearsed vote of thanks on behalf of 105 others. When Laxton- Blinkhom said he felt “absolutely proud to be part of a unique and beautiful country...

now I have a feeling of really belonging,” he echoed the thoughts of all other new permanent residents.

Moments later, he was congratulated by long time resident Jim Ditchbum who said, "You didn’t do too badly for a pommy”.

Laxton-Blinkhom’s quick “Thanks very much you Scottish git,” was evidence that he was over a bad case of nerves. Later over drinks at Trader Jacks, pilot and new permanent recipient Tim Boyd stressed the “absolute privilege” it was for any expatri ate to be given the right to live in such a “special place”. It is not like New Zealand or Australia, where many new immigrants can be taken on every year, said Boyd.

Permanent residency isn’t free and can sometimes take years. Brad Fraser waited 18 years and the October 7 ceremony was especially meaningful - it was Fraser’s birthday. Expatriates married to Cook Islanders had to fork out $5OO each, others a $lOOO fee. On the eve of the ceremony, Immigration workers were phoning around to remind recipients not to forget their fees.

For the cash-starved government, the PR exercise earned a welcome NZ575,000 or so. The local business community did well too with sales of black pearls and locally made island-style clothes. Bar sales at the town waterfront Trader Jack’s, for the after-ceremony celebration, were a historic high for a Wednesday.

The Cooks has a ceiling of 500 perma nent residents. Places were freed up by Immigration taking away that right from over a 100 who had shown they no longer wished to make the country their home by remaining overseas for three years or more. One of those to lose the right to live in the Cook Islands was notorious cancer therapist Milan Brych. He came to the Cooks in the 1970 s - at the invitation of a former health minister. Brych set up a can cer clinic in a wing of the national hospital.

A number of graves in a cemetery dubbed "the Brych yard” is testimony that his ther apy wasn’t always successful.

Milan Brych has not been back to the Cooks since getting booted out by former prime minister Sir Thomas Davis about 1978.

Just how many of the 106 remain per manently in the Cooks and help see the country out of its financial crisis remains to be seen. All have taken an oath to "con sciously fulfill” duties as a Cook Islander if they all do, those small white certificates will be well deserved. ■