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NEWS
 Racism Article in Leader Three of the people in the front line in the fight against racism fear too many of its Nelson victims are suffering in silence and not using the services set up to help them. It's just over a year since the Speak Out reporting system for racist incidents in Nelson and Tasman was launched, but so far the number of people using it has been lower than expected. The scheme allows racism to be reported confidentially on the Speak Out website, through a free-call number or face-to-face at several community centres. Nelson Multicultural Council co-ordinator Evey McAuliffe thinks the low number of users may be partly because of people from some cultures believing that identifying themselves as victims will lead to a loss of face. She said some of Nelson’s refugees and immigrants came from countries where the police were corrupt, some feared reprisals and others had not heard about Speak Out because they did not read newspapers. As a result Speak Out's co-ordinator Lillian Li-Kurtovic is visiting places of worship, work places, community events and language schools to tell members of Nelson's ethnic minorities and their supporters about the programme. It was important for these people to understand that the community cared, she said. Community constable ethnic liaison officer David Cogger wants everyone to know that racial abuse is against the law. “You should have the freedom to walk around the town without being abused, regardless of your colour, race or creed,” he said. David said police had zero tolerance for racially motivated crime and people who suffered racial abuse on the street should dial 111. He said not reporting such crimes immediately made it harder for the police to do their job. ``If we can apprehend the offender red-handed we dont have any issues with identity,'' he said. “Police were more than happy to attend. The 111 system is there to apprehend offenders.” David said photos of offenders' cars and registration plates could also be very helpful. Evey, Lillian and David all agree that even if victims are too scared to be identified, they should anonymously use the Speak Out system so authorities can get an idea of what racist incidents are occurring and when and where they are happening. And if you thought that low levels of reported racism might mean it is declining, consider what happened to Biying (Bic) Huang last week. Walking home from work in Nile St, Bic, 32, passed a young man and woman sitting on the seat outside Global Soap. As she passed, the man called her a “f...ing Asian”. Scared and angry, Bic told him to “f... off” which resulted in him yelling more racial abuse at her. “He kept shouting at me,” she said. “I love this city but this kind of thing has really put me off.” SPEAK OUT NELSON TASMAN To report a racist incident you have three options: 1. Phone 0508 773 256 (0508 SpeakOut) 2. Fill out an online form on the website speakout.org.nz 3. Visit a participating community centre: In Nelson: Victory Community Centre on the corner of St Vincent and Totara streets, Nelson Bays Community Law Service at 241 Hardy St, and the Nelson Multicultural Resource Centre at 4 Bridge St. In Richmond: TDC Customer Service Centre at 189 Queen St and Richmond Library. By Matt Lawrey
Newspaper article about Race Unity Day 2011 No-one a stranger at Race Unity Day What a marvellous, colourful, cheerful, cultural celebration Race Unity Day is. On Sunday, Victory Square was decked out in carnival regalia with a large stage, tents, gazebos and hundreds of people enjoying the autumn sunshine and the endless international entertainment on stage, from kapa haka to Zumba to three lads from the Indian state of Punjab dancing around the stage in their pure-white outfits, and everything in between. There was a fascinating variety of food, the aromas wafting around the nearby streets, surely attracting passers-by. There was a vast enough range of food to satisfy even the most picky gourmand. There were Cambodian, Thai, Sri Lankan, Malaysian and Indonesian dishes. You could have sated your appetite with a taco from Mexico, a Brazilian hot dog, a German sausage, a delicacy from Argentina, some French pastries or a brew of strong Irish tea with a slice of soda bread. But it was the old yellow bus, its owner selling real-fruit icecream, that was doing the best trade in the scorching afternoon, with a queue stretching a good way back. As well as the entertainment and food, many community groups had stalls and there were a number of stalls selling arts and crafts, with some of the proceeds going to the Red Cross's Christchurch earthquake appeal. If none of that appealed, there was great satisfaction to be had by simply sitting on the grass and watching the passing parade of punters. There were those wandering about in their national costumes. There were those sporting hippie chic, and there were others in a goth-emo sort of style, and the full range of casual wear. Had there been an equivalent of a fashion in the field award (and thank goodness there wasn't), say a Vogue in Victory prize, a woman clad in a peachy lemon ensemble, with matching hat and shoes, pearls and a beautiful contrasting silver bag would surely have won hands down. There was an array of cuties in kimonos at the Japanz Kidz stall and a five-year-old vision in a frothy pink confection riding her candy pink bike with trainer wheels and shiny tassles around the park. And the day seemed to me a positive counterpoint to the tragic and traumatic events in Christchurch and Japan. As well as the delicious food and the delightful entertainment, Race Unity Day has a serious message. It is a celebration of Nelson's diverse ethnic makeup and, as race relations commissioner Joris de Bres said, a way of giving smaller communities a chance to be visible. Nelson can be a conservative and conformist city, insular and, for those from "away" – whatever that might mean – sometimes not particularly welcoming. There have been numerous publicised incidents of racism towards international students and new New Zealanders. Many more will have occurred under the radar and remain unreported. So Race Unity Day is also about trying to overcome the fear of difference, which too often fuels racism. It is an acknowledgement that each and every culture and ethnic group that makes Nelson their home has a rich contribution to make to the life of our city – and we, as Nelsonians, should welcome, respect and be grateful for all those contributions. It is also a celebration of the collective heritage of humanity. While our lived experiences may be vastly different, as human beings living in this city, we have a good deal in common. Speakout, the reporting system for racist incidents in the Nelson region, was one of the many community organisations with a stall at Race Unity Day. Its co-ordinator, Alistair Webber, is passionate about raising the profile of the project, which was born at a hui at Whakatu Marae. The project arose from research conducted in Nelson in 2009 with 184 individuals from 48 ethnicities, which revealed that 80 per cent had suffered some form of racist harassment, some on a repeated basis. Only 21 per cent had reported the racism they had experienced, but over 80 per cent said they would report racism if there was an easy way of doing so. Mr Webber said even if people did not want anything done about the racism they had been subjected to, it was still important to report it. He was keen to do more community education about Speakout (speakout.org.nz) and saw schools as a crucial audience for the Speakout message. "There are no strangers here." Joris de Bres said events such as Race Unity Day were very important. "It is a chance for communities to show themselves to themselves. It was important for smaller communities to be visible – to be seen and appreciated – and it was a chance for people to see a whole lot of communities in Nelson they wouldn't normally see." Nelson's Race Unity Day was one of the first such events in the country and there were now similar days in a range of cities and towns around the country. "These events show how the face of New Zealand is changing, and it is best when the old faces and the new faces meet. They give me hope for the future of race relations in New Zealand," Mr de Bres said. The co-ordinator of the Nelson Multi Ethnic Council, Evey McAuliffe, and her large band of volunteers, deserve huge thanks and congratulations for ensuring this vital cultural festival is a significant event in Nelson's calendar. Let's hope its influence continues to spread throughout our city, breaking down fear and building up understanding. I rounded off the day with a swim off Rocks Rd, followed by our own cultural hakari of food purchased from some of the stalls – perfect! - Nelson
Joris de Bres, the Race Relations Commissioner, took some grear photos at Race Unity Day which can be seen by clicking the link: http://www.facebook.com/photo.
NMC Women’s Art Group is exhibiting their work as part of the Nelson Art Festival “Art in Windows” scheme from 14 – 24 October. You can view their work in the window of the Nelson Multicultural Resource Centre at 4 Bridge Street, Nelson. One of the group, Tanya Verinskaya, will be exhibiting her work in Casa Del Vino, 214 Hardy St. & Trade Aid ,148 Hardy St
Dayanira Bakhshi, Chairperson of the Nelson Multicultural Council opens the “World Language Collection” at Nelson Library on 18th August 2010
Several NMC members spoke at the official opening in their native languages, thanking NCC for providing this service.
 Deputy Mayor Rachel Reese welcomes NZFMC delegates to Nelson
NZFMC delegates at Civic House 
Ian Barker Nelson City Councillor and former chair of NMC with Camille Chin, Wellington Multicultural Council
Prem Singh, NZFMC President and Kerry Marshall, Mayor of Nelson
Prem Singh, NZFMC President and Dayanira Bakshi, Chair of NMC  Brigid Ryan, Claire Nichols, Ann Dysart (Settling In), with Lady Mayoress Colleen Marshall
 Race Relations Commissioner Joris de Bres , delivers his report for 2009
Race Relations Commissioner Joris de Bres , delivers his report for 2009, seated next to him is Deb Lam OEA
Evey McAuliffe, Coordinator of NMC
Rakesh Naidu and Brian McGurk, NZ Police
Members of the executive: Prem Singh, Alexis LewGor, Vijeshwas Prasad and Al-Haj Gul Zaman
Happy Birthday Arti Prasad and Rattan Prakash |
