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Home / New Zealand

Call me a Kiwi - not an Indian or Pakeha

NZ Herald
6 Jul, 2008 05:00 PM2 mins to read

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Matt Samra. Photo / Greg Bowker

Matt Samra. Photo / Greg Bowker

KEY POINTS:

He loves his Bollywood movies, knows all the dance moves - including "pat the dog while screwing the lightbulb" - but Matt Samra says he will always call himself a Kiwi.

The 21-year-old from Auckland is of Indian and Pakeha descent.

His father, Kulbinder, was born in Swindon,
England, into an Indian family and was raised in Nottingham. His mother, Catherine, is of Irish descent but was born in Fiji.

"I don't consider myself Indian or Asian as such - I've never been to India - but I don't call myself Pakeha either. I'm a Kiwi," he said.

Mr Samra, who grew up in Auckland, acknowledged that people often mistook his cultural background, especially when he was growing up.

"I liked to play games with people, to see if they could pick it. Most people would think I was part-Maori or had some Pacific Island heritage in me. No one ever said Indian - but when I tell them, they say, 'Oh yeah, I can see it' - I think it's my Indian nose."

He acknowledged there were times when people did not realise their racist comments until later.

"Sometimes you hear negative and stink jokes, but I'll always play devil's advocate and tell them.

"When my mum would take me and my sister out shopping with her, it kind of looked like we were adopted. Here she was, this blonde, blue-eyed, white woman, with us - olive skinned and with dark hair."

Mr Samra said although his family have never been to India, his father still taught him aspects of Indian culture.

"In Sikh religion, all men have the last name Singh and all the women have the name Kaur. So my middle name is Singh and my sister's middle name is Kaur. I think it's something my dad wanted to pass down to us.

"When we go to England to see family, I still call them by their Indian titles. There's different ones for, say, when you have an uncle who's older than your dad. On my mum's side, it's Uncle David or Aunty Anne, so that's one thing I do keep."

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