New Zealand is now beginning to experience some of the side-effects of the increasingly diverse nature of our modern society, best illustrated by the slightly strange episode which unfolded in Auckland recently where two Muslim women wearing veils ran into trouble on buses.
In one incident, a Saudi Arabian student was
left crying on the street after a bus driver would not let her board because of her veil, and in the other, a driver for the same company told another woman to remove her veil.
The Saudi Arabia Consulate-General has since complained to the Government about the incidents.
Any incidents carrying even the slightest hint of offending someone's religious beliefs are traditionally fraught with danger.
But what is particularly strange in this case is the reason given by the bus company, NZ Bus, for the problems experienced by the two women.
As unpalatable as it may be to some, the company could have taken the step to ban women wearing veils from its vehicles for whatever reason, so long as it was prepared to accept the low-level loss of custom and the accusations of discrimination that would likely come with it.
But in this case, NZ Bus said the issue their drivers had was nothing to do with religion but instead they were both found to be suffering from "maskophobia" - described by the company as a genuine fear of people wearing masks.
Presumably these bus drivers aren't fans of masquerade balls either.
A quick search of Google turns up a few references to maskophobia, mostly based around the Auckland incidents, which apparently the bus drivers are now receiving counselling for.
That's right, the bus drivers are receiving counselling.
Has the world gone utterly mad? If anyone was likely to be receiving counselling after these incidents, it was probably the women involved, not the mask-fearing bus drivers, who have at least received final warnings.
It begs the question of why these people were hired as bus drivers in an ethnically diverse city such as Auckland.
In response to the veil incidents, our political leaders have rolled out the usual election-year lines about New Zealand being a tolerant society and the importance of respecting others' cultural and spiritual beliefs - and, of course, they are right.
Respect is important, but so is accountability - NZ Bus seem to have forgotten that.
Feedback: editor@wanganuichronicle.co.nz
