Multicultural tolerance wins hearts

TOGETHER: Prem Piari is visiting her son-in-law Nitin Parashar and daughter Kalpna in Wanganui.PHOTO/STUART MUNRO 200315WCSMMULTICULTURAL1

The Parashar family are financially worse off in New Zealand but want to stay for its health system, clean environment and attitude to women.

Nitin and Kalpna came to Wanganui from Chandigarh, a modern, cosmopolitan city in north India, in 2012. He worked in a bank and she was a trainer for an insurance company.

They were doing well, but Nitin's sister, a New Zealand resident, wanted them to join her. She owned a house in Wanganui for them to rent, and his brother-in-law's brother, Vivek Bangia, owns the Castlecliff Four Square and offered him a job.

"It gave us a base in a foreign land, to come here and settle down and see what we want to do," Mrs Parashar said.

She had a much better job in India than she's been able to get here. Since arriving she's done a postgraduate diploma at the International Pacific College in Palmerston North, and worked in Palmerston North's Noel Leeming for seven months. Now she's a checkout operator at Pak 'n Save in Wanganui.

In India she could get a job just by sending in her CV. In Wanganui's job market, it's hard to even get an interview. But she can understand that.

"A Kiwi will always get a preference over a foreign educated person. It's not a partiality. Someone who has lived and studied here will be able to take care of a situation better than an overseas person," she said.

Mr Parashar is a trained chef. He's applied for permanent residency, which would allow his family to stay.

He likes Wanganui and his less stressful job as a store manager.

Prem Piari, Mrs Parashar's mother, is on her second six-month visit to New Zealand. She likes Wanganui but can't wait to get home.

If the family stays she will have to join them in her old age, which could be tough.

The Parashars' daughter, Tvisha, was just five when they arrived. After nearly three years at Kaitoke School she has fluent English, sprinkled with Kiwi slang. She's experienced some bullying, but Mrs Parashar said the school had dealt with it fairly.

She's had a bit of "rough and rude" treatment herself. But she said 90 per cent of New Zealanders were nice, and 10 per cent of Indians were rude too.

"Ten per cent you can just ignore."

There are more migrants in Wanganui than three years ago, and she thinks local people will slowly get comfortable with them.

Adjustment is easier for the migrants if they speak English and have specific skills.

"If you've got a generic job which anyone can do, that is very difficult," she said.

For her, Tvisha's freedom is the main reason for staying.

"My reason would be a safe environment for my daughter, and a society which is not gender-biased."

Mr and Mrs Parashar are members of the Rangitikei/Wanganui Multicultural Council, and president Vijeshwar Prasad helped them settle.

They went to the council's February 27 workshop, facilitated by Joris de Bres, Mike Ward and Dr Moazzam Zaidi. Attenders were from India, Britain, Pakistan and the Middle East and talked about successful multicultural societies.