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Archive for March 7, 2010

Migrant Stories – Refuge From NZ Found In A Muslim Country

March 7, 2010 4 comments

Continuing in our series of Migrant Stories: first hand accounts of migrant life in New Zealand, taken from locations around the net.

Today’s story is taken from Expatexposed, it has also been re-published recently on the Japanese forum The Gaijin Pot. It tells of an American migrant’s protracted stay in New Zealand, the bullying and depression that was endured and of how she and her children won refuge eventually in what must have seemed the most unlikely of places – the Arabian Gulf.

“It took me 16 years to “work my way out” of NZ. I got out one year ago next week. Had I known that this website existed, I would have had a MUCH easier time of it. I always thought and was lead to believe (by Kiwis) that it was me or it was my children’s fault. Sick, sick society…..shame on you. Those were the worst years of my life, as I came to see that I would never be accepted or understood simply because I hadn’t been born there attended the same kindy everyone else had or hadn’t whakapapa and the name of a whaka to give me the right to be a New Zealander.

No mater what I did to fit in or change myself….. I tried to change myself because I thought it was me who needed to change. Then the slow rot of reality and resulting depression as I saw the hopelessness of my situation. Years of hopelessness and feeling I was just waiting to die. Seriously. I was just waiting for it all to end. And then, about 2 years ago, I realized after each month went by that it was soon going to become impossible for me to afford electricity and food for my family, petrol to get to work, rates on the house and the mortgage payment. I worked out I couldn’t afford to subdivide my property, couldn’t sell my house, couldn’t drive 12 hr. shifts in a truck(I’m a 56 year old solo mum by the way), and had to do something quicksmart , or else.

It took me 10 months to get into a job in the Arabian Gulf and get me and my sons out of there. Those months were appalling, hard and gave me so much gray hair and we flew out on a wing and a prayer that this job would work out to be Ok. But it’s been very, very worth it. We are sooooooo much happier here in a Muslim country where the people at least show you some courtesy and respect and, though an entirely different and very strange culture, are ten times nicer than the “friendly” folks in NZ.

My sons hate New Zealand and say they will never go back. I will have to decide at some point what to do about my ‘stuff’ there but, if I can swing a way to avoid it, I will find another place to go before I die. I will do my best to stay hereabouts as long as I can manage. We are lucky I know, but we worked hard and suffered to get out. I can only wish for all of you who want to leave that it will work out for you. Honestly, I knew it was bad when we were there but it wasn’t until we got out that it hit me, what a nightmare. I always tell people here my story and they look at me in amazement….. They can’t believe it.

As for you guys who love it there, good onya mate. Aren’t you the lucky ones, eh? Give yourself a congratulatory pat on the back and smile a self-satisfied smile…… but never overlook, downplay or belittle another person’s pain because some day it will come around and bite you big-time on the a**. I promise you… mate.

And as for you delightful Kiwi trolls who visit this site and argue that all this just didn’t happen and we are all a big bunch of girl’s blouses…well (insert bad word) you. It happened to me and to my babies who had to spend 15 yrs. of their life in constant sadness and depression, bullied and abused by your nasty little sods of children and their teachers.”

Today’s posts – click here

Categories: Migrant tales Tags: , ,

1080 Dropped On Contractors Playing Possum

March 7, 2010 2 comments

Another blow was to dealt to NZ’s 100% Pure reputation today. First it was the Brazilian tourists who say they were sprayed with brush killer whilst hiking in the Kahurangi National Park, now it’s a group of contractors who allege they had toxic 1080 pellets dropped on their heads whilst out working. Ironically the aggrieved men were contractors spraying weed killer in Lucy’s Gully, in the Mount Egmont National Park.

In a report published on Stuff one of the contractors is alleged to have said

“We’ve got poison dropping on top of us, we just wanted to get the hell out of there…… it’s a scary thought,” contractor Lewis Beattie told One News.

The crew got out of the gully and his brother, Dan, tried to find out what was happening from his employer, when he said another helicopter flew over and dropped another load of the highly toxic poison on them.

While the two men admit they are strongly opposed to 1080 use, they said their colleagues were not speaking out because they feared for their jobs if they raised any objection to being showered with the poison.

DOC spokesman Phil Fleury said the department had informed the men about the drop two days earlier.

Residents living near to the drop-zone filmed the helicopters at work, and expressed concern over the poison getting into sources of water or flying outside of approved areas, the channel reported.

1080 is the brand name for Sodium fluoroacetate. In New Zealand, DOC uses the poison to control possums and rats. “

A bit more light was shed on the incident by The Herald who say that the contractors were not phoned or warned about the drop until after it took place and that:

“DOC said it had no obligation to warn the contractors. Spokesman Phil Fleury said they had been told two days in advance that the poison could be spread dependent on the weather.
“The courtesy call is the 48 hours notice and the choice that they can make to be in there or not. We don’t consider people were at risk while they were in the park while this operation was on.”

If they don’t consider people to be at risk during the operation why bother issuing an alert two days previously? Either the stuff is safe, or it isn’t. Trampers and day trippers aren’t so lucky, they don’t get ‘courtesy calls’ what are DOC’s obligations toward them?

It makes the personal account of the Brazilian trampers all the more credible and it’s interesting to note that at the time they were exposed to the aerial spraying of weed killer they said:

“Most times we would see 1080 drops around the tracks and when they spray they don’t seem to care if anyone is there. Many of the travellers we met were saying the same thing. New Zealand’s 1080 poison and weed spraying programmes will definitely have a big negative impact on your tourism.”

Are we detecting a recurrent theme here?

For other posts about toxic 1080, a poison that is broadcast from helicopters to kill unwanted mammals in the landscape see HERE

Today’s posts – click here

Categories: '100% Pure' myth, 1080, Lucy's Gully, Mount Egmont, NZ100Pure Tags: , , , , ,

Time for Tip Top Thugs

March 7, 2010 Leave a comment

The Tip Top Dairy in Blenheim was one of the many, many small businesses that were terrorised by armed robbers last year but some measure of justice has been dealt out after two of the people responsible were given jail sentences on Thursday for the parts they played in the crime.

Quade Ross Honey, 21, and Rex Randle Chapman, 18, who used a boning knife to threaten the store’s owners Lin Yang and Haw Jiang, were sentenced to three years and two years eight months respectively for the robbery that bagged them $1,600 worth of tobacco products and confectionery.

Both men were already serving sentences for previous crimes when they attacked the dairy. According to the Marlborough Express:

” Honey had 12 convictions from 2007 to 2009, including burglary, assault, possession of a knifecannabis charges. In May last year he was sentenced to community work and intensive supervision – a sentence he breached by committing the robbery, Judge Barrie said.”

Intensive supervision? that was effective.

“He said Chapman had an “apprenticeship in dishonesty” as a youth, and last year committed a street robbery, for which he was sentenced to community work and supervision in December.”

That was as equally ‘effective.’

“Meanwhile, a third man allegedly involved in the robbery will appear in court on March 29.
Johnny Harvey Wiremu Baker, 18, is charged with waiting in a car outside the dairy and driving Chapman and Honey away after the robbery.

He has denied the charge but has pleaded guilty to breaching an earlier sentence of community detention by intentionally removing his security bracelet. “

Yet the two career criminals only got short prison sentences, with parole they’re likely to be back in the community within months. What’s the present maximum penalty for armed robbery?…14 years? Who’d be a shop keeper in Blenheim, especially Lin Yang and Haw Jiang who have been through so much recently? They’ve lived in NZ 13 years, six of them in Blenheim at the Scott St shop. They moved from Christchurch after a dairy they owned there was robbed by a man with a gun.

“Christchurch is not safe,” Ms Jiang said. “And now here is not safe.”

There is some merit in the “Three strikes and you’re out” law after all , at least the streets of one small town would be a lot safer. Under the proposed law second time offenders won’t get parole, their length of stay will be up to the sentencing judge to determine. Third time and they’re hit with a maximum sentence: no parole, no discretion.

Perhaps if these mongrels had that sort of penalty hanging over their heads it will be more of an incentive for them to keep their noses clean than picking up litter for a few hours every week?

Today’s posts – click here

Categories: Crime, NZ not as safe as you think, Three Strikes Tags: , , , , , ,
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