Housing and affordability top concerns of migrants
Housing and affordability of housing are the biggest issues migrants coming to Southland are facing, a member of a support trust says.
Southland Migrant Walking Together trust advisory member Krunal Patel said that while access to housing was a big problem throughout New Zealand, some migrants were having trouble finding housing in the region.
People from some communities or countries did not get “equal opportunity” for housing because of their background and stereotypes associated with them, he said.
This problem was followed by access to health services, immigration and legal advice.
While the Citizens Advice Bureau was helpful, migrants didn’t find the support needed when they needed to take the problem they faced to the next level, Patel said.
A lack of access to free career and employment advice was another challenge, he said.
“The Ministry of Social Development has ‘connected services’ (employment, education and training), but many people aren’t aware of it, and feel hesitant because they think only permanent residents or citizens are eligible for it.”
Himani Mishra-Galbraith, who founded the trust seven years ago to support migrant women, said that when it came to the problems of migrant women, childcare was the biggest, because women and young families did not have their extended family to support them during this phase.
Sometimes, this could lead to discord between husband and wife in the family dynamic, she said.
“I’m seeing that happening a lot. “[Migrants] have to adjust in every aspect – the weather, the culture, the food. Everything has changed [for them when they move countries], and when they try to find their way as a couple, it gets difficult. When a breakup or discord happens, it goes to the next level,”she said.
Both Mishra-Galbraith and Patel also pointed out the lack of grief support services for migrants in case they lost a parent overseas.
A combination of these things made migrants lonely, Mishra-Galbraith said.
“Why did New Zealand open its borders to migrants? Because they want a good output from them. But if you want a good output, you need to put an input, and I don’t mean that financially, but in terms of a support system, so that (both) could get the maximum out of it.”
To avoid being stuck in a bad place, Mishra-Galbraith said migrants needed to communicate, try to understand the point of view of the country they lived in and its people, and learn about the local culture.
They could also connect to the arts and culture events happening in the region, like the India meets Ireland music concert held recently, she said.
Patel said that while migrants could immerse themselves more locally, there needed to be cultural awareness in schools, since migrant children were sometimes bullied over what they brought in their lunchboxes. They also needed to engage with the local community.