What do we do for immigrants?

Refugees In the last decade, refugees from third-world countries have been making their way to New Zealand to start a new and better life. Planeloads of refugees arrive here every month. For most of them, all they have is the clothes on their backs and what little they can carry.

Refugees stay at the Mangere Refugee Centre in South Auckland. They are only allowed to stay at the Centre for 6 weeks. The truth is, New Zealand doesn’t do nearly enough for refugees. We only give them an hour a day to learn English, which makes it especially hard for the children. We give them a total of 60 hours in all, which is not enough. English is essential to get along in our community, but what are they to do with little or no understanding of it when they leave the Centre? Australia, our neighbour, leads the world for the support of refugees. They give refugees 510 hours of English lessons, which gives them a more complete understanding of the language. It makes their lives better when they can understand the world around them. Understanding changes their lives forever.

Some people think New Zealand does not give enough support to refugees. Schooling, job prospects, shelter, and money, are all essential for a good lifestyle here. New Zealand hardly gives anything to these people.

Sometimes we split up families of refugees. They have to wait for over 2 years, just to find out if their families are still alive. Most of them are never re-united. And why? Because of bureaucracy. As if refugees’ lives weren’t hard enough, many people are prejudiced against foreigners throughout New Zealand. Some racists end up in jail for beating up people, just because they were a different colour. Some people just can’t understand that there is racial prejudice in New Zealand.

Immigrants

Immigrants usually come to New Zealand to find new job opportunities, to get away from over-populated areas, to experience a warmer climate, and basically, to find a better lifestyle.

Jobs

New Zealand brings in highly qualified people to work here. But when they get here, they’re sometimes not accepted into a job right away