RUGBY & MIGRANTS

“The tournament will provide a point of celebration for a lot of New Zealanders but I do not subscribe to the ‘all of New Zealand’ argument.

“Look at the ethnic communities who live here. I just don’t see the migrant or refugee communities engaging in the World Cup to any significant level.

That means there’s potential for an unintended consequence where they may feel less part of the wider community.”

– Dr Geoff Dickson, AUT’s New Zealand Tourism Institute

There has been a strong reaction from the migrant community to Dr Dickson’s comments that migrants were not really interested in the World Cup and may have felt marginalised because of it.

Asian Migrant News www.migrantnews.co.nz features reactions from two migrants on this topic and found an overwhelming majority of respondents rejected Dr Dickson’s views. (more reactions featured on the AMN website)

MARIA SIAYNGCO: “I feel everyone who loved the sport got involved. It does not matter whether you are a migrant or not, it’s more about loving rugby, that’s why sport helps remove boundaries, as the World Cup slogan states: ‘Its about a world in union.’

“The Rugby World Cup provided an excellent op-portunity for people of different communities living in New Zealand to be part of the national sport. The rugby was embraced by all and it was hard to differentiate a Kiwi and non-Kiwi when you attended the mass fan gatherings at an All Blacks match, such was the passion shown by the supporters. It helped create a feeling of oneness amongst everyone.

“I still remember the moment when the last seconds of the final counted down and New Zealand finally won the cup, everyone started hugging and dancing. It was really a collective spirit of New Zealand, no one can point out a migrant or a non-migrant, it was really about the game and the happiness it brought to everyone.

“I even got the chance to be on the same flight as the All Blacks including Richie McCaw and coach Graham Henry. I took their autographs and they were really humble, even after a long day’s parade they were happy to sign autographs and pose for photos.

“My being a migrant or someone from outside New Zealand did not change the way they interacted with me. I took autographs of my favourite players and will cherish the memories for a long time.

“It just showed that the players themselves realise that New Zealand is a multi-cultural country and the All Black team itself consists of players from different cultures. Together, the team succeeded and now bringing up topics such as migrants not being affected by the World Cup etc. will only detract from their achievements.”

BEVAN CHUANG: “The ethnic community was definitely involved. There were ethnic wardens, together with the Maori wardens and security staff at the fans zone. There were ethnic volunteers. There were of course, many of us watching the game, as a visitor to Eden Park, at the Fans Zone, or at the comfort of our own home. The Rugby did, as the theme said, brought “The World in Union”. We came together and supported our boys, and were very proud of our boys. And I certainly know many of them were taking photos with the massive AB poster outside Rebel Sports! Yes my mother asked me to go find an AB to marry and keep asking me why (Sir) Richie McCraw is not married. She even had a poster of the boys in her room. My mother just growled at my dog the other day because he stole my mom’s AB Kiwi bird toy, which played the Haka. The first thing she did was growled and then rang me to express her anger! And even my friend’s mother, who is Muslim, was so ecstatic to see the boys on screen!”

“The Rugby World Cup united New Zealand as one; united all the ethnic communities, regardless of country of origin, language, gender, age, as one. (Perhaps not as united if their country of origin is playing!)

The 250,000 people cheering for the All Blacks at Auckland CBD on Monday, 24th October, were all there for the patriotic spirit of New Zealand. Rugby is not a game popular in Asian countries. Although China is beginning to start up their own Rugby Seven teams, it is definitely a game that we knew little about, have little interest in. Many of us are definitely more interested in soccer (or football!) and is following the Manchester United v Manchester City game very closely on the same day as the RWC finals (which left little for the Man U fans to be happy about).

Rugby has united the Chinese youth in New Zealand. Many of them were posting feeds on Weibo, a Chinese version similar to Twitter, about the game. They were posting score boards, snaps taken with fellow All Blacks players, news about the game, and their support for All Blacks. It also became a way for Chinese who has a connection with New Zealand, to connect with New Zealand in China.

This is a proud moment for New Zealanders; and for me as a Hong Kong Chinese New Zealander. A moment where we are in union, together as one. Well done!”