Research

People talking louder to you because they hear your accent and think you can’t understand.

I also think a big barrier is people lacking the articulation and confidence skills to get involved [Te Reo].

Having to watch what I say and who I say what to in case I say the wrong thing.

I think another barrier is people not getting together to talk about their experiences.

Sometimes I feel not belonging, when I detect people have that racism. The way they sometimes, the way their body language is, the voice or the look. It’s always an immediate feels. Am I not wanted in that place? That’s when I felt not connected and not wanted. It’s all people.

When people mispronounce my name and do not even try to say it right. When people make no attempt to acknowledge my presence.

Feeling like you don’t speak the language of a place, the jargon, the language is a barrier to a workplace.

Hear racial slurs about Indians, about all sorts of people. Still a huge amount of racism in NZ, it's ignorance. They complain that they [ie the migrant] can’t even speak English but I say he probably speak three other languages.

Elderly lady, here for 10 years: She really likes it here. She likes to go to prayers [at people’s houses]. She would like a temple. She only meets people in her own community [ie doesn’t mix in wider society]. She can’t get all the things she needs because she doesn’t understand English. She used to speak in Nepali when she came.

The online space is very difficult. Part of deaf communication is the nuances of body language. Facial expression is part of the grammar of sign language. It’s an extra barrier to deaf kids [ie moving things to digital/online].

When I see Māori language in Auckland all over the place, when there’s a vowel, put a macron on it. It’s a daily reminder when I open the door and see the signs, it’s a message that I don’t belong.

People being too busy, looking through or past me, not wanting to talk.

Kiwis are in a bubble. You talk about money, personal life. They talk about weather, something else, never talk about personal things.

I have always hated conflict, so I have always stayed quiet. We have started to have more conversation... which makes you feel good in a way, but it’s pushing it.

You’re valued if you’re articulate and present yourself in certain ways. But maybe there are other ways of presenting in the world, that are softer, more neuro-diverse, different faiths, languages. There’s a beauty in the wholeness of the differences.

When I arrived in NZ I was shocked at how people don’t talk about how they are.

People being too busy, looking through or past me, not wanting to talk.

Kiwis are in a bubble. You talk about money, personal life. They talk about weather, something else, never talk about personal things.

I have always hated conflict, so I have always stayed quiet. We have started to have more conversation... which makes you feel good in a way, but it’s pushing it.

You’re valued if you’re articulate and present yourself in certain ways. But maybe there are other ways of presenting in the world, that are softer, more neuro-diverse, different faiths, languages. There’s a beauty in the wholeness of the differences.

When I arrived in NZ I was shocked at how people don’t talk about how they are.

It’s so much about intentions and communicating intentions honestly and openly. We’re often discouraged from being honest, [or from] asking for what we need or communicating what we need. We have a real fear of being asked too much and not being able to say no. A lack of communication skills, we haven’t had a chance to develop those nuanced communication skills.