By Chander Gupta
New Zealand is one country you never hear any controversy about. It is a world of its own. It is an English-speaking country where many Indians have immigrated to. A son of my friend also immigrated to New Zealand after doing a course in Hospitality from India. It is one of the most peaceful places on the Earth. It is a well-off country, known for quality of life for its citizens. New Zealand is never embroiled in any geopolitical disputes, nor in domestic political acrimony. New Zealand is a sort of Utopia. With the kind of image that is embedded in my mind in respect of New Zealand, it felt odd to read a negative news story about New Zealand.
An acquaintance had posted the link to the news item from the portal of a leading newspaper in our WhatsApp group. The headline of the news story read – “Kill all Indians: Hate graffiti outside Auckland school sparks outrage, police probe.” Further, the opening sentence of the story was: “Racist graffiti reading ‘Kill All Indians’ was spray-painted in red on a footpath outside Papatoetoe Central School in South Auckland, New Zealand, on 11 April, prompting outrage, swift removal, and a police investigation.” The story further wrote: “The message, reported by locals, was removed shortly after by the Beautification Trust. New Zealand Police said they are treating the incident as a hate-motivated crime and have launched an inquiry.”
Reading the above story emanating from New Zealand was particularly not in tune with the image of the country. However, the prompt removal of the graffiti and launching of inquiry by the police was redeeming.
As mentioned in the beginning, a son of my friend is now a citizen of New Zealand. The son’s wife and their child all are citizens of New Zealand. Whenever my friend visited New Zealand to meet their son, he heaped lavish praise on that country after coming back to India. The environment is so clean there as compared to the pollution he copes with back home.
In this context, I am reminded of a conversation that I broached with my friend on the eve of the final match, between India and New Zealand, of the last ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. The match took place on 8 March at Ahmedabad. Both the father and son are avid cricket fans. They did not miss any of the World Cup matches, especially where India was playing. It was the final between India and New Zealand. The question that I asked my friend was: “Which side – India or New Zealand – does your son, who is now New Zealand citizen, root for while watching the game?” My friend was taken aback by my simple question. He merely grinned sheepishly without committing to an unambiguous answer. I could not fathom as to why he was ambivalent in giving reply to my innocuous question. People of Indian ethnicity are settled all over the globe, especially in English-speaking countries. They would be facing this dilemma off and on.
It will be pertinent to cite here what JD Vance, Vice President of USA, remarked as recently as 15 April. At a Turning Point USA event in Georgia, Vance said immigrants who become US citizens must think of themselves as American first. He told students: “When you become an American Citizen…you have to think about the best interest of the country, and not the country you came from beforehand… You have got to think of yourself as an American.”
The country of your birth is not your choice but a matter of chance, but the country one immigrates to is a choice.
The writer is a retired banker.