If we don’t know each other, how can we love each other?
I met one of New Zealand’s top economists last night…
It was really great — except I had no idea who he was until after we’d finished speaking. So I went in a bit gung ho with my opinion on how we might create cultural shifts around how we see the refugee situation as a country.
The best part, I realised in hindsight, is that the economist listened. It didn’t matter he was who he was. So together with Libby, we disagreed and discussed about five points total on the refugee situation. I think it’s a really interesting conversation and well worth jumping into.
Below is what we covered:
1. Are we better or worse off with refugees? (we’re poorer if you look at GDP per capita, so we’re categorically worse off for it)
But is it really that black and white?
Or is that figure due to poor resettlement programs? Can you really call isolated communities within a country ‘integrated’? Can you place a value on diversity?
2. Canada Vs New Zealand in Refugee Programmes and who does it better (Canada).
I won’t go into this too much, but it was really cool to hear about Canada’s approach. They’re smashing it when it comes to stepping up. They’re lucky in that there are 35 years worth of statistics and positive community cultures geared towards welcoming and resettling refugees as a shared group — something that first started during the Vietnam War when the ‘boat people’ first started to arrive.
3. Does the Quran directly incite violence? (our answer — no — similar to the old testament thinking.)
It exists yes — but many more moderate muslim faiths are based around modern interpretations and an active practice of peace. Libby said it best: ‘it’s impossible to judge an entire religion on the basis of it’s founding document alone. There are thousands of years of progression and modern interpretation by clerics that make it not so- to look at the one text in isolation is too much of a simplification to really mean anything. It’s like the Old Testament/New Testament situation; just because there’s no Quran 2.0 doesn’t mean that’s all there is to it’ (she’s an incredible person to talk with).
The conclusion? Real violence and extremism happens in isolation; around the outside of communities and not in them. A really interesting TED talk on this idea can be found here — I really recommend watching it.
4. How do we communicate with individuals who are instinctively xenophobic and afraid of what more refugees might mean for our country? Is it right to be afraid? (No, maybe not at first glance.)
But it it our reality? — Well yes, in many cases it is. We have to be honest with ourselves and just how progressive or not our country is ready to be and nurture ourselves culturally through this process. Stepping up as a government is one thing. Shifting an attitude is another.
The gist of my opinion on this is — a “like it or lump it, we’re taking more refugees in” approach won’t work for New Zealand long term. It’s something I wonder if countries who change their refugee quotas quickly risk if they haven’t already got the right cultural mindset in place. You can’t ignore tension and expect it to go away. It will only fester, bubble and eat you later. The shift in attitude has to start everything.
5. Follow up to this — it seems that New Zealanders find comfort in just how far away we are from the Syrian crisis in particular — a notion not new, but ingrained in our society’s way of thinking.
It’s a hard thing for us to bring the crisis closer to home when we feel safe and so many around the world do not. It doesn’t mean we shouldn’t. It just means we have to look at how we can change and educate ourselves to be increasingly capable of shared values — so maybe that way we can help more people in the world feel less scared too.
6 A bonus point I forgot, but a big one — if we don’t know each other, how can we start to love each other? (Answer — we can’t, not if we don’t really relate to each other. A relevant case study I’m sure you’ve heard of by now; a certain ‘I-can’t-believe-this-isn’t-1930's-Germany’ presidential campaign).
We get better as a whole once we know each other as people — as colleagues, friends, neighbours, teachers, classmates. More love is derived from what we know than fear (which is a product of what we do not understand and feel threatened by). This means that in order to thrive with the resettlement of refugees, we can’t isolate each other. We have to integrate — long term, in every way. A rough example — my cousins are Samoan. The concept of Pacific Island communities doesn’t scare me — why should it? The people I love are part of it.
The thing is that right now, I — and many New Zealanders — have never had the chance to love Syrian cousins. It’s not to say we ever won’t as Kiwis, but it is to say that it is a lot harder for us to understand who they are just now. To really relate and grow friendships.
The religious differences (in a particularly agnostic country) add just another layer of complexity for many. Many New Zealander’s don’t grasp a ‘any god at all’ concept — so to understand the differences between the same God (the one that promotes peace but is also leading to horrific violence in other contexts) is extra confusing again.
But the lesson I see is that we have to try. To not is to make a mistake. To not is to keep isolating — the one thing that is guaranteed to extend racial animosity, hatred and fear into many generations to come.
So to say that all in a sentence; I had a really interesting conversation last night. And I hope this post inspires you to have many more of your own on this theme. It’s something important to figure out where you stand on it and how we can talk more about how this affects us, both today and into tomorrow — for all of us.
For context, the economist’s name was Bryce Wilkinson. This one right here, if you’re after a bio. Google told me he might have kicked off neoliberalism in New Zealand in the 80’s (a concept I know I studied in economics once but has all washed to grey now).
But interestingly enough, I wonder if sometimes the best arguments we can make are the ones when we’re not worried about who we’re talking to and their status in life. We can’t let a fear of speaking up keep us from what we really want to say.
A learning of the day. Please engage with me on it all in the comments, on twitter, via email — whichever works (and if you have a view point). I’m really interested in this whole discussion. Otherwise — enjoy the muse. And happy Thursdaying tomorrow — go and kill it!
(also please note that this blog post in particular reflects my own view only — it’s important to know there are many layers to this already so complex issue — and I am adding my view on only what I’ve seen of the iceberg tip.)
