'Easy multiculturalism' isn't enough

Most of the ‘Going Bananas’ Chinese identity conference last week featured what we might think of as the window dressing of multiculturalism rather than incisive political statements – visual arts, film, fashion, personal journeys, media representation – hey, I’m surprised they didn’t have a cooking workshop.

Much of this was about building up our sense of ourselves as Chinese or (for the younger generation) ‘Asian’ in New Zealand; indulging a complex range of identity angst and our new generation of creative voices. I chaired one of these sessions myself. But amid all this cuddly superstructuralism was a keynote address by James Liu of the Centre for Applied Cross-Cultural Research, which actually contained numerous striking facts. One of these: of the things that have the greatest impact on the resilience of minority groups, family, culture and community certainly helps. We can hold identity conferences, preserve our languages, make art, TV shows and films about our experiences, and this gives us strength, or makes us feel better about ourselves. But, according to a study Liu referenced, the greatest psychological impact on minority group wellbeing comes from the discrimination we face in the world at large – it outweighs everything else.

Although there was little or no mention made of this that day, the most important expression of public discrimination for our communities is not, I believe, the way Chinese people are portrayed in film and television (although one speaker at the conference ranted about it for nearly an hour), but the fact that ‘Asian and other’ is the least employed group in the country.

In fact, this year’s MSD Social Report is a strong predictor that the loveable Chinese internet soap opera Sunshine Beyond the Rain, which was featured at the conference, will be a hit. This is because: ‘Asian and Other’ is the least employed, second-most unemployed, most sedentary, loneliest, income-poor and yet most internet-connected ethnic grouping in the country; miserable people love TV melodrama about people who are even more miserable than they; and even though ‘Asians and Others’ in New Zealand are seemingly the most miserable people in the country, there’s no-one more miserable than someone on a Chinese soap opera. Technically poorer than Pacific Islanders, yet twice as likely to be online, it would also seem that ‘Asians and Others’ would rather starve than be deprived of broadband.

I feel that.

The employment and income data isn’t news – the Social Report is a yearly accumulation of existing data – but the overall picture hasn’t changed for years, and the fact that the gaps haven’t managed to close in the last year of record employment and labour shortages, means they have become entrenched.

The country – both the state and the population – is taking the initial physical and economic wellbeing of migrants for granted, instead of helping to maintain it. Families are migrating with assets, health, education and experience, all of which are increasingly eaten away and devalued. There’s only so long that a migrant population can sit at home on the net, living off their savings and assets, and failing to access healthcare or employment, before the cumulative shit hits the fan.

Focusing on the positive is – well – positive. But it’s time to sound the alarm on this one. Will convincing the ‘mainstream’ that a minority is becoming cooler, actually make a structural difference in the way our society organises itself? Pacific and Maori artists for example, occupy a pre-eminent position in our arts, culture and music industry, and in the commodification of youth culture. And although vital to a foundation for cultural renaissance, how much impact has being cool actually made on the socio-economic position of Pacific people and Maori in our society today? Is it anywhere near enough?

Despite its obvious importance, having a strong community identity and self image may not matter as much as we think it does, if the rest of society isn’t pressured to make meaningful change in response to those strengthening communities. No-one’s going to give us anything for free, just because we’re smiling.

Events like the New Zealand Diversity Forum coming up this Monday and Tuesday are a part of this pressure. The packed schedule includes professional and industry sector workshops for the news media, local, and central government on implementing diversity policy in the workplace and in community engagement. There will doubtless be a lot of boasting, but hopefully also real information sharing. Disturbingly, after showcasing its migrant employment programmes, Work and Income “will then look at developing a strategy around opportunities for Central Government agencies to help with employment for refugee and migrant workers.” It’s disturbing, because this seems to suggest they didn’t already have one. Oh well – we all have to start somewhere. Although keeping track of the outcomes of a bureaucratic workshop may seem more boring than the romantic travails of Max and Dennis on ‘Sunshine Beyond the Rain’, it’s one to watch.

2006 New Zealand Diversity Forum, 21-22 August, Wellington.

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