Brits abroad can be an asset to Aotearoa - but only if we make an effort to engage with te ao Māori, writes Scottish expat Fran Barclay
Earlier this week, the UK High Commissioner signalled a promising intention to address the barriers facing young Māori and Pasifika who aspire to travel on the UK working holiday scheme. As a Scottish expat in Te Whanganui-a-Tara, I hope that increased interaction with Māori and Pasifika travellers could improve my country’s cultural understanding of Aotearoa New Zealand. In the meantime, Brits could do more to engage with te ao Māori as they work and holiday on reciprocal visa schemes.
READ MORE: * UK push for more Māori, Pasifika to access holiday visa scheme
I arrived in Aotearoa at the start of 2020 on a two-year working holiday visa. My flight touched down the day after the first case of Covid-19 was recorded in this country, and three weeks before the borders closed indefinitely. I was thrust, along with the rest of the population, into a period of perpetual uncertainty. But unlike most of the population, I was already quite uncertain about my role in society.
I knew there was something uncomfortable about being British in a colonised country, but I didn’t have the knowledge to articulate the basis of that anxiety. It wasn’t until I was asked to prepare a mihi for my new job that I realised I was wholly ill-equipped to engage with te ao Māori. I didn’t know the contents of Te Tiriti o Waitangi. I didn’t know the depth of colonial harm. And I didn’t know how to say a word of te reo Māori. I’d been banking on my guidebook, and my English, to ease me into an Antipodean life.
Part of my motivation to live in New Zealand was to learn about a different culture. But part of it was also due to feigned familiarity. When I was eight years old, my family spent six months in Dunedin. We arrived in an unknown city, yet the street names had been copy-and-pasted from our own capital. Buskers would play bagpipes as we ran our weekend errands, and the weather was as Scottish as the tartan kilts at school. It was the ultimate home-from-home experience, which, as a child, I found so comforting. Now, I find that heritage confronting as I reckon with the impact of colonisation in Ōtepoti and beyond.
I wish that I had really challenged the notion that New Zealand was “like Scotland, but further”. I regret the wasted opportunity to learn some kupu Māori on that very long-haul flight. Of course, we’re each responsible for trying to become more culturally competent in a foreign country. But if the UK Government recognises the need to empower young Māori and Pasifika, could they also help to equip young Brits to be good Treaty partners overseas?
Immigration New Zealand has a well-oiled marketing machine in the UK, with newsletters, advertising campaigns and recruitment drives for aspiring visa applicants. Scrolling back through the content I received in my inbox, the importance of te ao Māori in Aotearoa is certainly clear. Yet when it came to applying for my visa, there were no formal requirements to show a commitment to learn about Māori history or culture before or during my time on their land. There’s a risk that this becomes a literal box-ticking exercise were Immigration NZ to require some type of pledge to made in a visa application process. You probably can’t make a ‘cultural aptitude test’ for thousands of diverse travellers. And you could debate whose role it is to teach the British youth about their own country’s colonial past.
I would argue that this is where the UK Government should take responsibility for their citizens. There are plenty of ways in which the High Commission could help us to make more of a positive impact overseas. This could take the form of a recommended reading list for NZ visa holders, a te reo Māori learning service, or a series of online webinars. This double-prong approach from both the British and New Zealand governments would equip more travellers to lead a rights-respecting life while on their visas.
Encouraging would-be working holiday makers to learn about te ao Māori, to understand Britain’s colonial footprint, and to think critically about what we can contribute as transient visitors could go some way to cultivating real respect for the privilege that it is to work and travel in this country. At a deeper lever, input from the UK government would show its commitment to prevent further harm to Aotearoa by British nationals looking for work or pleasure on foreign shores.
I was lucky to have a job in an organisation that embraced and celebrated te ao Māori when I arrived three years ago. This set me on my way to learn about the intricacies of Māori culture through pōwhiri, language classes, and simply spending time with Māori staff. Had I been better prepared with more understanding before my arrival, I might have avoided the harm that I caused when I butchered the pronunciation of my mihi, and I could have made a better first impression of the oft-derided ‘Brit abroad’.
Of course (unlike a working holiday visa), there is no end to the learning journey we must go on, and no amount of reading can make up for lived experience. But taking steps to mitigate against damage done by British travellers should be a priority for all of us, including the UK High Commissioner.
There are far too many examples of both misunderstanding and appropriation of te ao Māori by businesses and organisations overseas. The exoticisation of Māori culture has been leveraged by tourism, art, and even the beer industry. Making an effort to respect Māori tikanga could reduce the risk that Brits continue our history of cultural exploitation. Positively engaging with te ao Māori can help to inspire meaningful action against racism and discrimination. And for all of us, acquiring a richer understanding of Te Tiriti o Waitangi can help us find our place in contemporary society.
Whether we are working at your local cafe, on a farm, or in a hospital, Brits can make significant contributions to Aotearoa New Zealand. By encouraging these young people to engage with te ao Māori and to learn about colonial history, the UK government can play its part in maximising the positive impact of the working holiday scheme.
