Last Saturday on the 5th of June, Auckland saw migrants march from Aotea square till the end of Queen Street in the city. The weekend saw set of protests coupled with migrants march where they also marked solidarlity with the Tiananmen Square massacre in Beijing and justice for Palestine.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Organized by the Federation of Aotearoa Migrants, the march saw hundreds of people that stood up for their rights, displayed banners and raised voices for one common cause – “migrant lives matter.”
The frustration is at its peak as the government has not got back with any solution when it comes to any of the immigration category, be it for migrants stuck outside New Zealand or the ones onshore.
“Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern would like to everyone to be kind, but kindness appears not to extend to everyone,” says Aaron Martin, an immigration lawyer on hearing the news of immigration offices closure in countries like India, China, South Africa and Manila. “INZ will tell you that because of COVID-19, these are extraordinary times. Compared to the rest of the world, these aren’t extraordinary times – not in New Zealand anyway, especially not for people who are already onshore.”
The group is asking the government to lift the border restrictions allowing the migrant workers stuck overseas to return along with the families that are separated due to the pandemic. And want the government to create “genuine” pathways to residency for people who are residing in New Zealand for a long time.
President of the Migrant Workers Association Anu Kaloti, Sher Singh Manakdheri, Bharti Kaloti, Joe Carolan, Brooke Pao-Stanley of AAAP, Greens MP Ricardo Menéndez March, Unite Union advocate Mike Treen were seen talking to the crowd that came down from Christchurch, Tauranga, Hamilton and other places at the Aotea square, rather supporting them for the non-acceptable treatment given to them by the immigration and the government. -TIN Bureau (Picture courtesy: Mandeep Singh)
