Saturday, November 10, 2007
It gives me pleasure to be part of the Talk With Me celebrations tonight.
I’m proud to say that Lower Hutt has always welcomed refugees with open arms, offering a safe and peaceful place to live for those made homeless in the land of their birth.
This started with the Polish orphans in the 1940’s, the boat people from Vietnam in the 70s, down to the latest arrivals from Iraq and Somalia. Today we are the fourth most popular destination for refugees in New Zealand.
The regular arrival of refugees reminds us of how fortunate we are to live in peace – far away from places where people are forced to flee their homes because of war and persecution because of their race, religion, nationality or political views.
The Petone Settlers Museum has performed an important role in telling the stories of these refugees, with the highlight being the exhibition Walk with Me: the Refugee Experience in New Zealand in association with the Department of Labour.
Tonight we will hear the winning entries from a national secondary school writing competition established to coincide with the exhibition and aimed at raising awareness among young people about refugees living in New Zealand.
Raising awareness about the experiences of young refugees is important if we are to better understand the challenges and stresses they face when starting a new life here.
As we know, for many young people the transition to adulthood can be a very difficult and confusing time. For young refugees, this is often compounded by the social isolation brought on by the difficulty of adapting to a new culture and limited English language skills.
My hope is that by running this competition it contributes to a better understanding and acceptance of refugees in our schools and communities, thereby making New Zealand a stronger, more inclusive society. Something we would all welcome.
I want to congratulate all of the winners we are honouring tonight. Be proud of your achievements - the competition attracted a large number of high-quality entries. Thank you so much for being a part of it, and putting your time, energy, and creativity into helping promote awareness on this very important issue. We look to hearing your winning entries very soon.
I also want to acknowledge the Department of Labour for its support of this competition. The Petone Settlers Museum enjoys a great relationship with the Department and long may that continue.
Finally, I want to recognise the staff of the Petone Settlers Museum for their great work creating and promoting the museum’s programmes and exhibitions. They are simply the best.
On that note, I look forward to the presentation of awards and hearing the winning entries.
Thank you.