Reflective Writing 2

Throughout this paper I have learnt about many different types of conceptual themes within culture and society, and the two challenges I am focusing on are migration and diversity, and human rights. These are two themes which I feel I have connected with very strongly and have been able to express my own understandings and beliefs within these topics which I will discuss in my reflection. 

Firstly, migration and diversity, is the movement of people from one place to another. The reason for migration is mainly attributable to two main circumstances which are known as the “push” and “pull” factors. The push factor is when people are forced to move out of the country, and the pull factor is when people are encouraged to move. These include better education, better safety, the chance for a better job, better standard of living, as well as political and religious freedom. Migration has dramatically increased over the last seven years between 2006 and 2013. The Middle Eastern, Latin, American, African, and Asian ethnic groups migration to New Zealand during this time increased by more than 30 percent (Census, 2013).

My second theme is human rights which are moral principles that describe certain standards of behaviour, this is protected as legal rights. It also is believed to belong justifiably to every individual. We are all entitled to our human rights without discrimination, no matter what our nationality, sex, national origin, colour, religion, language, or any other status. All over the world these rights should be set in place as it will connect cultures together to create a society where everyone is equal.

Personally migration is an important theme to me as the migration rate into New Zealand is increasing every year. I value migration as I am both Maori and Pakeha and would not be this mix if the Europeans did not migrate to New Zealand in the 1840s. Bramadat (2009), suggests that there is a lack of ability to meaningfully communicate with others who hold different values as well as the diversity within the cultures traditions. I agree with this as there is a lack of communication between New Zealanders and migrants. Although I value people who have migrated into a country in which they are less familiar with to benefit themselves and their families future. Seeing many people moving to New Zealand I believe that we should all be welcoming to the migrants and help where ever possible to make them feel like they are safe and important here. Within human rights I believe that everyone has their own rights including, freedom of speech, rights to education, right to a fair trial, and same sex marriage. This is only a very small example of the many human rights which are present in today’s society. As a member of this society I believe everyone should have a right to all human rights, and should not be discriminated against because of their personal decisions or preferences. Everyone has a right to participate in activities of the cultural life within the community, they should not be discriminated against because of their ethnicity. Whether the human rights are appropriate or not is everyone's personal opinion. I am aware that everyone will have their own opinions on equality although I personally believe that if they do not agree with the rights that they should keep those opinions to themselves, therefore it won’t affect anyone else in the society.

Migration and diversity has a very close connection with human rights as everyone has the right to move countries and should expect to be welcomed into the new location they have chosen. Issues and problems within diversity and migration include the issues of segregation, equal rights, and communication barriers. These problems arise from migrants having limited knowledge and the level of welcome from locals within the country they have moved to. This is due to their ethnicity, beliefs, and lack of communication and understanding of the culture within New Zealand.

I have noticed the theme of migration and diversity applied in relation to my own culture and society. There are always people from multiple cultures surrounding you. At work, university, in the streets and on public transport, the best way I have found to accept migration and diversity into our culture is to allow migrants to feel welcomed and confident in the surroundings they are in. Once migrants have learnt English, businesses will benefit from employing them, as their companies will be more culturally diverse, have more flexibility between languages which are fluently spoken and have more business opportunities. I believe this is beneficial as it increases the target market scope. Communication with customers will be improved considerably when those who serve them have multilingual abilities. Edward (1976), states that different cultures have many different thought patterns and values which are known as hidden under the water level. The iceberg model is viewed this way.  If we personally do not look into a particular culture in enough depth we will only see it superficially and not value their behaviour. I agree with this as I have learnt that you cannot judge people from what you see on the surface and we need to look further into the ways of the culture before making direct opinions.

Within culture and society I have been able to witness the view on human rights from many people. I feel everyone should definitely be able to have these rights as it is a way of living. Human rights require both rights and obligations. Obligations and duties under the international law are to respect, to protect and to fulfil human rights. This will allow for more of the rights to be sustainable, gain more ability for the rights to be put into action and fair for everyone. No one should be discriminated against due to what they believe or lawful actions they take. In my opinion everyone has the right to speak up and say what they believe in. For many of the other human rights listed above as well it is a sign of respect while accepting these opinions. 

I believe that we need to integrate migrants into New Zealand more, and we need to respond better to their culture and beliefs as everyone has human rights and has the right to believe and act lawfully in the way they have grown up within their culture. Migration should not effect this action, and allow migrants the same rights as the locals within New Zealand. This is important as it can be easy for newcomers to feel excluded and disconnected when moving to a new country, and accepting that there are cultural and social barriers. Everyone has the right to feel accepted, safe, and not have to hide or be shy about their cultures while in other countries. “There will never be a last anything as it will always continue and is repeated throughout people and cultures (James, 2015)”. This is important as no matter where people migrate to as long as they continue expressing their culture it will never be lost.

To conclude, these two topics have had an influence on me as I have become a lot more aware of the situations surrounding migration and diversity, and human rights. This has influenced me to accept migration into New Zealand more than I already did and see the bigger picture of why these people migrate as they want to live a better or different lifestyle compared to their home countries. Within human rights I have noticed that although everyone should have equal rights this is not necessarily the case.  Hopefully in time this will improve and allow people to become more equal within the actions they take in their lives. I have learnt a lot about culture and society in this paper and it has allowed me to understand and look at the meaning of my opinions, values and beliefs. I now understand many different viewpoints and recognise how we act as a community, as well as the many different human rights and how they are put into action.

 Word Count: 1345

References

Bramadat, P., Koenig, M., eds.,(2009). International Migration and the Governance of Religious Diversity, Montreal and Kingston: McGill-Queen's University Press and School of Policy Studies, Queen's University in partnership with Metropolis, pp ix, 340. doi:10.1017/S0008423911000011

Census QuickStats.,(2013). about culture and identity (pp.6-7). Retrieved October 31, 2015, from http://gkrc.net/bbs/clipfile/NZ_quickstats-culture-ide ntity%5B1%5D.pdf

Declaration., (n.d.) The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Human Rights Charter, The Un and Human Rights. Retrieved October 22, 2015.

 

E School., (n.d.) Migration: Pull and Push Factors. Retrieved October 22, 2015, from http://eschooltoday.com/migration/the-pull-and-push-factors-of-migration.html

George, J., (2015) Lecture

Hall, E.T., (1976). Edward T. Hall’s Cultural Iceberg model. www.constantforeigner.com

 

OHCHR., (n.d.) What are Human Rights. Retrieved October 22, 2015, from http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Pages/WhatareHumanRights.aspx

U.N., (n.d.) Protect Human Rights | United Nations. Retrieved October 22, 2015, from http://www.un.org/en/sections/what-we-do/protect-human-rights/

Wagner, R., (n.d.) Migration and Diversity. Retrieved October 22, 2015, from https://www.wzb.eu/en/research/migration-and-diversity

Reflective Writing

Culture is a big part of everyone's lives, as there are many different religious, ethnic and historical influences. For this assignment I had to select four photos which relate to my personal culture, identity, human rights, and a historical influence.

My photo for personal culture is of the beach as it is where I’ve grown up and it’s somewhere I am very familiar with and enjoy the surroundings. I have always lived very close to the beach in which I relate it to my culture of being from New Zealand. My personal culture involves the beach, water, sun, and outdoors. Cultures all have different ways of acting and perspectives of life. Ryan (2010) has recognised multiple cultural aspects within the countries he visited. In my own experiences I have also noticed these things.  For example in countries such as Dubai and Egypt, women wear full length clothing and show only their eyes.

I have selected a photo of my family for my second photo as we have a close relationship and enjoy being with each other.  Although we have a larger extended family, they are the main people which I am surrounded by. There will never be a last anything as it will always continue and is repeated throughout people and cultures (James, 2015). I particularly like how James mentioned this in the lecture as no matter what happens your family will also continue and always be there with you.

I have gained more insight through our class discussions relating to human rights. I have noticed that there are many different angles and perspectives. I firmly believe that everyone should have equal rights and opportunity regardless of ethnicity. My photo is of the Auckland city mission which I believe does a great job achieving results to allow people to gain hope, warmth and food. I also think that no one should be living on the streets and be without warmth, a place to sleep and food to eat. I have learnt a lot about human rights within our paper, and I connect strongly with the idea that these are things which should be available to all human beings without bias.

My historical photo of my mother and myself at our Marae expresses how migration has influenced my life, this is a significant action to me as I am both Maori and European so it is a historical event I am grateful for and pleased that the migration of the Europeans to New Zealand occurred.  I agree with Edward (1976), in which he states that different cultures have many different thought patterns and values which are known as hidden under the water level. The ice burg model is viewed this way.  If we personally do not look into a particular culture in enough depth we will only see at face value the behaviour. I have learnt from our class discussions on this paper that we cannot judge a culture we are unfamiliar with just by what we see on the surface and we need to look further into the ways of the culture before making direct opinions.

These ideas have influenced me since I shared my photos. I enjoyed sharing the photos as I have been able to express who I am and what my culture and beliefs are. I have noticed that it is possible to have very different views on the same photo, depending on your personal interpretation. There are multiple views yet none of them are wrong as they are all individual opinions.

References:

James George. Lecture 2015

Edward T.Hall’s Cultural Iceberg model. www.constantforeigner.com

Ryan, M. (2010). Preface. In Cultural studies: A practical introduction. Hoboken: Wiley, pp.viii-xii.

Word count: 585
Olivia Sanderson -14861466