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.
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.
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T. Hall’s Cultural Iceberg model. www.constantforeigner.com
OHCHR.,
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Protect Human Rights | United Nations. Retrieved October 22, 2015, from http://www.un.org/en/sections/what-we-do/protect-human-rights/
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