Free English classes at a Christchurch church are helping people improve their language skills and fit in better. The 100 international residents who have attended the classes say they feel “less isolated and disconnected from society”. The English classes are held at the Oxford Terrace Baptist Church every Tuesday. Jane Cong Ye organises the classes. Read more
A kebab shop owner who has been feeding homeless people on Sundays has been asked to stop by a local business association over concerns of anti-social behaviour. Zuhaib Abbas Bangash has been feeding the homeless every Sunday from 5.30 pm at his West Auckland shop, Glen Eden Kebab, at Glenmall since November 3. But the selfless act has been Read more
New Zealand will review its approach to Pacific migration from next year. Immigration policy towards the Pacific, including the quota system which is drawn by random ballot, has been criticised for being outdated and discriminatory. Labour MP Iain Lees-GallowayLabour MP Iain Lees-Galloway Photo: VNP / Phil Smith Immigration Minister Iain Lees-Galloway said New Zealand is Read more
Ian Alindada admits he was a problem child who questioned himself from a young age. Just 18 months ago the young Filipino immigrant was thrust into an alien environment, a Kiwi Catholic school, and it was a case of either sink or swim. Not long after enrolling in Masterton’s Chanel College during term two last year he scored one of the Read more
A couple mired in a struggle with Immigration New Zealand (INZ) were able to set aside their visa woes – at least for a day – when they tied the knot. Kirk ‘Seamus’ Robertson and his Vietnamese partner, Pham Thu Thuong Nguyen, known as Thuong, were married at the Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Oxford, North Canterbury Read more
The media need to get their terminology right and stop perpetuating negative stereotypes about immigrants says Pope Francis. Negative names for immigrants, like calling them “illegal” are not on, Francis says. The media is guilty of this. They should stop perpetuating negative stereotypes and find out why people migrate, he says. Francis offered a number Read more