The narratives of Asians amidst the Covid-19 pandemic in Aotearoa New Zealand: Navigating a virtual realm in the context of anti-Asian racism

Authors

Keywords:

Asians, Anti-Asian racism, Ethnic social services, Symbolic interactionism, Virtual realm

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: The Asian population, the third largest ethnic group in Aotearoa New Zealand, confronts persistent socio-economic exclusion exacerbated during the Covid-19 pandemic amidst rising anti-Asian racism. The study aims to explore Asians’ pandemic experiences and their impact on their quality of life in Aotearoa New Zealand, with the goal of contributing to tailored knowledge development for Asians in crisis situations.

METHODS: The study, theoretically grounded in symbolic interactionism, examines stories of 26 Asians representing Chinese, Indian, Filipino and Korean communities. Thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews identifies patterns encapsulating participants’ strategies to sustain their lives and challenges faced during the pandemic.

FINDINGS: The Covid-19 pandemic profoundly disrupts participants’ lives, evoking anxiety and uncertainty. In response, they turned to virtual realms to maintain daily routines and connections with their home countries. They often relied on ethnic communities for support due to difficulties in accessing formal support systems. Notably, North-east Asians face adversity from racism targeting individuals with a Chinese appearance, resulting in reduced self-esteem and weakened societal belonging.

CONCLUSION: The study sheds light on challenges Asians face amidst escalating anti-Asian racism and highlights the crucial role of ethnic social services during the pandemic. Social workers must engage with ethnic communities, partnering with ethnic social services, to address Asians’ needs in times of crisis.

Author Biography

Hagyun Kim, Massey University

Hagyun is a senior lecturer at School of Social Work at Massey University, New Zealand. He has worked for many years in immigration and refugee studies and has published on immigration process, identity, settlement programme design and evaluation. He is strongly interested in research that promotes the dignity of ethnic people, in particular Asians and refugees in civil society.

References

Ang, S., Song, J., & Pan, Q. (2023). Pandemic racism and sexism in Australia: Responses and reflections among Asian women. Current Sociology. https://doi. org/10.1177/00113921231159432

Anthony, J. (2015, July 28). Gender and race discrimination hurting New Zealand financially: Lawyer Mai Chen. https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/70595477/null

Aotearoa New Zealand Association of Social Workers. (2019). Code of ethics. https://anzasw.nz/wp-content/uploads/Code-of-Ethics-Adopted-30-Aug-2019.pdf

Asia New Zealand Foundation. (2021). New Zealanders’ perceptions of Asia and Asian peoples. https://www.asianz.org.nz/our-resources/reports/new-zealanders- perceptions-of-asia-and-asian-peoples-2022

Asian Family Services. (2021). New Zealand Asian well-being & mental health report 2021. https://www. asianfamilyservices.nz/media/rsmi2s4a/asian-family- services-new-zealand-asian-wellbeing-mental-health- report-2021-trace-research.pdf

Bedford, R., Ho, E., & Bedford, C. (2010). Pathways to residence in New Zealand, 2003-2010. In A. Trin, P. Spoonley, & R. Bedford (Eds.), New Zealand and international migration: A digest and bibliography, number 5 (pp. 1–44). Massey University.

Blumer, H. (1969). Symbolic interactionism: Perspective and method. Prentice-Hall.

Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77–101.

Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2012). Thematic analysis. American Psychological Association.

Butcher, A., & Wieland, G. (2013). God and golf: Koreans in New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Asian Studies, 15(2), 57–77.

Chiang, J. (2021, April). Anti-Asian sentiment in NZ – it’s real, it’s everywhere. RNZ. https://www.rnz.co.nz/programmes/the-detail/story/2018790440/anti-asian- sentiment-in-nz-it-s-real-it-s-everywhere

Chenoweth, L., & McAuliffe, D. (2021). The road to social work and human service practice (6th ed.). Cengage.

Cheyne, C., O’Brien, M., & Belgrave, M. (2008). Social policy in Aotearoa New Zealand (4th ed.). Oxford University Press.

Chung, R., & Bemak, F. P. (2012). Social justice counselling: The next steps beyond multiculturalism. Sage.

Cochrane, B. (2021). Seeking asylum in Australia during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Academia Letters, Article 241. https://doi.org/10.20935/AL241

Corbin, J., & Strauss, A. (2015). Basic of qualitative research (4th ed.). Sage.

Crotty, M. (1998). The foundations of social research. Allen & Unwin.

Department of Labour. (2004). Our future together: New Zealand settlement strategy.

Department of Labour. (2007). Settlement national action plan: New Zealand settlement strategy.

Duncan, G. (2007). Society and politics: New Zealand social policy (2nd ed.). Pearson.

Foon, E. (2020). Spike in racism during pandemic, Human Rights Commission reports. https://www.rnz.co.nz/ news/national/415691/spike-in-racism-during-pandemic-human-rights-commission-reports

Gover, A., Harper, S., & Langton, L. (2020). Anti-Asian hate crime during the Covid-19 pandemic: Exploring the reproduction of inequality. American Journal of Criminal Justice, 45, 647–667. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12103- 020-09545-1

Ho, E. (2015). The changing face of Asian people in New Zealand. New Zealand Population Review, 41, 95–118.

Human Rights Commission. (2021). Racism and xenophobia experiences in Aotearoa New Zealand during Covid-19: A focus on Chinese and Asian communities. https://apo.org.au/node/311028

Immigration New Zealand. (2014). Welcome to settlement support New Zealand (SSNZ). https://www.immigration. govt.nz/about-us/what-we-do/our-strategies-and-projects/how-we-support-migrants/settlement-services

International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW). (n.d.). Global definition of social work. https://www.ifsw.org/ what-is-social-work/global-definition-of-social-work/

Jackson, K., & McRobie, A. (2005). Historical dictionary of New Zealand (2nd ed.). Scarecrow Press.

Jaung, R., Park, L., Park, J., Mayeda, D., & Song, C. (2022). Asian New Zealanders’ experiences of racism during the Covid-19 pandemic and its association with life satisfaction. New Zealand Medical Journal, 135(1565), 60–73.

Kale, A., Kindon, S., & Stupples, P. (2018). “I am a New Zealand citizen now – This is my home”: Refugee citizenship and belonging in a post-colonising country. Journal of Refugee Studies, 33(3), 577–598. https://doi.org/10.1093/jrs/fey060

Kim, H. (2021). Asians in Aotearoa New Zealand: A population of interest for social work. Aotearoa New Zealand Social Work, 33(4), 77–81. https://doi.org/10.11157/anzswj-vol33iss4id915

Kim, H., & Hocking, C. (2018). A grounded theory of Korean immigrants’ experiences of re-establishing everyday activities in New Zealand. Journal of Immigrant and Refugee Studies, 16(3), 255–274. http://dx.doi.org/10.10 80/15562948.2016.1272732

King, M. (2003). History of New Zealand. The Penguin Group.

Koh, A., Morgan, T., Wiles, J., Williams, L., Xu, J., & Gott, M. (2023). Older Chinese and Korean migrants’ experiences of the first Covid-19 lockdown in Aotearoa New Zealand: A qualitative study. Asia Pacific Viewpoint, 64(1), 60–71. https://doi.org/10.1111/apv.12364

Lee, B., & Keown, L. J. (2018). Challenges and changes in the parenting experiences of Korean immigrants in New Zealand. Asian and Pacific Migration Journal, 27(4), 431–450.

Liu, L., Jia, X., Zhu, A., Ran, G., Siegert, R., French, N., & Johnston, D. (2022). Stigmatising and racializing COVID-19: Asian people’s experience in New Zealand. Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40615-022-01448-7

Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment (2015). Community perception of migrants and immigration. https://thehub.swa.govt.nz/resources/community- perceptions-of-migrants-and-immigration/

Ministry of Ethnic Communities. (n.d.). There is strength in diversity. https://www.ethniccommunities.govt.nz/

Ministry of Health. (2020). Funding to boost mental health and wellbeing support for Asian community. https://www. health.govt.nz/news-media/news-items/funding-boost- mental-health-and-wellbeing-support-asian-community

Ministry of Social Development. (n.d.). Life satisfaction. https://socialreport.msd.govt.nz/documents/2010/life- satisfaction-social-report-2010.pdf

Ministry of Social Development. (2016). The social report 2016: Te purongo oranga tangata. https://www. socialreport.msd.govt.nz/documents/2016/msd-the- social-report-2016.pdf

Nash, M. (2005). Responding to settlement needs: Migrants and refugees and community development. In M. Nash, R. Munford, & K. O’Donoghue (Eds.), Social work theories in action (pp. 140–154). Jessica Kingsley Publishers.

Nayar, S. (2013). The Treaty of Waitangi: Framing immigrants’ occupational practices in Aotearoa, New Zealand. Journal of Occupational Science, 20(4), 382–395. https://doi.org/10.1080/14427591.2013.801102

Ng, K. E. (2017). Old Asian, new Asian. Bridget Williams Books.

Park, L., Jaung, R., Park, J., & Song, C. (2023). Asian communities’ well-being in Aotearoa during the Covid-19: The mitigating role of sense of belonging in the relationship between racism and life satisfaction. Aotearoa New Zealand Social Work, 35(1), 95–112. https://doi.org/10.11157/anzswj-vol35iss1id1027

Peiris-John, R., Bavin, L., Kang, K., Dizon, L., Lewycka, S., Ameratunga, S., Clark, T., & Fleming, T. (2022). Factors predicting forgone healthcare among Asian adolescents in New Zealand: Unmasking variations in aggregate data. The New Zealand Medical Journal, 135(1549), 63–80.

Pepworth, J., & Nash, M. (2009). Finding “a safe place to cry”: A review of research and evidence informing social work with refugees and new settlers in Aotearoa New Zealand. Aotearoa New Zealand Social Work, 21(1/2), 48–59. https://doi.org/10.11157/anzswj-vol21iss1id319

Roberts, K., Dowell, A., & Nie, J. (2019). Attempting rigour and replicability in thematic analysis of qualitative research data: A case study of codebook development. BMC Medical Research Methodology. https://doi. org/10.1186/s12874-019-0707-y

Siegert, R. J., Zhu, A., Jia, X., Ran, G. J., French, N., Johnston, D., Lu, J., & Liu, L. S. A. (2023). A cross- sectional online survey of depression symptoms among New Zealand’s Asian community in the first 10 months of the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand, 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1080/03036758 .2023.2251900

Spoonley, P. (1993). Racism & ethnicity (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press.

Statistics New Zealand. (n.d.). Asian ethnic group. https://www.stats.govt.nz/tools/2018-census-ethnic-group-summaries/asian

Statistics New Zealand. (2018). 2018 Census ethnic group summaries. https://www.stats.govt.nz/tools/2018-census- ethnic-group-summaries/

Stryker, S. (1980). Symbolic interactionism: A social structural version. The Blackburn Press.

Thai, M. T., Chong, L. C., & Agrawal, N. M. (2012). Straussian grounded-theory method: An illustration. Qualitative Report, 17(26), 1–55. https://doi. org/10.46743/2160-3715/2012.1758

Social Workers Registration Board. (2016). Code of conduct. Victor, J. (2006). The Sage dictionary of social research methods. Sage.

Viola, E., Biondo, E., & Mosso, C. (2018). The role of social worker in promoting immigrants’ integration. Social Work in Public Health, 33(7/8), 483–496. https://doi.org/10.108 0/19371918.2018.1546252

Wright-St Clair, V., Nayar, S., Kim, H., Wang, S., Sodhi, S., Chung, A., & Hu, C. (2018). Late-life Asian immigrants managing wellness through contributing to socially embedded networks. Journal of Occupational Science, 25(1), 51–64. https://doi.org/10.1080/14427591.2017.1 370607

Downloads

Published

2024-06-15

How to Cite

Kim, H., Han, Y., & Lee, D. (2024). The narratives of Asians amidst the Covid-19 pandemic in Aotearoa New Zealand: Navigating a virtual realm in the context of anti-Asian racism. Aotearoa New Zealand Social Work, 36(2), 39–56. Retrieved from https://anzswjournal.nz/anzsw/article/view/1134

Issue

Section

Original Articles