Just days after a racist anti-India graffiti was discovered outside a school in South Auckland, New Zealand, a similar troubling message was found inside a public toilet in the city. The repeated incidents involving the “deeply disturbing” rhetoric have shaken the Indian diaspora in New Zealand at a time when rising cases of racism and hate crimes against Indians across countries have been sparked by far-right politics and anti-immigration sentiment.
Another anti-India graffiti found in New Zealand
According to the photos of the graffiti featuring the unsettling messages surfacing on social media and local New Zealand reports, the latest discovery, which read “Kill All Indians,” was found inside a public toilet on Campbell Road in Royal Oak. The same violent text had previously appeared near Papatoetoe Central School.
The Radio New Zealand website (RNZ.co.nz) reported that authorities were investigating the days-old incident near the school as a hate-motivated crime.
After local authorities learned about the Royal Oak incident, Marcel Morgan, manager of area operations for Howick and Maungakiekie-Tāmaki Local Boards, said Auckland Council contractors removed the graffiti on Wednesday local time. It remains unclear when the message was left inside the public toilet.
After the previous graffiti was discovered at the primary school, Principal Raj Dullabh condemned the violent message, adding that the community was “deeply saddened and offended.” Issuing a firm statement against the problematic rhetoric, the school board asserted its anti-racism stance.
Indian-origin MP Parmjeet Parmar also blasted the graffiti as “vile and cowardly.” Calling for immediate police action, she said such threats severely hurt the diaspora community, which is heavily involved in contributing to New Zealand’s healthcare, education, IT and small business sectors, among others.
Indian community in New Zealand speak out against rising anti-Indian hate
After the first piece of graffiti was found outside Papatoetoe Central School, about 50 people convened for a meeting organised by the Papatoetoe Ōtara Action Team. The group included police, politicians and members of the local Indian community.
Earlier this week, police arrested a 61-year-old local man. He eventually appeared in Manukau District Court facing two charges of intentional damage to a footpath, each carrying a maximum penalty of three months in prison or a $2,000 fine. Additionally, the man also faces a charge of behaving offensively in a public place. It carries a maximum $1,000 fine.
Consequently, responding to the identical message found inside a public toilet, Jaspreet Kandhari, general secretary of the NZ Indian Business Association, said the incident deeply disturbed him. As quoted by RNZ, Kandhari also emphasised that the case reflected an undercurrent in society.
“Recently, I attended an event where a study on migrant and ethnic groups and their contribution was launched,” Kandhari said. “One alarming trend was that many New Zealanders still do not like to see New Zealand as a diverse, migrant country.”
Navtej Randhawa, a 25-year-old resident of Papatoetoe, said, “Yes, there is hate, there is discrimination, and there are racial issues. As a fourth-generation member of this community, I can say some of this feels worse.”
Panmure-Ōtāhuhu MP Jenny Salesa, Labour’s spokesperson for ethnic communities, said that it was “unacceptable” to have this kind of “hateful crime.” She also expressed her worries about the Papatoetoe Central School students, revealing the principal told her “78% of his students are from the Indian community.”
Addressing the repeated incidents, Priyanca Radhakrishnan, a Labour MP who won the Maungakiekie electorate seat in 2020, said the messages were leaving members of the Indian community significantly distressed. “Threats of violence and ethnicity-based hate and vandalism have no place here,” Radhakrishnan said, as quoted by RNZ. “Indian New Zealanders are part of the social and economic fabric of New Zealand and have been for generations. They continue to contribute significantly to New Zealand, and many of them live in Royal Oak.”