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The Washington Post (15 June 2021)

Antonia Noori Farzan

New Zealand’s plan to formally apologize for immigration raids in the 1970s that targeted Pacific Islanders is being hailed as a long-overdue gesture, though some activists say it is not enough.

The unexpected Monday announcement from Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, who characterized the raids as “dehumanizing,” left some Pacific Islanders in tears. “I felt there was a chance this might happen but I never thought it would happen so quickly,” Josiah Tualamali’i, who had started a letter-writing campaign to request the apology, told Stuff.co.nz.

The “Dawn Raids,” so named because they often occurred early in the morning, took place from 1974 to 1976 after New Zealand’s economy crashed. Samoans, Tongans and other Pacific Islanders who had come to the country as desperately needed migrant laborers were suddenly accused of taking jobs away from New Zealanders, prompting a crackdown on those suspected of overstaying their visas.

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