The Push and Pull

Immigration is not just about what you are leaving, it is about what you are moving toward.

It's not just about "anywhere but here". At least it shouldn't be.

As I watched the nation rebel against being led by a Black president and overt hate be more and more accepted, I knew that this country was simply continuing the tradition of White supremacy that it was founded on. In 2016, as the incidences of hate crimes rose exponentially and gaslighting became an Olympic sport and immigrants were villainized and dehumanized even further, and science was being trivialized and devalued, my soul cried out for a relief to the constant onslaught against every aspect of my identity.

The increased national awareness of police violence against people of color, the trauma of watching so many Black bodies mistreated, disregarded, not protected has been hard for me and all of my fellow Black physicians, educators, friends and family.

I looked at news around the world and came to the conclusion that there was truly no safe place for Black people anywhere on this earth. This may seem like a fatalistic mind set but, once again, if you've been paying attention to life, you would know that it is not an exaggeration.

Either we would have to accept lower quality of life to be in a region with better representation, or be OK with always being the only one in order to still enjoy the nice accommodations that I worked hard to acquire here.

Which country is steeped in political unrest.

Which country is as committed to human rights violations as the one I want to flee.

Which country is full of Black and brown people but due to the legacy of colonialism, is entrenched in colorism that is just as systemic and virulent as the system of white supremacy in the US.

I felt trapped. I became angry at God for allowing such an egregious situation of inequality against my race.

I reached out to family and friends who live in Rwanda, Australia, New Zealand, Barbados, Trinidad, Canada, England etc. Although Randy and I had mused to each other many years ago about raising our children in Australia, I found reasons why I would not pick there as my first choice either.

I began the process of crossing out many countries from my list.

New Zealand always spoke to me.

There is no perfect place in this world, and before you say it, I have no delusions of the existence of an Eden, or Utopia in which no conflict could arise.

There is a difference between individual racist ideas and a system that was literally baked with it being the primary ingredient. I can handle individual conflicts. What is more difficult and exhausting to overcome is a construct created to make it harder for you to succeed.

So, why New Zealand?

* Aotearoa *

• Their commitment to following science and protecting the environment

• Access to healthcare for everyone

• Highly ranked education system

• No ubiquitous access to firearms.

  • Mass shootings are not just a rarity, it is almost unheard of. Most trauma surgeons go decades before ever having to treat gunshot wounds.

  • The unprecedented Christchurch attack a few years ago triggered the kind of immediate gun reforms that we could only dream of in the States.

• Very low crime rate

• A societal belief in doing right by others and the need to sacrifice some personal comforts for the good of the community.

• Less consumeristic society

• I can transfer my medical license over there

• A much less litigious society so no need for the oppressive high cost medical malpractice insurance

  • A restorative approach to medical mistakes instead of the desire to ruin careers

• A physician union

• Belief in a balance between work and life

  • Less duty hours

  • More paid time off per year than I get in the US by about double

  • More protected time for non-clinical work so I can review labs and call patients without having to do it on my personal time

• Their history of pro-women policies

  • First country to allow women the right to vote

  • Pro Choice policies

  • Allows ample maternity leave and family leave

  • Allows paid time off after pregnancy losses

  • They have a track record of electing women to the highest government offices

    • Jacinda Ardern appears impressive but I know that leaders come and go. I look more at the totality of women in leadership in a country.

• Pro LGBTQ+ policies

• Their willingness to be open and honest about their past relationship with their indigenous (Maori) population and their commitment in action not just word to decreasing health and wealth disparities between Maori and Pakeha (European Kiwi)

• Beautiful country

• This island girl wants a place where I can see the water easily. That feeds my soul.

• English is spoken there.

  • I am fluent in English and Spanish. I plan on the family learning te reo Maori as well once we get there.

• A return to the definition of diversity that is not limited to the artificial constructs of Whiteness and Blackness

  • What I have found is that people get to keep their ethnic and cultural identity without being lumped into boxes based on the color of their skin. A person from Sweden is seen as different from a person from the Netherlands instead of both of them just being seen as "White". This is important, because in the US, no one cares if you are Trinidadian vs Jamaican vs Nigerian vs Ugandan. You are all thrown into the caste for Blacks. And treated accordingly.

• Diverse population

  • Europeans, people from various African countries, People from East Asia and of course the Maori and Pacifica communities are represented in this small country.

• A chance for me and our kids to be seen as an individual first, and not in the context of a society that is obsessed with race.

  • I don't want anyone to be color blind. What I also want is that my color is not automatically associated with a long list of lies and myths and negativity that precedes me and makes it hard for people to see me as I truly am.

Just a small sampling of the result of research and testimony. Just as I have educated myself about the history and culture of America, I believe that it is important to be a well versed member of the society you are in, so I have of course been doing a lot of reading about the history of NZ as well.

Anyway, putting this here so that I don't have to answer this question a million times :)