Dear Editor,
I am writing to your newspaper in hope that my story gets published. Last week, on Monday 2nd June, I was out for a morning jog. As I was jogging down the quiet residential area of Aotaki Street, I might add, minding my own business, a kid across the street shouted out “Hey Curry Muncher!”.
I was shocked first and foremost, next enraged and now, simply disappointed. I am a New Zealander living in Australia. I have travelled the world in the last year and yet, it is the country where I was born and raised where I came back to 3 days earlier, to be racially insulted. Shame on you Otaki, a beautiful town, of which otherwise I hold in high regard.
Otaki Mail, in your January 2014 editorial (page 3) you write “We want to tell the stories that illustrate the delights of our special multiracial community of Otaki, to celebrate its success and honour the people who work hard behind the scenes”.
Maybe it is also time to highlight that here is a lot more work to be done before we can really call Otaki a truly multiracial community.
So very disappointed. (Name withheld by request) editor