ANÁLISIS PESTEL

Distant voyaging and resettlement have long been associated with the I-Kiribati people. Current day Solomon Island and Rabi Island populations project what future migrant I-Kiribati populations may face.

I am a migrant from Banaba, when the British took our land from us. We were forced to go to Fiji and that is where I went to school. We bought Rabi, in 1945 for 25,000 dollars. It was a lie by Britain… they told us it was a nice place like here in America so we wanted to move there, but when we arrived it was horrible, it was like the tents and poor land it had a drought and was not suitable for living. It was a lot of problems. We lived in the cave in Banaba, it never dried, but our land in Rabi was horrible (Uinterview.9.15., 2009).

There have been many mixtures of stuff with us, the Solomon/Kiribati the language from home is still the language from home, but the language now in the Solomons the young generation mixes Solomon, pidgin and Kiribati together. Their culture too is mixed. They do the similar thing with celebrating in dancing, singing and eating, but it is not the same as in Kiribati (Uinterview.9.7., 2009).

All interviewed agreed that life was different in their new homes abroad. Each stated that the experiences, for better or worse, had taught them something new about themselves and the larger world. In anticipation of struggles future migrants may face, informants generously offered advice for those who may come in the future. I-Kiribati living in the United States faced different circumstances from those living in New Zealand. As a result, some of their stated advice differed, yet the idea of maintaining one’s culture remained constant.

If I had the ability to say something to the future generations, I would say to maintain the culture. New migrants should keep telling their kids where they come from, teaching their culture, how to weave, how to dance, the cultural manners (Uinterview.9.3., 2008).

My advice for them is to make use of the opportunity here in America, make sure you get your degree, get a bachelors, masters, doctors. And get a good job, be a nurse, be a professor work hard do something or whatever. You need to do that if you want to live here with your family. It’s not an easy life here, it’s a hard life here (Uinterview.9.3., 2008).

If I were to say something to people who wanted to come here, I would say to not forget the culture of Kiribati, not to forget where they came from, not to forget their kindness not to forget who they are (Uinterview.9.16., 2009).

With the abundance of I-Kiribati now living in New Zealand as a result of the PAC and RSE schemes, advice for future migrants was plentiful. Advice on maintaining legal status, money issues, educational opportunities and health care were addressed by all.

I would tell them to work hard in whatever situation they find themselves in because if you don’t have money here, it’s very different than Kiribati. You can survive in Kiribati but here everything is money. It’s not relaxed like the life is in Kiribati (NInterview.10.1., 2010).

It’s a very nice life here. If you come, come for your future; come for your children’s future, their schooling and their future (NInterview.10.8.2010).

There are a lot of benefit programs here but don’t depend on them. Work hard to stand on your own feet. If you get a job, look after it. Don’t waste your opportunity. Look after your money, don’t waste it, it is your life here (NInterview.10.14.2010). Don’t come here just for work, go to school. Get your degree first. Then work because the bigger your degree the bigger your paycheck and the better your life will be in the end. Hold on to your culture and teach your children, pass down our culture! So they don’t forget who they are (NInterview.10.16.2010).

Feeling that a pre-departure course offered to PAC winners in Kiribati would have been beneficial for them, three informants compiled advice that they wish they knew before arriving in New Zealand.

People need to know how to speak English to be here… how to get a job, how to get a house, how to get a bank account (NInterview.10.12., 2010).

They need to know about what is expected at work here and what they should expect from their employers. They should not be crammed up twenty people in one house to work on a farm. They should work hard because when they look for other jobs they will need references and if they don’t work hard it will be hard to get good references. They should be aware that what they do, impacts others who will come after them. If a boss knows that Kiribati people work hard, he will hire more (NInterview.10.11., 2010).

They will be earning money, probably more money than they ever earned before and they need to know how to budget money and save money. You don’t budget

or save in Kiribati. They need to know how to shop around for better prices at different places or wait for sales. When they move here, they should not be worried about getting everything they need all at once. Over time they can get things. Here people think ahead, not like us who only think about now. If they get it all at once, then they won’t have money to live off of (NInterview.10.12., 2010).