IWK

Community calls out racist advert by Mangawhai-based building company

Written by IWK Bureau | Jan 23, 2021 1:23:39 AM

An advert posted by a Mangawhai-based building company on social media site Instagram has come under the scanner and is being called out as ''racist, insensitive, and blatant cultural stereotyping'' by the community.

The post published by CraftBuild NZ advertised on Instagram targeted Indian community and was also criticised by Race Relations Commissioner Meng Foon.

The post read: "No need to deal with 10 Indians that have no passion or qualifications in the trade, they're all seem to race around in a huge rush getting very little done [sic].

"Here at craftbuild limited you deal directly with the chief owner-operator Trade Qualified & licensed Carpenter, minimising lead times, additional cost & potential f*** ups."

The advert sparked instant outrage amongst the local community and was called out to be removed.

On being approached by NZ Herald, director of the company as mentioned on its Facebook page, Mike Watson, sent a screenshot of Google search that read: "too many chiefs figure of speech" and displayed the meaning.

Race Relations Commissioner Meng Foon said he was disappointed to see a Kiwi business using racist and stigmatising language perpetuating racial and cultural stereotypes.

Race Relations Commissioner Meng Foon

"The Native American and Indian communities are justified in feeling offended at what appears to be this blatantly racist advertisement. This sort of language is unacceptable and has no place in Aotearoa New Zealand." Meng Foon said in a statement.

The advert post was up on the Instagram page of the company for two months before facing backlash and was taken down last Wednesday.

Meng Foon further said the company owner should take time to learn and understand how his actions could have been hurtful to diverse communities living in New Zealand.

A local community member from Mangawhai, Shayla Bhana told NZ Herald that as an Indian, a local and a Kiwi, she was disgusted seeing such a post and having been up since November 2020.

She said she tagged the company in her post, and within ten minutes, the advert was removed.

A New Zealand flooring company that liked the advert post published on Instagram issued an apology stating ''the advert did not align with its values''.

"The team at Look Floors apologises for the error and any offence that was caused by our actions in a post that does not align with our values.

"We are saddened by this and we express our sincere apologies. Look Floors does not stand for this! There is no room for this in our company or in our country," Marcus Kearns from Look Floors wrote in a post on its Instagram page.