Erica Stanford, the immigration minister of new zealand, has drawn criticism for remarks that seem to caricature Indians. On May 6, Stanford mentioned indian immigration in passing while answering a question in parliament. If it weren't for Priyanca Radhakrishnan, a Labour mp from india, who described Stanford's comments as "careless at best and prejudiced at worst," her comments could have gone unnoticed.
What did Erica Stanford say about Indians?
Erica Stanford reportedly acknowledged sending official email to her personal Gmail account, according to an article in The indian Weekender. The cabinet minister of the new zealand National party was answering a question in parliament over this error when she said something about indians that many people found offensive.
The new zealand immigration minister compared indian emails to spam and stated that she never opened them.
"The Official Information Act has been followed by me. Additionally, I have ensured that everything is accessible for capture and have sent all necessary correspondence to my parliamentary email address," Stanford stated.
"I can admit, though, that in a situation very similar to Kelvin Davis's, I get a lot of unsolicited emails, such as those from individuals in india requesting immigration advice, to which I never reply. There are those ones since I consider them to be virtually like spam.
How did Priyanca Radhakrishnan respond?
Radhakrishnan, who was born in Chennai, said Stanford was promoting unfavorable perceptions about Indians.
Radhakrishnan told The indian Weekender, "Statements such as these reinforce negative stereotypes against an entire community of people." She went on to say that a minister should not pick out members of a particular ethnic group.
But Stanford has defended her comments, saying they were misinterpreted. "I did not say it is automatically considered spam," she explained. "I said 'I almost regard those as being akin to spam'."
What did Erica Stanford say about Indians?
Erica Stanford reportedly acknowledged sending official email to her personal Gmail account, according to an article in The indian Weekender. The cabinet minister of the new zealand National party was answering a question in parliament over this error when she said something about indians that many people found offensive.
The new zealand immigration minister compared indian emails to spam and stated that she never opened them.
"The Official Information Act has been followed by me. Additionally, I have ensured that everything is accessible for capture and have sent all necessary correspondence to my parliamentary email address," Stanford stated.
"I can admit, though, that in a situation very similar to Kelvin Davis's, I get a lot of unsolicited emails, such as those from individuals in india requesting immigration advice, to which I never reply. There are those ones since I consider them to be virtually like spam.
How did Priyanca Radhakrishnan respond?
Radhakrishnan, who was born in Chennai, said Stanford was promoting unfavorable perceptions about Indians.
Radhakrishnan told The indian Weekender, "Statements such as these reinforce negative stereotypes against an entire community of people." She went on to say that a minister should not pick out members of a particular ethnic group.
But Stanford has defended her comments, saying they were misinterpreted. "I did not say it is automatically considered spam," she explained. "I said 'I almost regard those as being akin to spam'."
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