7 Comments
Mar 9, 2022Liked by FreeNZ

Hard to believe NZ outstripped Canada in government's tyrannical approach to peaceful protestors. Hope you all keep up the fight for individual freedom and choice.

Expand full comment

Cried watching this and we must Standup altogether to stop this corruption as it will only get darker for sure Thankyou so much you are my hero’s 😞❤️❤️❤️

Expand full comment
Mar 9, 2022Liked by FreeNZ

Thank you so much for summarising what we have been through and for offering a way to continue. I was there in Wellington and it will be an experience I treasure all of my life.

Expand full comment
Mar 10, 2022Liked by FreeNZ

What about bringing criminal action against the policeman that put his knee on the neck of the naked girl they dragged out of the crowd. The USA policeman killed a black person doing this, do not let the police getaway with this.

Expand full comment

Brilliant article and summary of the recent situation. Ardern is a brutal dictator and I am sorry to see that the dread I began to feel in Feb. 2021 has been justified. What's happening in NZ breaks my heart but Kiwis have responded as few others could. I left NZ July 2021 after many happy years as a permanent resident. It was equal parts terror over covid, that one of my businesses had been shuttered, and fear that I might never see my grandparents again. My story is below.

https://themariachiyears.substack.com/p/escape-from-paradise?s=w

Expand full comment

Hi Monica. Thanks for letting me read your story. I, too, am tempted to leave NZ but my family remains asleep and I’m not sure if the places I could go -Australia, Uk, the US - are faring much differently. Except maybe Florida. How are you finding it there?

Expand full comment

Everyone's situation is unique and it's hard to game things out at the present time in terms of where one should be that poses least risk. I refused to be vaccinated for covid-19, so I had to get out before I knew restrictions would come into play.

To a certain extent, NZ is about 6 months in the pandemic timeline than other places, so ordinary kiwis are just now learning that the virus busts right through the vaccines. This has been obvious elsewhere for awhile now. People in NZ may "move on" too. I hope so. Canada, Australia, and NZ are really hanging on tight to mandates. I think the UK has gotten rid of them, no?

Only about 4 cities comprising about 10% of US population have vaccine passes for daily life and 2 of those are talking about dropping mandates and restrictions. Biden's OSHA mandate was ruled illegal, so the only industry with a mandate is healthcare workers who receive payments from Medicare/Medicaid.

I have been back in the US now for 8 months and outside of liberal cities, things feels much more normal than what I am hearing from people in NZ. I've worn a mask only a few times. People who work in retail seem to be subject to employer mask rules and I know many people who were vaccinated to keep their jobs but the mandates have fallen away.

I mostly feel like I am living in 2019 here. Granted, I have spent most of my time in "red" states since returning, and when I wasn't, it was summer, so people were more relaxed. People talk a lot about Florida because it has outspoken leadership, but many states feel very much like Florida. (I haven't been in Florida since returning.)

Expand full comment