>It is one thing to acknowledge their life is more privileged than those around them, it is another to say this disqualifies them from having opinions on the place they live in or that they do not have a right to express those views.
That totally resonates with me. And on the other hand, I appreciate how uncomfortable this story made me feel. How I want to help, vs how (or whether) people want to be helped my me -- a very relevant conversation about agency, knock-on effects, balance of power...
I can think of at least a few places where this is happening today: too many donated T-shirts causing economic havoc in Africa; non-natives being asked to help at the site of the Dakota Access Pipeline, but being asked to participate in a very specific way.
I don't know a whole lot about NZ, but I have heard that a housing shortage has been developing as a result of foreigners buying up properties on this "relatively unspoiled island."
Really great story. Painfully pins the narrative right at the "identity/shock" phase of culture shock.