Papatoetoe Central School has more than 30 South Asian staff members.<\/p>\n
Members of the Papatoetoe-\u014ctara Action Team, Sandeep Saini, Kunal Bhalla, Paramjeet Singh and Kushma Nair.<\/p>\n
The primary school\u2019s principal Raj Dullabh has Indian heritage and posted a statement on the school\u2019s Facebook page to address the incident.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are deeply saddened and offended by the content written.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe tagging has been covered, and we will look to erase the content once the storm passes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dullabh asked the school\u2019s community to \u201cremain calm\u201d while the police investigated. <\/p>\n
Activist Shaneel Lal, who is of Indian and native Fijian descent, said the words plastered outside the school were \u201cgrotesque, extreme and plainly evil\u201d. <\/p>\n
\u201cThis was done outside a school where children as young as 5 to 11 attend. This would traumatise a child,\u201d they said. <\/p>\n
Lal said the incident \u201cdid not happen in a vacuum\u201d and was part of \u201ca steady rise in racism against the Indian community and the wider South Asian community\u201d. <\/p>\n
Lal felt the location of the graffiti was \u201cdisturbing\u201d because Papatoetoe was known to have a significant Indian population, often called \u201cLittle India\u201d.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, New Zealanders of different ethnic backgrounds have been participating in an online dance trend to a song called \u201cPapatoetoe\u201d.<\/p>\n
The Punjabi song is by the artist Mannu Singh DilDoria and had gained popularity for highlighting the connection between Papatoetoe and its Indian community.<\/p>\n
Manukau West Area commander inspector Dave Christoffersen said police were investigating a report of \u201cwilful damage\u201d outside the primary school. <\/p>\n
He said it was reported the graffiti was of a \u201cthreatening nature\u201d and was located on the footpath outside the school.<\/p>\n
The incident happened at the weekend and with school holidays underway no students were at the school when the graffiti was spotted.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur inquiries are still in the early stages, but we are treating this as a hate-motivated crime,\u201d Christoffersen said.<\/p>\n
\u201cPolice recognise this incident will be concerning for our Indian communities and we will be focused on establishing who is responsible.\u201d<\/p>\n
Police asked anyone with information about who did the graffiti, and when they did it, to contact 105 and use the reference number 260411\/8410.<\/p>\n
Papatoetoe Central School says the threat has now been covered up.<\/p>\n
Anti-Indian sentiments seem to be on the rise in New Zealand and online. <\/p>\n