Open Letter

You ARE special. You were born in New Zealand. That alone makes you rare, in this world of 7.8 billion. At some stage, for any of a thousand reasons, you left your home country. Perhaps for adventure, or love, for opportunities to study, or work, or live in a bigger, brighter city. Perhaps you were bored here, or your life wasn’t what you wanted it to be. Or maybe you didn’t have a choice, or the choice was not yours to make. And now you want to come home. You are welcome. Your country awaits you. We are special too. We have stayed, and worked, and played, and lately, we have suffered. We have had our freedom curtailed, our incomes reduced, the things we took for granted taken away. We have had loved ones die, and not been able to attend their funerals. We have had others sick, and not been able to comfort them. We have had our children graduate, unable to have ceremonies. We have had weddings with ten guests, where there would have been 100+. We have suffered, and, mayb…