Charity offers opportunity to remove racist tattoos

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A fist with a tattoo reading “hate”. Photo: 123RF

Thousands of New Zealanders now have access to free tattoo removal for racist symbols, hateful words and slogans if they can prove they no longer agree with the message.

The Chance for Change charity started in Australia, but huge demand from New Zealanders prompted it to open clinics here.

Founder Mike Anderson says it started after treating a man who had been radicalized by al-Qaeda while in prison on an unrelated charge.

“He was put in a position where he had no choice but to get a tattoo to prove his allegiance to this Al-Qaeda thought process all over his arm. Obviously the security agencies began following him based on this tattoo, and when he left prison, he turned things around, had children, and started running a business.

“What we found by giving him access to this program, it removed that last element of attachment to this ideology and potentially saved his influences like children, nephews and nieces from the same type of thought process.”

The goal is to support Kiwis who have made noticeable changes in their lives but are still being judged or missing out on job opportunities.

Applicants go through a process to see if they meet the criteria before undergoing the life-changing treatment, to ensure it doesn’t go to someone who doesn’t deserve it or who still holds the same beliefs .

It’s a process that can cost up to tens of thousands of dollars, and hundreds of New Zealanders have ventured overseas as far as Dubai and Singapore for the procedure.

The verification process involves sitting down with the person and asking them a series of questions, such as why they changed and how the tattoos impacted their life.

One story that stood out the most to Anderson involved a man whose legs were covered in swastikas.

“I think he was in jail too, and when he did the program he said he had never worn shorts in front of his daughter and she was seven years old. He was so ashamed that he didn’t have access to it.

“He took the bus to the clinic three hours each way to participate in the program. At the end of this process, when he was finally able [wear shorts] in front of his children, he was in tears at the clinic.”

He said contestants can also expect 100% perfectly normal skin without any scarring.

It is estimated that around 80,000 New Zealanders have tattoos they want removed, and 1% of these are believed to be hate tattoos.

Over 85,000 people over the past decade have been treated at Chance for Change’s Australian clinic, and demand for the service is increasing by 50% each year.

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