Fiji Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka says that as far as Fiji is concerned, Fijians of Indian descent are Fijian.

While Fiji is part of the Pacific, Indo-Fijians are not classified as Pacific peoples in New Zealand; instead, they are listed under Indian and Asian on the Stats NZ website.

“The ‘Fijian Indian’ ethnic group is currently classified under ‘Asian,’ in the subcategory ‘Indian’, along with other diasporic Indian ethnic groups,” Stats NZ told RNZ Pacific.

“This has been the case since 2005 and is in line with an ethnographic profile that includes people with a common language, customs, and traditions.

“Stats NZ is aware of concerns some have about this classification, and it is an ongoing point of discussion with stakeholders.”

The Fijian Indian community in Aotearoa has long opposed this and raised the issue again at a community event Rabuka attended in Auckland’s Māngere ahead of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Samoa last month.

“As far as Fiji is concerned, [Indo-Fijians] are Fijians,” he said.

‘A matter of sovereignty’
When asked what his message to New Zealand on the issue would be, he said: “I cannot; that is a matter of sovereignty, the sovereign decision by the government of New Zealand. What they call people is their sovereign right.

“As far as we are concerned, we hope that they will be treated as Fijians.”

More than 60,000 people were transferred from all parts of British India to work in Fiji between 1879 and 1916 as indentured labourers.

Today, they make up over 32 percent of the total population, according to Fiji Bureau of Statistics’ 2017 Population Census.

Now many, like Sangam community NZ leader and former Nadi Mayor Salesh Mudaliar, say they are more Fijian than Indian.

“If you do a DNA or do a blood test, we are more of Fijian than anything else. We are not Indian,” Mudaliar said.

The indentured labourers, who came to be known as the Girmitiyas, as they were bound by a girmit — a Hindi pronunciation of the English word “agreement”.

RNZ Pacific had approached the Viti Council e Aotearoa for their views on the issue. However, they refused to comment, saying that its chair “has opted out of this interview.”

“Topic itself is misleading bordering on disinformation [and] misinformation from an Indigenous Fijian perspective and overly sensitive plus short notice.”

‘Struggling for identity’
“We are Pacific Islanders. If you come from Tonga or Samoa, you are a Pacific Islander,” Mudaliar said.

“When [Indo-Fijians] come from Fiji, we are not. We are not a migrant to Fiji. We have been there for [over 140] years.”

“The community is still struggling for its identity here in New Zealand . . . we are still not [looked after].

He said they had tried to lobby the New Zealand government for their status but without success.

“Now it is the National government, and no one seems to be listening to us in understanding the situation.

“If we can have an open discussion on this, coming to the same table, and knowing what our problem is, then it would be really appreciated.”

“Public consultation in 2019 determined a need for an in-depth review of the Ethnicity Standard,” the data agency said.

In 2021, Stats NZ undertook a large scoping exercise with government agencies, researchers, iwi Māori, and community groups to help establish the scope of the review.

Stats NZ subsequently stood up an expert working group to progress the review.

“This review is still underway, and Stats NZ will be conducting further consultation, so we will have more to say in due course,” it said.

“Classifying ethnicity and ethnic identity is extremely complex, and it is important Stats NZ takes the time to consult extensively and ensure we get this right,” the agency added.

This week, Fijians celebrate the Hindu festival of lights, Diwali. The nation observes a public holiday to mark the day, and Fijians of all backgrounds get involved.

Prime Minister Rabuka’s message is for all Fijians to be kind to each other.

“Act in accordance with the spirit of Diwali and show kindness to those who are going through difficulties,” he told local reporters outside Parliament yesterday.

“It is a good time for us to abstain from using bad language against each other on social media.”

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Auckland councillors crossed swords, singling out one another and raising impassioned concerns on debt borrowing, rates and selling council’s shares in Auckland Airport before deciding on their annual budget.

Elected members ended yesterday’s meeting undecided but council reconvened this morning to hash out amendments to Mayor Wayne Brown’s budget proposal, before finally voting to approve it.

The governing body of the city with the Pacific’s largest Polynesian population spent the majority of the day going back and forth on many of the points previously raised at the initial meeting yesterday.

The morning finished with council voting to reject the first tabled amendment, going back to square one.

Councillor Chris Darby said if the discussion was like “eating rats”, then council had rat flesh in its teeth.

It was a tense atmosphere in the council chamber, with much back and forth and very little compromise from councillors.

As the meeting dragged on, two members of the public gallery began to speak up, urging councillors to think of the impact the budget would have on the community.

They yelled at council to listen to them, and to spend time in their communities to see the impacts of their budget first hand.

The mayor adjourned the meeting briefly and ordered the two women be removed from the council chamber.

The meeting came to a head, as the council voted to pass the mayor’s proposal, which meant selling about 7 percent of the council’s 18.09 percent shareholding

It also means an average residential rates increase of 7.7 percent.

During the meeting, Christine Fletcher said the discussions held around the budget would serve as good lessons for the governing body.

“There are some magnificent opportunities for all of us to provide leadership,” she said.

As the vote was cast, another member of the public called out, “shame on all of you”.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

The umbrella term Pacific Islander or Polynesian has been criticised as degrading and insensitive.

Researcher Dr Seini Taufa, who is a New Zealand-born Tongan, said the names were not indigenous terms and were insulting.

Dr Taufa is research lead for Moana Research and Senior Pacific Advisor for the Growing up in New Zealand Longitudinal Study.

She has given evidence to the Royal Commission into Abuse in Care’s Pacific inquiry being held in South Auckland.

Dr Taufa quoted author Albert Wendt:

”I am called a Pacific Islander when I arrive at Auckland Airport. Elsewhere I am Samoan.”

Dr Taufa said lumping everyone together robbed people of their true identity.

‘Constructed by palagi’
”We did not name ourselves Pacific Islanders, we did not name ourselves Polynesian. These are terms that were constructed by palagi within a colonial context.”

She said preconceived ideas around being called a Pacific Islander or Polynesian influenced the way Pacific people self identify.

”While the umbrella term Pacific is useful when making global comparisons, it’s futile when applied to actual people and groups of people who consider themselves not Pacific or Polynesian, but Samoan, Tongans, Fijians, Cook Islanders and so on.”

Dr Taufa said that in a New Zealand context Pacific people had been marked for as long as they had settled in Aotearoa whereby the Pacific embodiment was interpreted differently from context to context.

”On the rugby field and among the All Blacks, Pacific male bodies are celebrated. In a crime and punishment context, Pacific male bodies are associated with racist discourses of violence, rape, gangs, fear and danger,” she said.

”Pacific people thus construct their identities and live their lives at the intersection of positive histories, language and culture and negative and stereotypical ideas and beliefs produced by the dominant group.”

Dr Taufa said many abuse survivors experienced racism and discrimination first hand.

Told he wasn’t Samoan
“One young man asked about his ethnic background responded with Samoan, but was told by someone in authority that he wasn’t, as he was born in New Zealand.

”As a young boy who relates being Samoan to Christianity, to family and to his mother, he is forced to adopt an identity that doesn’t belong to him — a New Zealander — and, with it, the trauma of what he was exposed to in state care as a New Zealander.”

She said it spoke to the power held by a dominant group.

”To label another with little consideration of the detrimental nature of such actions.”

Dr Taufa said the importance of ones ethnicity should never be doubted.

”I hope that it raises questions amongst those in the system to be more cautious of how they record, how they document and the fact that it can and has, through our survivor voices, had an impact on their well being.”

Dr Taufa said there were inadequacies of ethnic classification and data collection in New Zealand, both past and present.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Hakeagapuletama Halo walks into the courtroom. He is a head taller than most, dressed in a crisp white shirt. He has a nervous smile and bright, eager eyes.

Known as Hake to his family and friends, this is not the first time he has detailed the abuse he suffered at Lake Alice. But, as part of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care, it is the first time he’s been able to do so publicly.

He said there was no warning or explanation the first time he received electroconvulsive shock therapy, just one week after arriving at the Lake Alice Institute.

“They called my name out. I went freely and walked up the stairs of Villa 7 because I did not understand, I thought it was something to help us patients, but I had a funny feeling something was not right.

“Dr [Selwyn] Leeks and three other staff members were there. They did not ask me any questions or explain anything to me. They just put me on the bed.”

Halo remembered seeing a bed with a small machine on a trolley, with electric earphones that were wet and placed on the sides of his head.

“I looked up at their faces, they were pretty mean looking and that made me feel something was going to happen. I asked Dr Leeks if this was going to hurt and he said, “yes, it is”. I cried and said, “I don’t want it please”.”

Lost consciousness
With no muscle relaxant or anaesthetic, the staff held him down as the volts went through his body and he lost consciousness.

The next time it happened, it was a shock to discover that he remained conscious and felt everything, saying it was like being hit by a sledgehammer.

“The pain was so bad, that when a person was lying down, when they turned it on, I could feel myself actually sitting up. Your body is off the bed… you’re straining to raise your arms but they’re holding you down. And they turn it off, that’s when you’re crying…without the mouthguard, a person would end up biting his tongue off because of the pain.”

The shocks were administered three or four times before the child was taken to a different room to recover, but the effects would be felt for days.

A terrible secret
Halo said everyone knew what was going on, but it wasn’t talked about.

“Us kids, we know that somebody’s always getting ECT because you can hear the screams from upstairs coming downstairs to us kids. In the lounge, in the sitting room, TV room, you can hear them screaming, even the workers that are working around there.”

He says while most of the staff and workers were white-skinned, there were a few cleaners that were Pacific Islanders.

“They can hear it. They’re doing their jobs and crying at the same time because they know what’s going on.”

In addition to the electric shock treatment, the children were injected with paraldehyde, a medicine that was used to treat convulsive disorders.

Halo said they had different amounts injected, based on their behaviour, such as not listening or fighting, even laughing too loudly.

“Paraldehyde is just like another way of giving us a hiding. Using the injection, it is painful, the pain is bad. The child is walking like a pregnant lady sometimes, swaying from side to side, coming out of the sick bay with his pants still halfway down, crying his eyes out – and that’s only for 5cc.”

One teacher trusted
There was one teacher who he trusted at the school, who will later testify as part of the hearing.

“She said to me, ‘you don’t belong here’. She gave us advice, encouragement and counselling. I had not done anything big or really wrong, just the shoplifting.”

Many buildings have been demolished since the institute was closed in 1999. Photo: Fergus Cunningham 2011

A child’s plea for help
Halo wanted to tell his mother about the abuse, and tried to come up with a coded way to tell her.

“I write in my letter in English that everything is alright…they said I have to write my letters in English and take it into the office and leave it open like that for them to read.”

After his earlier attempts to draw a sad face weren’t accepted, Halo learned he had to draw a person with a happy face, but included a speech bubble saying his true feelings.

“I wrote just a short few words in Niuean, saying mum, electric shock, so painful to me. Or, Mum, the people have given me electric shock… injection… I am crying.”

Years later, he would try to recreate these drawings in his journals.

When asked why his mother did nothing at the time, he said there was a language and cultural barrier.

“Because my mum was not an English speaker, she did not know how to get help or intervene…she felt powerless.”

This was not the first time speaking English as a second language had been a barrier.

Misunderstood from the early years
Born in Niue, Halo sailed to Sāmoa on the Tofua, then flew to New Zealand with his grandparents, who raised him for many years.

He had epilepsy as a baby but grew out of it as he got older.

When Halo started at Richmond Road Primary in 1968, he could only speak Niuean.

“I did not understand anything the teacher was teaching. I did not do my homework because I did not understand my teacher and I did not speak in class….I felt totally lost. It was pretty hard to find friends, so I just kept to myself.”

The teachers thought Halo had a disability and put him in a class for children with special needs, where he would act up. When he was 8, an incident with a relief teacher at Beresford Primary that would change his life.

“We were practising songs, and I wasn’t singing properly, just trying to sing but not really good and not participating properly and my teacher got upset…so she came and took me out of the classroom.

“I was scared about being locked in this dark room. I tried to push on the door to push it open and let myself back in, and my hand accidentally went through the glass door.”

Cut his hand severely
He cut his hand severely and was taken to Auckland Hospital by ambulance.

The school report said he violently punched the window but the scars on the palm of his hand prove he did not punch the glass, but was pushing on it.

After this incident, Halo was seen as being violent, and was referred to St John’s Psychiatric Hospital in Papatoetoe.

From there, he spent a few months in Niue, before returning to New Zealand and moving between several schools, his behaviour worsening after the death of his grandfather when he was 10 years old.

He appeared in the youth court because of a shoplifting offence, and was sent to Owairaka Boys’ Home in October 1975.

“I was put in a secure room for four days. I had to stay there for a long time because I was so upset. They were worried I would run away. I was lonely,” he says.

“In the secure room there was a bed, a toilet, and sometimes another kid was put in the same cell. When that happened, we had to share the toilet and we had to eat in there too. I did not like that room.”

Some children targeted
Along with physical violence, the staff were strict and some children were targeted more than others.

“The boys that had to do the cleaning and cooking did not go to school. I was one of those kids. I had to do the jobs. I had no choice.”

He was then referred to Lake Alice, a mental hospital in the Manawatu District that had been converted for youth.

“My [grandmother] and my birth parents were told they were taking me to Lake Alice to go to a school there. They were not told that it was a mental hospital. They never knew the true story.

“My mum did not speak good English at all and there were no Niuean interpreters. She signed papers because they told her they were taking me to a school.”

Arriving at Lake Alice on 6 November 1975, Halo said he was surprised and scared.

“My first impression was “bloody hell, what is this place? What sort of place? This is not a school, this looks like a prison!”

Some not documented
An estimated 300 teenagers were admitted to the institute across the six years it was operating, but there are thought to be at least a hundred more who were not documented, with some children younger than 10.

It wasn’t until after Halo was discharged in 1976, when his grandmother arranged to legally adopt him, they discovered he had been made a ward of the state.

“The interpreter at that meeting explained to my Mum [grandmother] what a State Ward meant. My Mum had not understood, and no one had ever interpreted for her, that the state had the rights of guardianship over me.”

Thinking back to the start of the year when he was referred to Lake Alice, Halo said his Mum had not understood the social worker at the time.

“There were no interpreters there to assist my Mum in this conversation. The social worker thought my Mum wanted social welfare to have full control and have me under their guardianship,” he says.

“However, my Mum was misunderstood. She had asked him to please look after me, while I was in care. The social worker thought she was saying `please take Hake and make him a State Ward’.”

Halo says if a Niuean interpreter had been present, he may not have been returned to Lake Alice, or later referred to Carrington Hospital in Auckland.

Now elder in his church
Halo is an elder in his church and attributes his healing and strength to his faith.

His epilepsy returned after his time at Lake Alice, making it difficult for him to hold down a job, although he did work at a facility packing plastic bottles, but found the static electricity a trigger for his traumatic memories.

He is on a benefit, but says the Ministry of Social Development is trying to get him onto the jobseeker benefit.

When asked about whether an apology would help, he said he didn’t need a personal apology, but wanted to see an acknowledgement of how Pacific Islanders were treated.

“The state should have explained to me and my parents what a State Ward was and what happens to a child who is a State Ward. If they could not understand English, they should be offered an interpreter. The state should tell us the truth about where our children are going and what is happening to them.

“Looking to the future, if I was told a grandchild of mine had to go into an institution, I would say ‘no way’. Our children have to be with us, not in institutions.”

At the hearing, a handful of survivors were present to support Halo, Paul Zentveld acknowledged those who could not be there.

“All these many years when no one but a tiny few believed us. Officials of Government did not really care what happened to us as children while in Lake Alice in the 70s. We have done many things over the years, including alerting the United Nations and here we are.

“We stand before the survivors of Lake Alice, ready to tell our story publicly for the first time. Those who cannot be here are here in spirit.”

But the man responsible for the mistreatment of hundreds of children, may never be held to account.

‘I represent a man incapable of instructing me’ – lawyer for Dr Selwyn Leeks

Hayden Rattray, counsel for Dr Selwyn Leeks, appeared via Zoom to deliver the news many were expecting.

“Dr Leeks is 92 years old. He has metastatic prostate cancer … heart disease, chronic kidney dysfunction.

“Dr Leeks is neither aware of the matters of the inquiry nor cognitively capable of responding to them. The reality is I represent a man incapable of instructing me.”

Rattray referenced an assessment in April by neuropsychologist Dr Sarah Lucas, which also reported signs of Alzheimers and dementia.

As a core participant in the inquiry, Dr Leeks has the right to give evidence and make submissions, however, “by virtue of his age and cognitive capacity, manifestly incapable of doing either”, Rattray explained.

Assisting Counsel Andrew Molloy said, along with Dr Leeks, other parties needed to be held accountable.

“While numerous eyes have been cast over these events over the years, we’ve never previously pulled together the strands to compile as full a picture as we can … While individuals may have spoken of this here and there, their voices have never been heard collectively by us as a society.”

Queen’s Counsel Frances Joychild said the inquiry was exposing a “collective shame”.

“It’s an inquiry into a dark and shameful seven year episode in the history of state care for vulnerable children in this countr …. The  damage to the national interest is impossible to calculate.”

The Lake Alice hearing runs for two weeks. Twenty survivors are expected to give evidence, along with former staff members, medical experts and police witnesses.​

More information:
​The Royal Commission will examine abuse and neglect of children and young people in residences run by the state between 1950 and 1999.

The scope of the inquiry covers abuse that happened in State care such as foster care, police cells, court cells or police custody, schools or special schools, disability care or facility, youth justice placement or at a health camp.

They are also looking at abuse that occurred in faith-based settings such as a religious school or church camp.

Witnesses can speak anonymously about sexual, physical and psychological abuse and the effects it has had on them in later life.

The Pacific Investigation encourages Pacific survivors to continue coming forward and engage with the Royal Commission of Inquiry.

To contact the Pacific Investigation, please email: Reina.Vaai@abuseincare.org.nz or call us on 0800 222 727.

For further details please see www.abuseincare.org.nz.

Pacific Investigation hearing dates: July 19-30, 2021

Hearing location: Fale o Samoa, 141r Bader Drive, Māngere, Auckland 2022

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern will make a formal government apology for the 1970s Dawn Raids against Pacific Islanders on June 26 at a commemoration event in the Auckland Town Hall.

She made the announcement today alongside Pacific Peoples Minister ‘Aupito William Sio.

Ardern said there was strict criteria cabinet needed to apply when deciding to make an apology, including:

• whether a human injustice must have been committed and was well documented;
• victims must be definable as a distinct group; and
• victims continued to suffer harm, connected to a past injustice.

Cabinet decided the criteria had been met in relation to the Dawn Raids, Ardern said.

There have been two previous government apologies meeting these criteria – the Chinese poll tax in 2002 and an apology to Samoa for the injustices arising from New Zealand’s colonial administration.

Ardern said the Dawn Raids were “routinely severe with demeaning verbal and physical treatment”.

She said when computerised immigration records were introduced in 1977, the first accurate picture of overstaying pattern showed 40 percent were British and American “despite these groups never being targets of police attention”.

Both Labour and National governments oversaw a crackdown on overstayers from the Pacific Islands in the 1970s.

“To this day, Pacific communities face prejudices and stereotypes established during and perpetuated by the Dawn Raids period. An apology can never reverse what happened or undo the decades of disadvantage experienced as a result, but it can contribute to healing the Pacific peoples in Aotearoa,” Ardern said.

She would not say what the formal apology might involve but said it would focus on the ongoing impact on the community, and the history.

There was a period around 2000 where amnesty was available, she said.

People were “dehumanised” and “terrorised” in their homes, Ardern said of the Dawn Raids era.

“… it left a lasting impact. People were told at the time if you did not look like a New Zealander they should carry ID to prove they are not an overstayer. You can imagine what impact that has on a community to live in an environment like that.”

‘The stars have aligned’ – ‘Aupito

Many in the Pasifika community have long called for an apology, with more than 7000 people signing a recent petition.

The Pacific Peoples Minister said other communities, including Māori, were also impacted by the raids.

“I don’t think there is any Pacific family who was not impacted on by the events of the Dawn Raids and there is a strong moral imperative to acknowledge those past actions were wrong through an apology, they recognise those actions were unacceptable under the universal declaration of human rights, and are absolutely intolerable within today’s human rights protections, ” ‘Aupito said.

While the raids took place almost 50 years ago, the legacy of the era lives on today “etched in the memories and oral history of Pacific communities”.

“This apology is a step in the right direction to right the wrongs of the past and help heal the wounds of trauma that still resides in the psyche of those who were directly affected.”

On a personal level, ‘Aupito said it was a “huge deal” for the government to acknowledge the wrongs of the past.

“The stars have aligned,” Sio said, acknowledging the role the prime minister and ministerial colleagues played in agreeing to the advice they received.

‘Aupito recalls ‘traumatising’ raid
‘Aupito said there were many Pacific families who would talk about the Dawn Raids, and he wanted to give them the opportunity to talk about the trauma and help them heal.

Talking about his own experience, he said his family was raided in the early hours of the morning about two years after they purchased their home. His father was “helpless”, he said.

Talking about his own experience, ‘Aupito said his family was raided in the early hours of the morning about two years after they purchased their home. His father was “helpless”, he said.

“To have somebody knocking on the door in the early hours of the morning with a flashlight in your face, disrespecting the owner of the home, with an Alsatian dog frothing at the mouth in that door, and wanting to come in without any respect for the people living in there — it’s quite traumatising.”

His sister and 82-year-old father would not talk about that time, ‘Aupito said.

Other Pacific families had similar experiences, he said.

“You have to remember, we felt as a community that we were invited to come to New Zealand. We responded to the call to fill the labour workforce that was needed, in the same way that they responded to the call for soldiers in 1914.

“So we were coming to aid a country when they needed us, and when that friend or country felt they no longer needed us they turned on us, trust was broken.”

The apology was about restoring trust and building confidence in the next generation, he said while trying to control his emotions.

“I do not want my children or any of my nieces or nephews to be shackled by that pain and to be angry about it. I need them to move forward and look to the future as peoples of Aotearoa.”

PM to get covid-19 vaccine
On the Covid-19 vaccine, Ardern said more details about the rollout would be announced on Thursday.

The prime minister will receive her first dose of the vaccine on Friday, June 18, afternoon in the South Auckland suburb of Manurewa, alongside her chief science adviser.

They Are Us film
On the They Are Us film project, Ardern said everyone should know the discomfort she felt about the project, but at the same time it was not for her to say what projects should or should not go ahead.

“This is a very raw event for New Zealand, even more so for the community that experienced it and I agree that there are stories that at some point should be told from March 15, but they are the stories of the Muslim community, so they need to be at the centre of that.”

Auckland-based producer Philippa Campbell has withdrawn from the crew working on the proposed film. In a statement, Campbell said she deeply regretted the shock and hurt the announcement of the film has led to throughout Aotearoa New Zealand.

Immigration policy and overstaying
Speaking about the current immigration policy, Ardern said there would be consequences for overstaying, but there were ways to do it “that do not lead to discriminatory practice”.

Asked if the apology for the Dawn Raids would include amnesty for some people, Ardern said there should not be expectations about that.

Amnesty in the early 2000s gave a pathway to regularisation for some Pacific people, Ardern said.

Any amnesty would apply to a wide-ranging cohort, she said.

“We wouldn’t want to seek to apologise for a discriminatory policy and then by giving that apology discriminate others by only having a certain policy apply to one group,” she said.

There is a large group of ethnicities and communities that would argue for a pathway to regularisation, she said.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz