The Asia Pacific Greens Federation Congress

I have had such a great time at the Asia Pacific Greens Federation Congress (June 12 - 14 2015 in Wellington) meeting people from the region hearing about the fantastic advocacy work they are doing in representing their people, indigenous groups and more vulnerable groups in society as well  as the work they are doing around climate change it has been great sharing ideas and knowledge around what works.

Although I was initially disssapointed at the lack of Pacific representation at the forum I now see it as the task of the few of us that are here (myself, two  reps from Solomon Islands and one from Papua New Guinea) to reach out into our networks and to get them connected.I came to this congress a bit hesitant, thinking anything that is Asia-Pacific is largely going to be about Asia, but instead of complaining we need action to tie in the wonderful work that is currently being done across the Pacific through bodies and organisations that are not necessarily political parties. There are of course numerous benefits in working together but we must also note that there are significant differences that warrant specific, special  and regional attention and I am happy that as a result of numerous discussions, a Pacific network is now being advocated for and that the Congress do its part to reach out to groups across the Pacific - with the assistance of the few of us that are now part of the Congress.

Benefits include being part of a global network, being part of an international movement seeking to hold everyone to account on Climate change, providing a forum for networking and sharing of ideas and best practice - providing international support and recognition for local level advocacy projects, having access to the tools and knowledge needed to implement this stuff on the ground.I have had two major concerns and priorities during this congress, connecting this movement to the fantastic work and groups doing this work in the Pacific I. E. The Pacific Youth Council, Pacific National youth councils (SNYC), various NGOs and also connecting Pasifika communities to the local and global movement here in Aotearoa NZ.

I note that climate change is not everyone's number 1 breakfast topic, but it should be, and to those of us (within the Pacific community) who still this day deny that it has any relevance to inner-city, suburban 'diasporic Pasifika communities', just remember where you came from, where your parents and ancestors are from! We have a responsibility as a regional and 'global community' to care and to be accountable and do our parts and to hold our government's to account when they are not doing all that they can (hello Pacific people in NZ, AUS, USA). We,  on this side of the ocean, MUST for our brothers and sisters on the other side of the ocean, do our parts, to try our best, and to think about the Pacific as a whole - not just those of us who are (unfortunate) fortunate to live inside the diaspora. This is important in remembering that many of our elders not only left their island homes so that their children could have better lives and better access to education (somewhat questionable in some parts and no Latafale it was not to gain 'wisdom' that is any better than that accessed in the homeland) but also so that WE (yes the collective and royal we) do what we can to give back to the land and people that nurtured (and the culture) that sustains us and also to support the ongoing development of our islands/ communities and families.

There were over 21 resolutions passed at the Congress and a few of them involved the Pacific I. E the call to support West Papua's desire to join the Melenesian Spearhead Group (MSG) as a sovereign independent entity (although a bit dissapointed that the clause in which we condemn the Indonesian government's ghastly human rights record in the area had been somewhat watered down).  Another resolution condemned the government's of Australia and New Zealand and their spying on the electronic activities of SOVEREIGN countries in the Pacific in order to maintain power imbalances /status quo. Another resolution called on Australia and NZ to take more seriously their obligations to refugees via the UN Refugee Convention.

It has been wonderful sharing with like minded people passionate about the environment and social justice, and it is through opportunities like this which enable all of us to pause, reflect and to refresh and enhance our knowledge and approaches and to keep fighting the good fight.Looking forward to getting more of our 'Pasifika' warriors on board!!

The Love Life Fono 5: And the Emancipation of the Third Spirit

In the weekend I was extremely honoured to attend (my very first) Love Life Fono. This was the 5th Bi Annual Love Life Fono and I couldn't have imagined a better way to spend my Labour (long) weekend.

The purpose of the Love Life Fono as officially described on the working committee's facebook page as:

                         Love Life is about acknowledging our cultural heritage and honouring the                                  special people in our communities. Whether you are mahu, vakasalewalewa,                            palopa, fa’afafine, akava’ine, fakaleiti, fakafifine (MVPFAFF), or GLBTI, Love Life                          Fono is for you. 

Click here for more information.

The Love Life Fono was an amazing experience! Or should I say Fa-fa-Faboulous!! It combined the beauty and pageantry of a fa’afafine show, but most importantly provided a space where the MVPFAFF and GLBTI community could come together to share their experiences, knowledges, values and beliefs and provided a platform for many to begin to think how as a community, we are able to collectively address issues that affect all of us on the national level.

The Love Life Fono was a beautiful gathering of ‘Pacific People’, people of and from the Pacific. Unfortunately, it also happened to be a gathering of the most stigmatised and often ignored sector of the vast and diverse Pacific community here in Aotearoa and the Pacific.

Interestingly, Sua William Sio released a press release about his new vision for Pacific peoples in New Zealand. You have to wonder who, and what (arbitrarily) determines who is in this Pacific Community and also what it looks like. The fact that most Pacific Members of Parliament (bar I think Charles Chauvel and Kris Faafoi) voted against Marriage Equality highlights who they believe they supposedly represent. The traditional, conservative church going Pacific people – but this very narrow understanding and surface level view of what constitutes Pacific peoples in Pacific communities further isolates those who do not fit into those particular categories.

We then have the issue of poor youth engagement in this country. Is it any wonder given all the fantastic youth I met over the course of the love life Fono (there were over 100 participants the entire weekend) felt misrepresented, underrepresented, and were particularly disappointed in the leaders whose self -proclaimed task is to supposedly ‘Advance Pasifika’. Who are they advancing? And in what ways?

Despite the shortcomings of our community and political representatives, what all participants of the Fono were very sure of, is that all of us are an important part of the Pacific Community. Despite the alienation and subjugation, we are also from/of the Pacific. And we are most definitely a valid part of the Pacific community! And we are here to stay.

One of the outcomes of the Fono was the establishment of a National Coalition of ethnic specific Pacific representatives, a body which will work towards representing and advocating for Voices of the Third Spirit, on issues that affect our communities, and also other members of the Pacific community.

The opportunities for networking, building social/professional relationships were one of the highlights. I have left the Fono feeling empowered, feeling refreshed and renewed about my social obligations to my community. As a newly appointed representative to the National Coalition I look forward to devoting what skills and talent I have to further advancing and advocating for voices of the third spirit.

I would like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to the organisers of the Love Life Fono 5 Committee; Elton Raharaha,  Cindy Of Samoa, Frances Anderson, Jaroncye Lole, Tanu Gago, Phlyesha Brown- Acton and all those who supported,  for not only their hard work in organising and executing this Fono, but their continued service and dedication to advancing and advocating for the voices of the ‘Third Spirit’. I look forward to all the work ahead.

*Please note that these are my own individual/ random thoughts about my experience of the Love Life Fono, and are not an official representation from the organising committee.

It started off with an article on climate change.....

Works been so busy lately that I haven't had time to post any articles, or do my rants about the government  (yes I can hear the sighs of relief lol)

And I haven't written in my blog lately, so I thought i'd vent here instead of writing essays on my FB status. So here it is my first entry for 2013. And on such a positive note lol....

But as I'm reading this article I am critically questioning NZ and it's role as a supposed leader in the Pacific, and wonder if most people know that this government, has pulled NZ out of the second stage of the Kyoto Protocol. (Probably wouldn't have because of the holidays). Purely based on the fact that "well Australia and the USA haven't signed up so why should we". National Government logic has done wonders for our public service. Just look at how perfect Education and Welfare are doing.....

I wonder how this makes people feel, especially our Pacific people. Especially given that a lot of us have witnessed first hand the terribly significant devastation natural events have caused to our homelands in the Pacific, which have no doubt been further intensified by processes of global warming and climate change. And yet we have a situation here where developed nations (including NZ) are refusing to commit to do their part to reduce their carbon footprint/levels of emissions basically because it isn't economically viable to do so. When it comes down to it, it's always about money and power!

But we're not talking just money here, we're talking about the state of our planet, we're talking about the kind of world we want our future generations to inherit, but we're also talking about current peoples lives. We don't have to look far to see how this is impacting on our people. We only need to look at what is happening with Tuvalu sinking, increasingly consistent and severe droughts in Samoa, Kiribati having to buy land in Fiji to relocate it's entire population in anticipation of the inevitable. Then there is the story of one women, Ursula Rakova, and her mission to save the people of the Carteret Islands (which up until this point I knew never existed) from rising sea levels. You'll notice that all of my links are not mainstream media links, why would they even bother. 

But you start to see a general pattern emerging. And the sad thing is, the stories are becoming more frequent. The government needs to be held accountable. And we as the people need to be asking the hard questions! The government does after all represent us (however I want to make it clear I did not vote for any of these fools), and therefore what our government does, we  bare some of the responsibility for the actions of our country.

 I saw and heard a whole lot of my own people, yapping away after Cyclone Evan, complaining that they were not going to donate because of all the corruption, misuse of funds that occurred during the Tsunami Relief effort in 2009.

I even heard one person say they wanted receipts for everything Samoa purchased through financial aid. At first I thought SHUTUP! I still do. But then I thought about it again, and was amazed at how quick the Samoa NZ community jumped to immediately condemn, and then demand transparency from the Government and people of Samoa. 

Interestingly though, we're not as quick to demand accountability and transparency from this government on most matters. And especially on such a critical issue of global warming/ climate change, given what we know about it's devastating impacts on our islands. 

I don't have the answers. It continues to baffle me today.

But I'm hoping that by writing this, that it will get people to start taking this issue seriously. Or even just to get some people thinking about it. That would be a start.