NiuZila: Land of full fat milk and welfare money

Judge Ida Malosi, Niu Sila’s/New Zealand’s first female Pacific Island judge, was reported in today’s newspapers as saying many young Pacific offenders in Aukilani Saute / South Auckland are “chameleons” who attend church with their family the morning after committing a crime.  “On Saturday night he committed an egregious violent offence.  On Sunday he dutifully did as his mother said, got up and got dressed in his Sunday best and went to Sunday school.  On Monday he appeared in court”. 

In an earlier post, I mentioned how a cousin of mine had been arrested for aggravated robbery with a group of his friends, after the victim identified my cousin months after the incident, when my cousin stopped on the side of the road to assist the victim who’s car had broke down.  My cousin is who the Judge is talking about, and the many other Pacific youth who find themselves in such a position.

On one hand it seems so easy for our youth to get involved in criminal activity, yet it’s not beyond those same youth to do a good deed, as my cousin did.

Judge Malosi was commenting on a study conducted for the Families Commission by AUT University with Otara researcher Efeso Collins and Mangere researcher Ronji Tanielu.

Mr Tanielu said they found that family was still important for almost all the young “gangstas”.  “Most Pasifika youth in gangs did not want to replace their family or home with the gang,” he said. “A lot talked about the ‘blood family’ compared to the ’street family’.”  I think this would explain how easy it is for some of our youth to change hats, if you could call it that.  While they may be involved in criminal behaviour, their connection to family is stronger, but only just.

The researchers found that young people who joined gangs often felt unloved by their parents.  This seems to be the crux of the matter.  Why do our youths join gangs or commit criminal behaviour?  Because there is a need to belong.  And if the family is not that source of belonging, then our kids will look elsewhere.  Of course it’s not as simple as that.

AUT social scientist Dr Camille Nakhid, who led the study, said many Pasifika parents had multiple jobs and worked long hours, so were not at home for their children.  Our parents are not negligent.  In no way are they intentionally trying to push their children away.  While parenting skills can be improved, if parents have to work long hours and more than one job to make ends meet, it doesn’t matter how much communication skill a parent can obtain, it’s useless if they aren’t there to communicate with them.

Mr Collins said many young gang members were concerned about their parents’ poverty.  “A lot of them said, ‘In the future I want to help my parents pay the bills, I want to buy them a house’.  So approaches to young people including ideas about how they want to serve their parents is an important opportunity.” 

This isn’t a lost cause.  Our youth know the struggles our parents are going through.  Our parents are also beginning to understand that tough love isn’t always the best way.  In a world that offers so many good things, there are also plenty of bad things that can attract our youth away.  We just need to find a balance within our families where our youth are valued and feel valued.  At the same time, our parents need to be appreciated more, and given some slack as they work to pay the bills.

Ultimately, the onus is on us as parents and adults to find that balance. Because as Judge Malosi says “Young people, by definition, make mistakes. Adults, by definition, need to mentor and support them through those mistakes.”

I was invited by a mate to a special church service the other evening.  It was an evangelical/pentecostal church, predominantly Pacific Islander.  It was a branch of a church based in the U S of A.  That night, the sermon was preached by a Pastor from the States.  He commented how there’s a scene on Sione’s Wedding (http://www.sioneswedding.com/) where there is a Palagi guy, Derek from “G-g-g-Gfield” (Glenfield on the North Shore is a affluent part of Auckland/Aukilani), acts like a “gee”.  He’s a very funny character in the movie, and everyone in the crowd laughed, thinking about how hilarous it is to see a Palagi trying to act all hip-hop, down with the brown, a real “gee”.  But then the Pastor said, “It’s funny you laugh, because that’s exactly how I reacted when I saw a lot of youths here in Auckland trying to act all gansta”.  A reflective pause from the crowd hit home the comparison.

Now I love my old school music, R’n'B, Soul, a bit of Jazz etc, and there’s no doubt the popularity of the hip-hop culture here in New Zealand/Niu Sila amongst the youth in general and more specifically Polynesian youth.  There are some strong messages in some songs, and it is easy to identify with other working class marginalised struggling non-mainstream peoples.  But the line between connecting to, and being influenced by, is often crossed by Polynesian youth.

It’s no secret that a significant proportion of our Samoan youth are in youth gangs which imitate movies such as “Blood in blood out” etc.  Apparently Bloods and Crips have chapters here in Niu Sila, all the way on the other side of the world from LA (What the?  Bahaha!).

I often come across younger family members with their bebo pages fitted out in blue or red.  I’m forever telling off my little cousins for wearing colours around, and hit them up with questions about if they even know anything about the US Civil Rights movement, or Martin Luther King Jr.  I’ve even changed tact by asking them questions instead about the Mau movement in Samoa, or the Polynesian Panthers during the Dawn Raids.  Call me old fashioned, but since when did we start calling one another “gee”?  Since when did the New Zealand vernacular start sounding like an American one?  Since when did joining youth gangs ever replace families?

Lately, I’ve become sick and tired of it… I start seeing little hoodlums everywhere.  I’ve caught myself giving a quick look of disgust at a few, judging them and thinking they are a blight on society.  “They should go get a job and get off the benefit” I’d think to myself.

But one day, I caught the train into town wearing my comfortable hoody.  Having paid my fare once I boarded the train in Aukilani Saute / South Auckland, I proceeded to have a nap, leaning forward onto my folded arms, I went for a snooze (- in Niu Sila you pay for the fare onboard).  The trip is about 40 minutes into town.  I woke up about two stops before my destination, when the train conductor asked if I had paid.  I said yes, that I had got on at the Puhinui stop in Aukilani Saute.  Usually train conductors take passengers for their word at this point, but this guy demanded to see my ticket.  Still waking up from my snooze, and with the eyes of other passengers all focused on me, I obliged and showed him my ticket.  He looked at it then walked off.  I sat upright and thought, ummm why did he demand it from me?  I saw him walk down the carriage and never demanded to see tickets from anyone else.  My thoughts were, if it were truly a random search why had he not asked anyone else?  Why did he think I of all the people on the train was trying to get a free ride?  With my thoughts running wild, I asked him when he came back down the carriage towards me, “Excuse me, why did you only ask me for my ticket?”  He mumbled something about he has the right to ask people for the tickets.  I responded by saying “But of all the people on this train why did you suspect me of trying to skip paying?”  He again said incoherently something about he being the only conductor working this train and he can’t remember everyone.  I retorted “I’ve been on here for a whole half hour and you suspect only me?  Is it coz I’m brown?  Is it coz I’m wearing a hoody?”  I can get quite hysterical.  But as the conductor walked off and as I was demanding an answer from him, a Palagi girl across the isle nudged the conductor and said she hasn’t paid yet.  At that point all hell let loose.  “You mean to say you suspect the only brown guy on this train of not paying, when you didn’t even ask her to pay?!?  Why didn’t you ask her for her fare aye?!?!”  Poor conductor guy.

But that incident got me thinking, people are all too ready to judge people by their appearance, whether it’s their skin colour or their attire.  The conductor didn’t know who I was, where I had come from, what occupation I might have, which charities I may volunteer for etc.  Yet he judged me.  And so did I, everytime I thought I saw a hoodlum.  I was as guilty of judging brown youth as the conductor was.

I’m not sure how to solve youth gang issue amongst Samoan youth, but I know that beneath the misguided gang colours and affiliation is a human being that has the potential to achieve great things.  Our young brown youth are not thugs, but are potentially tomorrow’s leaders… we just need to help them find that potential.