The prime ministerâs emotional ritual entry into Aucklandâs Great Hall and her address to Pacific people and communities assembled there on Sunday drastically relived the shameful and unjust treatment of Pacific peoples by successive governments during the dawn raid era of the 1970s, when police, hunting for immigrant overstayers and armed with dogs and batons, would burst into the homes of Pasifika families in the early morning hours.
These experiences and the subsequent deportations have created layers of intergenerational shame and trauma for Pacific victims and families in New Zealand and in the homelands. Studies have since shown that Pacific people made up only 30% of the overstayers, and yet almost 90% of the deportations. The bulk of the migrants who overstayed their visas were from the US and UK. Since the apology was announced there has been a flood of victimsâ stories â stories no longer silenced by the guilt, shame and trauma of the raids and random c
Dark days of the 1970s Dawn Raids are at last formally acknowledged rnz.co.nz - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from rnz.co.nz Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Wellington, New Zealand It has been 50 years since the “dawn raid” in New Zealand, and the 82-year-old father of the Minister of the People of the Pacific, Opito William Theo, still cannot talk about it.
“An authority who should take care of you and an authority who serves you makes you feel helpless in your own home. How do you talk about this kind of thing?” Theo said.
The dawn raid occurred in the 1970s and involved people from the Pacific Islands who immigrated to New Zealand for work in the years after World War II.
One morning in the winter of 1974, the police brought the dog to the front door of Sio’s father’s house in Otara, Auckland. They require everyone in the house to retrieve their passports to show that they are legally entitled to stay in New Zealand. Dogs were barking, people were screaming, and the police chased Sio’s cousin from the garage. They were taken to prison, took their belongings, and then deported to Samoa.
Wellington, New Zealand – It has been 50 years since New Zealand’s “dawn raids” and the 82-year-old father of Pacific Peoples Minister Aupito William Sio still cannot talk about it.
“How do you talk about something where you were made to feel helpless in your own home by an authority that was supposed to look after you and an authority you came to serve?” Sio said.
The dawn raids took place in the 1970s, involving people from the Pacific Islands who had migrated to New Zealand to work in the years following World War II.
One winter morning in 1974, the police – accompanied by dogs – came to the front door of Sio’s father’s property in Otara, Auckland. They demanded everyone in the house retrieve their passport to show they were legally entitled to be in New Zealand. Dogs were barking, people were screaming and the police chased Sio’s cousins from the garage. They were taken to jail minus their belongings and deported to Samoa.
Pacific community to be included in design of new Christchurch stadium rnz.co.nz - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from rnz.co.nz Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.