Regrettably I wanted to cringe when I heard the Pacific sounding names of those responsible for Mr Singh's unfortunate murder in Riverton Drive, Manurewa. I blogged about crime in Manurewa earlier in the year and never once thought that a similar incident would arise again in this diverse community of mine known as Manurewa. Is this the beginning of a deliberate move to oust the Indian community. I think not. Hooliganism gone mad on the end of alcohol and drugs (A&D). I am almost certain that an A&D cocktail mix was central to the minds of the offenders who brought about Mr Singh's death.
What led these young men to engage in a senseless act that now holds this community up as the 'terror firma' of the nation? Who was responsible for their nurturing? What led to each of them becoming destructive beings of 'the dark side' dedicated to ending the sacredness of Mr Singh's life? Is it the fault of their families? Perhaps their schooling years failed to instill the importance of compliance. Perhaps they were failed by their parents. So what went wrong? That story will no doubt unfold itself over the next few weeks in the media. Why is it that for many young Pacific offenders today, the cultural pressure to conform and honour one's family name is now of little relevance?
The notion of individualism and the exclusion of responsibility to others is common place now. I remember being taught to love my enemies in Sunday school and honouring my parents was part of the holy package. Since the 90s I have listened to so many young people talk about their rights as if it were one of life's givens that caregivers or parents could not remove. The right, at a state legitimated age of consent to have protected sex without informing parents. Such rights have gone further and allowed young people to abort a 'mistake' without parental or caregiver consent or notification. Somehow young people drinking alcohol are perceived as far worse than those buying condoms and instead store owners are prosecuted for selling cigarettes or alcohol to under age children. Selling condoms and contraception to young people is deemed normal. But - How on earth does the value of cigarettes and alcohol supercede the value of creating life? It seems so back to front.
Our first generation settlers were battlers, pioneers who recognised the importance of developing urban village connections through church, village, island, sporting and musical affiliation. We need to establish new social forums that are not driven solely by problem issues such as poor health or low educational achievements and so on. And that is not to say that such initiatives are unimportant but we need to divert more attention toward becoming innovators within the national economy. Manurewa Harvest church pastored by Chris and Seira Sola, operates a choir challenge each year that brings together thousands of young Pacific people to show case their talents. When such initiatives are driven by the community and not imposed as issues that church and other agencies should invest and participate within - change happens. Families attend, friendships are formed and communal networks are established to support interdependent webs that promote positive lifestyles to meet the new challenges of today. Setting up initiatives that mirror the host population will not work for Pacific peoples because only the educated and the middle class will survive. We must engage our young Pacific parents in initiatives that are technologically challenging, business environments that are driven from within our own communities and cultural and heritage activities that recognise the innovative expertise of our practitioners. We need to rethink the importance of our Pacific "ways of being" for the sake of the next generation of Pacific leaders and rely once again upon developing the ingenuity that our first generation settlers applied in navigating their own spatial location in Aotearoa New Zealand. We must become competitive, smart, entrepreneurial and develop a culture that values financial independence. Imagine banking within your own community. My Muslim friends never borrow from trading banks or borrow from loan sharks. Imagine the possibilities for Pacific people. If we don't change, we run the risk of losing of our children to urban gangsta family life dependent upon criminal activities to feed anti-social leisure habits.
