June 5, 2024 • 36 mins
This week’s guest is Samoan activist Aigagalefili Fepulea’i-Tapua’i.
She is a daughter of Samoa and South Auckland. An award-winning poet, orator and activist. Formerly the head girl of Aorere College, Fili rose to prominence as a fierce advocate for our communities. We converse over the many kaupapa she stands for and frankly, why you listening should give a damn.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
It's the Flavor podcast network.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
Island Roots Auckland Ways.
Speaker 3 (00:06):
This one's for the Brown brothers and sisters who.
Speaker 4 (00:08):
Want to be one with themselves, their culture, their identity,
their roots.
Speaker 1 (00:13):
This is Island Roots Auckland Ways.
Speaker 4 (00:23):
Welcome back, Oh Jinks Island roots Land Ways. It's Mass
and Alyssa here.
Speaker 5 (00:30):
And this week on the podcast we're talking to our
good sister from the south Side.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
Oh my good Neah, what a queen.
Speaker 4 (00:41):
I'm sure you guys will all know her, come on, I.
Speaker 2 (00:43):
Know, especially if you're from Essay. She's just one of
the girls.
Speaker 4 (00:46):
Truly one of the girls. Yes, so many good moments
and we won't hold you back any longer.
Speaker 5 (00:54):
And please welcome to Alan Roots Auckland Ways, author, activist,
change maker, Southsider and.
Speaker 1 (01:01):
You welcome.
Speaker 3 (01:05):
It's all for lover.
Speaker 2 (01:08):
A long time coming, bro.
Speaker 3 (01:10):
We're so excited that you're here today.
Speaker 5 (01:12):
I think we've been admiring your mahi from a distance
and you've been two feet on the ground. So yeah, hello,
props to use us and we can't wait to you know,
start this teleon.
Speaker 2 (01:21):
Off, Yes, get into it. Yeah.
Speaker 4 (01:24):
Every episode we share what we love about home and
a little segment that we like to call what we
love about home we share about maybe it's where we
currently live, maybe back home in the Islands where we
feel most grounded, all those things about home that make
home home. So, Marina, what do you love about home
this week?
Speaker 2 (01:42):
Okay?
Speaker 5 (01:43):
I have a bit of a funny one that I
love about home, because that's something that I don't love
about home. Okay, So I'm gonna flip the question on
its head. I've been seeing so many tiktoks of this
fish and chip shop at Mungoday Bridge, so it's right
before the new bridge. It's called Village Fisheries or something
like that, and people are saying this is the best
fish and chip shop and town.
Speaker 4 (02:00):
By the petrol station.
Speaker 5 (02:01):
Yeah yeah, like behind the petrol station. I think that
is the with respect, with respect people. And I'm not
gonna because I will eat them. I will, I will.
Speaker 2 (02:12):
Eat you.
Speaker 1 (02:15):
Will go.
Speaker 5 (02:15):
But can I just say there has to be some
of the greasiest fish and chips I have ever tasted
it in my damn life.
Speaker 2 (02:21):
Now we're gonna talk about it later on in the show.
Speaker 5 (02:23):
But I feel like Maya Maya is goated for me,
So I hold everyone to that. Maywa standard maywas take
away mangoy slash old pet. It's like bordering and it's
close to the last actually, But I feel like village eatery,
fishery whatever, their fish and chips. It's giving, Like if
you were to squeeze their fish, it would just be
(02:47):
it would be dripping wait nasty, That's what I'm trying
to say with respect, though.
Speaker 4 (02:56):
You can take this out. I thought that was an
Asian owned Yeah it is, you said my people, Oh
my south Side Okay, I love that place really.
Speaker 1 (03:09):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (03:09):
They sees the chip because my mom used to work
around there and we would go there after working get
fish and chips.
Speaker 2 (03:16):
You like you some greasy fish.
Speaker 4 (03:18):
You're so rude, poor family business.
Speaker 5 (03:22):
No, I love them, and the fresh seafood be hidden
when we buy our fish for the oca and they
saw monkey bee heading as well.
Speaker 2 (03:29):
What else can I say about them? The oysters, But
it's it's just constructive.
Speaker 5 (03:35):
I just don't like an oily fish, you know what
I mean. So that's what I don't love about Home
this week.
Speaker 4 (03:43):
Well, what I do love about Home is the southern
line on.
Speaker 3 (03:47):
The chain because I have no other.
Speaker 4 (03:53):
Way of getting around the city. If it went for
the train of the buses or Aukland Transport. But today,
when I was on my way here on the Southern Line,
I was lucky enough to had the train conductor who sings, oh,
do you know about this train conductor?
Speaker 3 (04:07):
No, I feel like I've been missing out now.
Speaker 4 (04:09):
Okay, So he does his little announcement, He's like, hello everyone,
have you having a very peaceful journey everyone on the train.
He seemed like something that everyone on the train is
so peaceful today, And I just want you to know
that if you need any ap color.
Speaker 2 (04:22):
Man, he'd be singing on the train.
Speaker 4 (04:26):
He sings on the train sometimes he sings like whole songs. Yeah,
And typically I think he's on the Eastern lines. So
I felt blessed to on the Southerner this morning. But
that's what I love about home, that train conductor and
the Southern Line.
Speaker 5 (04:38):
Apart from the train conductor, though, is there anything to
love about the train?
Speaker 4 (04:42):
You can read a book that you can listen to music.
I've played La Langa on the train before, which is
a card game of you.
Speaker 3 (04:57):
Yeah with quick.
Speaker 4 (05:00):
The way and just genuinely feel really unsafe, specially went
on the train at night.
Speaker 5 (05:10):
Oh my gosh, well love their Auckland Transport. If you're listening,
we are.
Speaker 4 (05:15):
Please Yeah, sponsorship would be lovely, Thank you, Philly.
Speaker 2 (05:20):
What do you love about home this week?
Speaker 3 (05:22):
You know what I'm about to say mine.
Speaker 1 (05:23):
But to add to the train conversation, one thing that
I love about the train, I play a game where
when I'm on the train, I try to look at
all the graffiti and try to guess which, yes, that
is so good. I think I'm accurate with my guess,
but you know you're on the train. But one thing
(05:44):
I love about right now I'm living in bobber to
slash Mangay, but I love and I just like if
you don't know what means, it means like nosy. But
the reason I love it is because me and my
little brother a couple of months back, we got into
like a little accident on the road just untitled you
(06:06):
know what, and the other car I had like pashed
into us. But the people who were like driving past,
they parked across the road and they were like yelling.
Speaker 3 (06:13):
Out from across the road. I saw him. I was
like looking out the woman like, who's backing me up?
Speaker 4 (06:22):
Right now?
Speaker 2 (06:23):
I don't know what.
Speaker 1 (06:27):
Helen no, Because It's like one of those industrial roads
was like on their way to work.
Speaker 3 (06:32):
I was on my way to room.
Speaker 1 (06:35):
But I was just so grateful that that man stopped
and was like I got choose. Sure he gives you
his license or whatever. You know, that's the blessing of
people being like color and nosy. But sometimes it has
it's done for it.
Speaker 5 (06:51):
I mean, one of the pros is that I'm always
hearing the tea. I mean this morning, Forday, but the
cons when the tea is about you, yeah's talk about you.
Speaker 4 (07:02):
It's like those aunties in the back of the church
that just gossip.
Speaker 5 (07:05):
We're going to move on to your support of the
restoring Citizenship Removed by Citizenship Western Samoa Act and nineteen
eighty two bill. This has been a year's long fight
in the making and I feel like it's come down
to a boiling point. It's going through the house at
the moment. I mean, what has been your involvement. I
know that your dad has been a leader in this movement,
(07:28):
and much of our salmon and elders have as well,
and we're pretty much taking a lead from them at
the moment, But in your experience around navigating that bill
and trying to get it through the House.
Speaker 2 (07:40):
What has that been like?
Speaker 1 (07:41):
Very humbling for me personally, just because my history with
the bill started when I was five months old. My
parents took me down to the march for the mald
Sicini in two and Drey in Wellington, and I take
so much strength from those stories because they had over
around one hundred ks signatures and that's real life hitting
(08:02):
the pavement or to do getting to sign right. They
didn't have the internet or the resource and so I think, yeah,
so I really just try to take take my cues
from the elders whatever they asked me to do, whether
that's technology wise, whether that's you know, just showing up
and helping out, and whether that's trying to use whatever
(08:25):
platform or whatever connections and networks. I have to make
sure that the word is getting out there. Right now,
the submissions for the bill closed in about a month,
and so the focus that I have right now to
deal with this work is trying to just do a
whole lot of different means of engagement to make sure
that as much submissions are submitted before the bill goes through.
Speaker 5 (08:50):
And then it all go to Select Committee. People will
have the chance to be able to speak to their
submissions and then it all go for another reading in
the House.
Speaker 2 (08:58):
Is that correct?
Speaker 3 (08:59):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (09:00):
For our youth listening right now, What does this bill mean?
In simple terms?
Speaker 1 (09:06):
So, before Sarmour became an independent country from New Zealand,
Salmon's were considered New Zealand citizen citizens and this was.
Speaker 3 (09:18):
Probably like oh my gosh, I'm not going to say the.
Speaker 1 (09:20):
Time dates, but they were considered right for New Zealand citizens.
There was a bill that was passed in nineteen eighty
two that stripped that rightful citizenship from them.
Speaker 3 (09:30):
Lisa, she took her case.
Speaker 1 (09:33):
Around her citizenship that had been stripped from her to
the Privy Council in Britain.
Speaker 3 (09:38):
Yes, and they ruled that, which is.
Speaker 2 (09:40):
Like the highest of the high ruling judiciary.
Speaker 1 (09:44):
They pretty much said that she was right, that she
had a right to that citizenship, which meant that all
the Salmons like her, who had similar cases like her,
also had a right to that citizenship.
Speaker 3 (09:53):
And so our.
Speaker 1 (09:54):
Community has tried over the decades. In two thousand and three,
they like I said before, took all this signatures. They
marched down to Parliament and it was such a big
movement at the time but unfortunately, again the government did
not restore those citizenships. Crazy, but what it means is
that during the time of the don rates, someone's were
able to be targeted a lot more easily because that
(10:16):
citizenship turned them into overstates with the New Zealand. So
a lot of that has to do with the struggles
that we still see the effects of that today. You know,
it would have been really traumatic for our elders, and
I think that as strong as they are, and they
are so resilient and they're so strong, the right thing
to do is to restore the citizenship, especially because the
(10:38):
time frame for the people who that applies for, we
don't know how many of them are still alive to
be able to claim that rifle citizenship. So it's really
important and it's really urgent that we get this through
as soon as we can. The best time was probably
when they tried to sign the first time. They should
(10:59):
have never signed it there. The second best time is
probably when they took it all those times again. And
the third best time would be to do it now
while we still have those holders here with us, you know,
make sure that they have that justice for them. And
then also we can go into we can also develop
further on that balance to what else we can we
(11:19):
can build upon that.
Speaker 4 (11:20):
We often as a community, like how do we mobilize
our young people? How do we get our young people
involved in these things like this? And I think research
and knowing more about issues is so important. Google is free.
Thank god, you know, Like, isn't that incredible? But also
I think you already.
Speaker 3 (11:37):
Know this about me.
Speaker 4 (11:38):
One thing that I love is like knowing more about
yourself and your cultural identity and learning more about your
fuck papa or your nafer or your community's collective history
as a way to mobilize yourself and like I don't know,
ignite a fire. I feel like you do this so beautifully, Sis,
where you're able to really rely on your knowledge, your
cultural knowledge, your naher as like the thing that keeps
(12:00):
your like fire burning. And I think we see that
so easily in this service to this bill and to
our elders. It's so I don't know, I just want
to give your flowers because I think it's really admirable
and I think we see it like in all them
ah you do where you're able to really just like
lean on your palm willness and your identity as like
(12:23):
a what would be the word a motivator, a driver
as per you could say. But was there ever a
moment where you were like, oh, like, oh, I'm sam one,
because I feel like, when I look back, obviously growing
up isn'tenough see that I had so many cultural identity
crisises that I'm very grateful to not really experience anymore.
(12:44):
And it was kind of year twelve, year thirteen where
I was like, oh damn, like I'm actually someone and
like that's actually like a really beautiful thing, and you know,
I should care more about this and learn more about this.
Was there ever a moment like that for you growing up?
Speaker 3 (12:55):
Oh?
Speaker 1 (12:55):
Yeah, I had few moments like that growing up. I
think by the time that I was out in the community,
by the time I was a teenager, I had a
really strong sense of self.
Speaker 3 (13:08):
But that was because I had gone through the.
Speaker 1 (13:11):
Process of like trying to unlearn my own internalized I
guess racism towards being someone, And that's a hard conversation
to have because not many people like to admit that
we hold our own our own views of our own people,
sometimes in a negative light, and how a lot of
that comes from things like the wittness, sound motaimgation e
(13:34):
feel like, you know, the politics can sometimes feel really
a high level and complicated, but when it really comes
down to its like how do we want our people
to see themselves? How do do we want them to
live with dignity? Those kind of things. And the time
when I realized that, oh my gosh, I am some more.
I am someone, not someone. But this one time, oh
(14:04):
my gosh, my brother's gonna laugh. When I was filling
out a form for school and I was in primary
and because my dad had like kind of mentioned that
we had a little bit of German, and I like not,
I feel like, oh, someone's kind of like Germany somewhere, yeah,
And so I thought I was cool writing my culture
was someone in German on my phone and my brother
like walked over and he was like, you're not even
(14:26):
German that he was.
Speaker 2 (14:30):
He was like your.
Speaker 3 (14:32):
And I was just like what, why can I be?
Speaker 1 (14:34):
Right?
Speaker 3 (14:35):
I was probably like what nine, ten eleven somewhere around there.
Speaker 1 (14:40):
But yeah, back then I had all these dreams of
like I'm gonna go live in Paris, I'm gonna be
an artist, I'm gonna get out of the hood open
now I'm better than that, you know. I think when
you're that young and you're hearing all those negative stereotypes
about our people, and then there's another lay of that.
If you're from any kind of hood like South Aukland,
you start to internalize it and think, yeah, yeah, I
(15:04):
don't I don't want people to perceive me like that.
So I got to abandon that part of my identity
in order to survive. And I guess that's kind of
mindset I had adopted at quite a young age, and
my parents cut that down.
Speaker 3 (15:16):
They were like, and so, yeah, I knew I was
someone I guess I don't know, will stop period.
Speaker 5 (15:32):
That story about you reading German on the form is
giving you know how some of those islanders do the German.
Speaker 4 (15:45):
I definitely had that was like, oh yeah, some way
back were German and I didn't know about the history
of like colonization anything. So I was like seven, I think.
So I went to primary school and I was like, yes,
I'm I'm half Pak like musical on European.
Speaker 3 (16:03):
I didn't say pack yet.
Speaker 4 (16:03):
Time have music on European a quarter somewhat and a
quarter German, which I would introduce myself and then I
look back now, and I'm.
Speaker 5 (16:13):
Like, for a moment, really, we want to go back
to COVID when he was on The New Girl, which
was a crazy time in itself because you're still in
high school back in COVID era, So you're in high
school and it's a tough time. Like we like to
(16:36):
think that the cost of living crisis is heading now,
but burn heading for people, burn struggling, and particularly around COVID,
we saw heaps of students leaving high school to take
up work to support their families.
Speaker 1 (16:50):
What a time, Yeah, it was, he and it felt
like personally it was quite weird for me because a
lot of the I look for students was happening during
the lockdown, so like it felt like a lot was happening.
Speaker 3 (17:04):
But then also like I'm at home that it went that.
Speaker 1 (17:11):
Far, But I do that cool, Yeah, And I really
do value that time because, oh man, I learned so much.
I was learning, like on the fly, doing a lot
of that coupapa, not realizing like how it would develop
and how I could build upon it, and especially trying
(17:32):
to navigate those worlds as a as a herd write form,
a teaen her write forms. That's what I was at
the time, and I think the most valuable thing for
me personally and the thing that was like keeping me
going through the chaos of all of it was really
just our students, like my peers, my friends, the stories
(17:55):
I would hear from people, and the acknowledgment that you know,
that it madded to them that people were talking about it.
And I don't think people know this, but at the time,
like I was never planning to go into the media
or do all of those things. Like I was a poet,
spoken word poet first, and I was always posting my
poetry on Instagram, just because as like a poet from
(18:18):
the hood, you don't really have many access to platforms,
especially at that time.
Speaker 3 (18:22):
Like spoken word.
Speaker 1 (18:23):
You know, this spoken word was like quite fresh. It's
come a long way since since we were in high school. Yeah,
oh my gosh, no, you know what's buzzy. Marina one
Storytellers and then the year after I want Storytellers. The
(18:45):
only reason I applied is because I saw Marina and
I was like school one, and I was like, okay,
we got to keep it going.
Speaker 2 (18:56):
All the time. Word camp like oh man, just yeah,
really good time.
Speaker 3 (19:00):
And spoken word is like a real community.
Speaker 1 (19:03):
So when I was posting onto my Instagram, it was
like my Instagram was, well, not that many followers, and
I was, yeah, it was just for whoever needed to
hear whatever message I had to say. You know, Once
his posts started being taken outside of the hood is
where things got, like the navigation of it got so hectic.
Speaker 3 (19:25):
And all of that.
Speaker 1 (19:26):
But it was really important to me that I was
matching those actions to the words that I was spitting,
because I was like, speaking word is there to shift
culture and perspectives faster than politics can, right, and then
activism is there to put action to those words. And
so I was doing activism trying to get those messages
out and making sure that I could build opportunities for
(19:47):
people at the same time and kind of weave together
people who were doing the work but weren't aware of
each other in all these different spaces, and it was
a beautiful thing. My time in the media was purely
because I wanted to get the message to government, and
then it got to government, and yeah, yeah, Once once
(20:14):
I realized that being in the media wasn't achieving the
goal that I wanted it to do, I was like,
oh yeah, sweet, you know what we'll do it ourselves.
And then that's when because I was also part of
a group called for the Culture, we did our homic
centers or eighty South Campus, worked with other foundation to
do food pustles, all of those things.
Speaker 3 (20:31):
So yeah, I think once it gets to that stage.
Speaker 1 (20:36):
It's kind of just like, Okay, cool, we can we
still got us, Like, we get the message out, find
the right people, the community is able to provide those resources,
and I guess it's just always like that sometimes, Like
at the end of the day, no matter what politics does,
community and the people who were in it are there
to fill in the gaps and to try and catch
the people who fall through those cracks. You know. Yeah, heck,
(21:00):
okay the time, I'm glad that all of that was
like during my teens in a weird way because it's
like a last it's over.
Speaker 2 (21:08):
A list is like what doesn't kill you makes me strong.
Speaker 3 (21:11):
I'm like, if I can survive that seventeen.
Speaker 5 (21:14):
My jeez man, my gosh, girl, could you do that?
I feel like we were skipping through the roses. This
was before COVID. Oh my god, what.
Speaker 4 (21:27):
Were we doing when we were seventeen?
Speaker 2 (21:31):
Not there?
Speaker 3 (21:34):
Kepting on that Microma, you are not.
Speaker 5 (21:43):
That's not for the.
Speaker 4 (21:44):
Culture able to say it's coming back.
Speaker 2 (21:47):
Oh yes, yes.
Speaker 1 (21:51):
For the Culture started because before I was advocating for
our students, I was involved in a lot of the
space work, and I had been going to from the
age of like fifteen, I'd been going to environmental forums
like confidences, that kind of thing. But what I kept
realizing was that like none of them had the solutions
(22:13):
for our communities. And when I say our communities, I
mean Indigenous pacifica South Auckland, and doesn't important because it's
like sofic people on the front line of so many
environmental issues issues, especially the climate crisis, and then so
many of the solutions for living sustainably cost so much money.
And I'm like, I can't take this back to the
hood and be like you should all go vegan and
(22:33):
start driving electric cars, just.
Speaker 3 (22:37):
They're gonna chuck me off.
Speaker 1 (22:41):
And so I realized I had to like take the
learning that I was taking from all these spaces and
try apply it to the context that I was living in.
And that's why for the Culture was started. At the time,
for the Culture was like I guess, quite new to people.
The concept of it so a lot of people were
like confused on what exactly, but it was a glassroots
(23:01):
collective of high school students who were just really passionate
about them, especially the climate crisis on the Islands. And
at the time School Strike for Climate had, like it
was twenty nineteen, they had come out with these strikes
and first strike was done on the day of poly
Fist and that same year I had one storytellers with
(23:27):
a speech about climate change in the Pacific, and then
I got invited to speak on the project. But what
people don't know is that I had no idea that
it was going to be an interview. I thought I
was saying my speech, and then I got to the
studio and they were like, oh, you are you excited
for the interview, blahlah blah blah, and I'm looking at
my mum, like interview. So I ended up doing the
(23:52):
interview because I was never like media changed. I was
just speaking like normally, but that's speaking normally. I kind
of called out School Strife for Climate for not involving
enough salsifica students or schools at all in their planning,
and then from there they reached out for the culture
(24:13):
School Strife for Climate Work Together. There's a documentary on
it called High Tide, Don't Hide. But by the time
we were involved in the strikes, the last strike that
you had around like eighty thousand people at the Auckland protest.
Speaker 2 (24:27):
I remember that what we went to.
Speaker 5 (24:29):
That's the one everyone that was such a good day.
Speaker 4 (24:34):
Great.
Speaker 2 (24:35):
I remember getting into the city and just seeing our
flags and I was like.
Speaker 3 (24:39):
Oh, like we was good.
Speaker 2 (24:43):
We looked good.
Speaker 4 (24:44):
Girl.
Speaker 2 (24:44):
Everyone was laughing, like we.
Speaker 4 (24:47):
Meet so many of that screens there actually, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3 (24:50):
I love that.
Speaker 2 (24:52):
Yeah, I really united the people.
Speaker 5 (24:55):
And I think it's because for the Culture lived that
strike and of including all of us, because you know,
before that strike, I didn't feel included in the movement.
I felt like, oh yeah, I feel like they're talking
about us without us.
Speaker 3 (25:10):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (25:11):
And I remember going to the afternoon that for the
Culture held at Pass and they were like a few
tele an are going on and then was that.
Speaker 3 (25:23):
Before after the strike that was leading up to the strike.
Speaker 2 (25:26):
Oh my gosh.
Speaker 5 (25:27):
And I remember having that fire in my belly after
going to Pass that day Pacific Advanced Senior School in
Otahuu and just feeling so empowered. And then that's what
made me want to go to the strike and it
was so good. Yes, I still got my sign white Wall,
Brown Lives.
Speaker 3 (25:44):
I love to hear that.
Speaker 1 (25:45):
That's so mean, And I think that really speaks to
the value of like community building in real life, like
trying to get those things, those initiatives so that people
can meet each other and I have those experiences and
learn from each other in those ways as well.
Speaker 3 (26:00):
Yeah, man, what a time.
Speaker 1 (26:02):
I was so guarded when the pandemic and all that
momentum was like yeah, but then we had to put
it to like more immediate issues for our communities.
Speaker 3 (26:10):
So I guess that's that's the nature of the work.
Speaker 4 (26:13):
You know now that a lot of us are older,
like a different age group than you would have been
catering for for the culture when you initially started. What
what are you thinking of like next, are we still
catering to their high school age group or is.
Speaker 1 (26:29):
It definite all the people definitely still trying to I
guess mental and give guidance to our youth who want
to step into leadership or to step into whatever avenue
it is where they want to express themselves or have
issues that they feel really passionate about. I think it's
(26:49):
important to recognize that activism is a skill set, you know.
I think sometimes people underestimate what it can be like
or how high the stakes can be sometimes. So we
want to keep we want to give that guidance to
high school students, especially because we're not in high school anymore.
And that was one of the big things that us
as a team had been like thinking about. We're now talking,
(27:12):
which is so buzzy for us because it's like, oh
my gosh, we get to give back in a way
that we were giving we were being born into.
Speaker 3 (27:27):
Yeah, So I think that's a policy.
Speaker 1 (27:29):
But at the same time, we want to keep a
core group of members and kind of expand that as well,
because I love I love my AG forty K members, man,
because I didn't think people they got so much respect
for all of them, because we were living through the
(27:50):
issues we were advocating, yes, man, which is the part
that I think people didn't realize because they didn't really
know what forty K was about, and people had all
these big expectations of like do the and we're like,
we are teenagers who have no funding Menica McDonald's with
our one dollar. But it's cool to see like that
(28:11):
there's foundations are there for us to build upon now
that we're a bit older, hopefully a little bit wiser
and know how to better navigate a lot of the
spaces that forty K had fallen into. Really mm hmmm,
and so expanding on again that community weaving trying to
bridge the gaps that are dividing our community right now
(28:33):
and take it offline into real life spaces where we
can be I face to face without all of the
drama and the pittiness, and like, you know, these are people,
these are issues and we should be as a community
fighting the issues instead of each other. And that's something
that yeah, that forty K just wants to wants to
sustain and whatever we.
Speaker 5 (28:52):
Do quite timely given the political climate and everything that's
going on and everything being stripped. Yes, yes, yes, oh
I want to talk about that. But should say the
government bombastic, Just a lot of decisions being made that
(29:18):
are questionable and I can't wait for the people to
you know, do people power tinks?
Speaker 4 (29:24):
Moving on, let's move on to our repond fire Girl.
We put together a little this or that Southok edition. MARIOND.
Speaker 3 (29:34):
Do you want to sure you give us the cues Okay,
call me.
Speaker 2 (29:38):
Who wants to be a millionaire?
Speaker 1 (29:40):
Really?
Speaker 5 (29:40):
Okay, so we're going to start off with little Ebner's
or maywa you know what I have to do?
Speaker 1 (29:46):
Yes, we do want to talk about that cheese and
onion mushroom. That cheese and mushroom tasty? What the people
on girl one? If you're not going to may one
and getting one tons, what are you doing? Yeh, don't
don't tell me watch your foods while are in south Side.
Speaker 3 (30:00):
I don't want to hear.
Speaker 1 (30:01):
Actually, And you know, I feel like this is such
like I feel like I prefer like run down takeaways
over like TikTok Instagram, like fancy places to.
Speaker 3 (30:21):
Go like I did the time and the place for it.
Speaker 1 (30:23):
But if I had to choose, I'm choosing like the
more run down the place is the better.
Speaker 4 (30:30):
Serving you.
Speaker 5 (30:32):
That's how you're not If these kids running around, if
the menus faded, they like blinds when you walk them,
then are like blue, yellow and white.
Speaker 4 (30:41):
Yeah, tape over the price and they put hand written
a new price over and.
Speaker 1 (30:45):
If the cat is waving a cheat.
Speaker 5 (30:53):
I low key wanted to keep this place, but may
I have been serving the four years?
Speaker 2 (30:58):
So if you're around outside, make sure have you tasted Mayward?
Speaker 5 (31:02):
Okay, I feel like the I feel like the chilmin,
the the beef steak.
Speaker 3 (31:12):
Okay, so that's little.
Speaker 5 (31:15):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (31:15):
We also love what right now, Kim Broker?
Speaker 3 (31:25):
Do you like the k Broker? I can't do like.
If that's what you like, that's all you.
Speaker 5 (31:36):
Sorry, Okay, So may one say all then? Mango flea
markets or flea markets.
Speaker 1 (31:42):
I'm gonna get five card books, so I'm gonna say market.
Speaker 2 (31:47):
Okay, okay, okay, but I love you.
Speaker 3 (31:50):
I think both.
Speaker 1 (31:51):
I mean, but yeah, yeah, I got family will store them.
Speaker 5 (31:57):
Mang Yeah, I love the Mungany flea markets.
Speaker 2 (32:04):
I oh my gosh, I'm hungry now something.
Speaker 1 (32:08):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (32:08):
I mean I work Saturdays now, so I don't go
there often, and it's like kind of drizzly. You're like
getting your hot food in the morning. It's definitely way
too early to be eating, you know, whatever the fun
you're gonna get, but it gres.
Speaker 2 (32:20):
Yeah, you get you some fried ass food.
Speaker 4 (32:23):
Some knockoff crock gibbits.
Speaker 2 (32:25):
Yeah, you know, come on now if you go on.
Speaker 5 (32:27):
Oh, my favorite stores at the flea markets, especially the
mongey Ones were back in the day. They used to
have all these CDs and.
Speaker 2 (32:37):
Those are my favorites.
Speaker 5 (32:38):
And you have like the reggae and the rip and
it would be like this old uncle and sunglasses out
of the front.
Speaker 1 (32:44):
It would be like the only stores blasting music for
the whole the confidence Just.
Speaker 5 (32:51):
Those are some good times, Okay, Westfield Mennox or the
au Tahohu Main wrote with all the shops and stuff.
Speaker 1 (33:00):
Yeah, I'm sorry, I feel like Westfield Manics can sometimes
go feel Oh yeah, right, why are we acting bougie here?
Speaker 3 (33:07):
Guys? Are were Sylvia?
Speaker 2 (33:09):
Remember? I'm like, why are we are.
Speaker 3 (33:11):
Looking at each other like we don't see each other?
Speaker 5 (33:13):
But on.
Speaker 3 (33:17):
Stip into Medics and I'm kind of just like, it's
a lot.
Speaker 2 (33:19):
I hate going to That's a lot.
Speaker 4 (33:21):
Yeah, It's funny like now that I'm a grown grown up,
I don't know, Like when I was younger, I could
have twenty dollars. I had twenty dollars in a dream,
I'd get a T shirt from JJ's food from the
food court and it was like a playground. Now I'm
older and I'm like it just doesn't have that Like
it was like Disneyland when I was younger, and now
I'm just like just manx.
Speaker 3 (33:40):
So you know what, you can take that twenty dollars
to and get all.
Speaker 1 (33:43):
Of that.
Speaker 2 (33:46):
If you need you some island.
Speaker 5 (33:48):
We are going to Autahohu and you can get your
stuff altered as well that and it's a one stop shop.
So I hid on over to the lastly basil train.
Are we talking about public transport?
Speaker 1 (34:03):
See, I want to expose myself. I don't know how
to drive, so I feel like I'm married to birth.
Oh maybe I'll say a bus because south alone. Oh
I'm sorry, babes.
Speaker 3 (34:17):
You've let me down so many times.
Speaker 1 (34:19):
The bus drivers come, they say, my lord, they say
how are you today?
Speaker 3 (34:23):
I'm like, I get on the train, I just get disappointments.
Speaker 4 (34:26):
You know what, You're so real for that. Actually there's
like a personal element that comes with catching the bus.
And also it's take a fifty thousand dollars like right,
you know, I've really made it in the world. I
don't know how to drive a personal driver.
Speaker 2 (34:40):
Some car.
Speaker 3 (34:42):
Everyone's looking at me through the window.
Speaker 2 (34:47):
Maybe for the reasons that I think they're looking at me.
Speaker 5 (34:51):
Oh man, okay, PHELI thank you so much for coming
into I don't thank you so much for Heavy because
that was as discussion and yeah, I just am in
awe of your work always. I still remember the first
time I saw you perform a poem I was was.
Speaker 3 (35:09):
That when I had like those upply as banks.
Speaker 1 (35:13):
That's like, I'm glad.
Speaker 3 (35:24):
I was your known man.
Speaker 1 (35:27):
I don't know, looking back on those old portubnos, I'm like,
who taught us?
Speaker 2 (35:32):
Yeah?
Speaker 5 (35:33):
Yeah, I am too, a members I archived all my words.
Speaker 2 (35:36):
Someone, Philly, thank you so much for Johnny, and a
mess of thank you to Philly for joining us on
this week's episode. As always just a beacon of hope, wisdom, knowledge, truly, Yeah,
she is a truly.
Speaker 4 (35:53):
Truly a person of community. So just the example of
I want to be like who when I grow up,
to be honest, And.
Speaker 2 (36:02):
She's younger to me.
Speaker 5 (36:05):
I know her older sister. She her older sister was
there now yeng level? Actually oh yes, it's a very
small world for all us Southders, and if.
Speaker 2 (36:15):
You're not from the South Side, then that.
Speaker 4 (36:18):
Sucks for you and we all need to try. Is
it may one?
Speaker 2 (36:22):
Yes, yes that said, We'll catch you later.
It's the Flavor podcast network.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
Island Roots Auckland Ways.
Speaker 3 (00:06):
This one's for the Brown brothers and sisters who.
Speaker 4 (00:08):
Want to be one with themselves, their culture, their identity,
their roots.
Speaker 1 (00:13):
This is Island Roots Auckland Ways.
Speaker 4 (00:23):
Welcome back, Oh Jinks Island roots Land Ways. It's Mass
and Alyssa here.
Speaker 5 (00:30):
And this week on the podcast we're talking to our
good sister from the south Side.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
Oh my good Neah, what a queen.
Speaker 4 (00:41):
I'm sure you guys will all know her, come on, I.
Speaker 2 (00:43):
Know, especially if you're from Essay. She's just one of
the girls.
Speaker 4 (00:46):
Truly one of the girls. Yes, so many good moments
and we won't hold you back any longer.
Speaker 5 (00:54):
And please welcome to Alan Roots Auckland Ways, author, activist,
change maker, Southsider and.
Speaker 1 (01:01):
You welcome.
Speaker 3 (01:05):
It's all for lover.
Speaker 2 (01:08):
A long time coming, bro.
Speaker 3 (01:10):
We're so excited that you're here today.
Speaker 5 (01:12):
I think we've been admiring your mahi from a distance
and you've been two feet on the ground. So yeah, hello,
props to use us and we can't wait to you know,
start this teleon.
Speaker 2 (01:21):
Off, Yes, get into it. Yeah.
Speaker 4 (01:24):
Every episode we share what we love about home and
a little segment that we like to call what we
love about home we share about maybe it's where we
currently live, maybe back home in the Islands where we
feel most grounded, all those things about home that make
home home. So, Marina, what do you love about home
this week?
Speaker 2 (01:42):
Okay?
Speaker 5 (01:43):
I have a bit of a funny one that I
love about home, because that's something that I don't love
about home. Okay, So I'm gonna flip the question on
its head. I've been seeing so many tiktoks of this
fish and chip shop at Mungoday Bridge, so it's right
before the new bridge. It's called Village Fisheries or something
like that, and people are saying this is the best
fish and chip shop and town.
Speaker 4 (02:00):
By the petrol station.
Speaker 5 (02:01):
Yeah yeah, like behind the petrol station. I think that
is the with respect, with respect people. And I'm not
gonna because I will eat them. I will, I will.
Speaker 2 (02:12):
Eat you.
Speaker 1 (02:15):
Will go.
Speaker 5 (02:15):
But can I just say there has to be some
of the greasiest fish and chips I have ever tasted
it in my damn life.
Speaker 2 (02:21):
Now we're gonna talk about it later on in the show.
Speaker 5 (02:23):
But I feel like Maya Maya is goated for me,
So I hold everyone to that. Maywa standard maywas take
away mangoy slash old pet. It's like bordering and it's
close to the last actually, But I feel like village eatery,
fishery whatever, their fish and chips. It's giving, Like if
you were to squeeze their fish, it would just be
(02:47):
it would be dripping wait nasty, That's what I'm trying
to say with respect, though.
Speaker 4 (02:56):
You can take this out. I thought that was an
Asian owned Yeah it is, you said my people, Oh
my south Side Okay, I love that place really.
Speaker 1 (03:09):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (03:09):
They sees the chip because my mom used to work
around there and we would go there after working get
fish and chips.
Speaker 2 (03:16):
You like you some greasy fish.
Speaker 4 (03:18):
You're so rude, poor family business.
Speaker 5 (03:22):
No, I love them, and the fresh seafood be hidden
when we buy our fish for the oca and they
saw monkey bee heading as well.
Speaker 2 (03:29):
What else can I say about them? The oysters, But
it's it's just constructive.
Speaker 5 (03:35):
I just don't like an oily fish, you know what
I mean. So that's what I don't love about Home
this week.
Speaker 4 (03:43):
Well, what I do love about Home is the southern
line on.
Speaker 3 (03:47):
The chain because I have no other.
Speaker 4 (03:53):
Way of getting around the city. If it went for
the train of the buses or Aukland Transport. But today,
when I was on my way here on the Southern Line,
I was lucky enough to had the train conductor who sings, oh,
do you know about this train conductor?
Speaker 3 (04:07):
No, I feel like I've been missing out now.
Speaker 4 (04:09):
Okay, So he does his little announcement, He's like, hello everyone,
have you having a very peaceful journey everyone on the train.
He seemed like something that everyone on the train is
so peaceful today, And I just want you to know
that if you need any ap color.
Speaker 2 (04:22):
Man, he'd be singing on the train.
Speaker 4 (04:26):
He sings on the train sometimes he sings like whole songs. Yeah,
And typically I think he's on the Eastern lines. So
I felt blessed to on the Southerner this morning. But
that's what I love about home, that train conductor and
the Southern Line.
Speaker 5 (04:38):
Apart from the train conductor, though, is there anything to
love about the train?
Speaker 4 (04:42):
You can read a book that you can listen to music.
I've played La Langa on the train before, which is
a card game of you.
Speaker 3 (04:57):
Yeah with quick.
Speaker 4 (05:00):
The way and just genuinely feel really unsafe, specially went
on the train at night.
Speaker 5 (05:10):
Oh my gosh, well love their Auckland Transport. If you're listening,
we are.
Speaker 4 (05:15):
Please Yeah, sponsorship would be lovely, Thank you, Philly.
Speaker 2 (05:20):
What do you love about home this week?
Speaker 3 (05:22):
You know what I'm about to say mine.
Speaker 1 (05:23):
But to add to the train conversation, one thing that
I love about the train, I play a game where
when I'm on the train, I try to look at
all the graffiti and try to guess which, yes, that
is so good. I think I'm accurate with my guess,
but you know you're on the train. But one thing
(05:44):
I love about right now I'm living in bobber to
slash Mangay, but I love and I just like if
you don't know what means, it means like nosy. But
the reason I love it is because me and my
little brother a couple of months back, we got into
like a little accident on the road just untitled you
(06:06):
know what, and the other car I had like pashed
into us. But the people who were like driving past,
they parked across the road and they were like yelling.
Speaker 3 (06:13):
Out from across the road. I saw him. I was
like looking out the woman like, who's backing me up?
Speaker 4 (06:22):
Right now?
Speaker 2 (06:23):
I don't know what.
Speaker 1 (06:27):
Helen no, Because It's like one of those industrial roads
was like on their way to work.
Speaker 3 (06:32):
I was on my way to room.
Speaker 1 (06:35):
But I was just so grateful that that man stopped
and was like I got choose. Sure he gives you
his license or whatever. You know, that's the blessing of
people being like color and nosy. But sometimes it has
it's done for it.
Speaker 5 (06:51):
I mean, one of the pros is that I'm always
hearing the tea. I mean this morning, Forday, but the
cons when the tea is about you, yeah's talk about you.
Speaker 4 (07:02):
It's like those aunties in the back of the church
that just gossip.
Speaker 5 (07:05):
We're going to move on to your support of the
restoring Citizenship Removed by Citizenship Western Samoa Act and nineteen
eighty two bill. This has been a year's long fight
in the making and I feel like it's come down
to a boiling point. It's going through the house at
the moment. I mean, what has been your involvement. I
know that your dad has been a leader in this movement,
(07:28):
and much of our salmon and elders have as well,
and we're pretty much taking a lead from them at
the moment, But in your experience around navigating that bill
and trying to get it through the House.
Speaker 2 (07:40):
What has that been like?
Speaker 1 (07:41):
Very humbling for me personally, just because my history with
the bill started when I was five months old. My
parents took me down to the march for the mald
Sicini in two and Drey in Wellington, and I take
so much strength from those stories because they had over
around one hundred ks signatures and that's real life hitting
(08:02):
the pavement or to do getting to sign right. They
didn't have the internet or the resource and so I think, yeah,
so I really just try to take take my cues
from the elders whatever they asked me to do, whether
that's technology wise, whether that's you know, just showing up
and helping out, and whether that's trying to use whatever
(08:25):
platform or whatever connections and networks. I have to make
sure that the word is getting out there. Right now,
the submissions for the bill closed in about a month,
and so the focus that I have right now to
deal with this work is trying to just do a
whole lot of different means of engagement to make sure
that as much submissions are submitted before the bill goes through.
Speaker 5 (08:50):
And then it all go to Select Committee. People will
have the chance to be able to speak to their
submissions and then it all go for another reading in
the House.
Speaker 2 (08:58):
Is that correct?
Speaker 3 (08:59):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (09:00):
For our youth listening right now, What does this bill mean?
In simple terms?
Speaker 1 (09:06):
So, before Sarmour became an independent country from New Zealand,
Salmon's were considered New Zealand citizen citizens and this was.
Speaker 3 (09:18):
Probably like oh my gosh, I'm not going to say the.
Speaker 1 (09:20):
Time dates, but they were considered right for New Zealand citizens.
There was a bill that was passed in nineteen eighty
two that stripped that rightful citizenship from them.
Speaker 3 (09:30):
Lisa, she took her case.
Speaker 1 (09:33):
Around her citizenship that had been stripped from her to
the Privy Council in Britain.
Speaker 3 (09:38):
Yes, and they ruled that, which is.
Speaker 2 (09:40):
Like the highest of the high ruling judiciary.
Speaker 1 (09:44):
They pretty much said that she was right, that she
had a right to that citizenship, which meant that all
the Salmons like her, who had similar cases like her,
also had a right to that citizenship.
Speaker 3 (09:53):
And so our.
Speaker 1 (09:54):
Community has tried over the decades. In two thousand and three,
they like I said before, took all this signatures. They
marched down to Parliament and it was such a big
movement at the time but unfortunately, again the government did
not restore those citizenships. Crazy, but what it means is
that during the time of the don rates, someone's were
able to be targeted a lot more easily because that
(10:16):
citizenship turned them into overstates with the New Zealand. So
a lot of that has to do with the struggles
that we still see the effects of that today. You know,
it would have been really traumatic for our elders, and
I think that as strong as they are, and they
are so resilient and they're so strong, the right thing
to do is to restore the citizenship, especially because the
(10:38):
time frame for the people who that applies for, we
don't know how many of them are still alive to
be able to claim that rifle citizenship. So it's really
important and it's really urgent that we get this through
as soon as we can. The best time was probably
when they tried to sign the first time. They should
(10:59):
have never signed it there. The second best time is
probably when they took it all those times again. And
the third best time would be to do it now
while we still have those holders here with us, you know,
make sure that they have that justice for them. And
then also we can go into we can also develop
further on that balance to what else we can we
(11:19):
can build upon that.
Speaker 4 (11:20):
We often as a community, like how do we mobilize
our young people? How do we get our young people
involved in these things like this? And I think research
and knowing more about issues is so important. Google is free.
Thank god, you know, Like, isn't that incredible? But also
I think you already.
Speaker 3 (11:37):
Know this about me.
Speaker 4 (11:38):
One thing that I love is like knowing more about
yourself and your cultural identity and learning more about your
fuck papa or your nafer or your community's collective history
as a way to mobilize yourself and like I don't know,
ignite a fire. I feel like you do this so beautifully, Sis,
where you're able to really rely on your knowledge, your
cultural knowledge, your naher as like the thing that keeps
(12:00):
your like fire burning. And I think we see that
so easily in this service to this bill and to
our elders. It's so I don't know, I just want
to give your flowers because I think it's really admirable
and I think we see it like in all them
ah you do where you're able to really just like
lean on your palm willness and your identity as like
(12:23):
a what would be the word a motivator, a driver
as per you could say. But was there ever a
moment where you were like, oh, like, oh, I'm sam one,
because I feel like, when I look back, obviously growing
up isn'tenough see that I had so many cultural identity
crisises that I'm very grateful to not really experience anymore.
(12:44):
And it was kind of year twelve, year thirteen where
I was like, oh damn, like I'm actually someone and
like that's actually like a really beautiful thing, and you know,
I should care more about this and learn more about this.
Was there ever a moment like that for you growing up?
Speaker 3 (12:55):
Oh?
Speaker 1 (12:55):
Yeah, I had few moments like that growing up. I
think by the time that I was out in the community,
by the time I was a teenager, I had a
really strong sense of self.
Speaker 3 (13:08):
But that was because I had gone through the.
Speaker 1 (13:11):
Process of like trying to unlearn my own internalized I
guess racism towards being someone, And that's a hard conversation
to have because not many people like to admit that
we hold our own our own views of our own people,
sometimes in a negative light, and how a lot of
that comes from things like the wittness, sound motaimgation e
(13:34):
feel like, you know, the politics can sometimes feel really
a high level and complicated, but when it really comes
down to its like how do we want our people
to see themselves? How do do we want them to
live with dignity? Those kind of things. And the time
when I realized that, oh my gosh, I am some more.
I am someone, not someone. But this one time, oh
(14:04):
my gosh, my brother's gonna laugh. When I was filling
out a form for school and I was in primary
and because my dad had like kind of mentioned that
we had a little bit of German, and I like not,
I feel like, oh, someone's kind of like Germany somewhere, yeah,
And so I thought I was cool writing my culture
was someone in German on my phone and my brother
like walked over and he was like, you're not even
(14:26):
German that he was.
Speaker 2 (14:30):
He was like your.
Speaker 3 (14:32):
And I was just like what, why can I be?
Speaker 1 (14:34):
Right?
Speaker 3 (14:35):
I was probably like what nine, ten eleven somewhere around there.
Speaker 1 (14:40):
But yeah, back then I had all these dreams of
like I'm gonna go live in Paris, I'm gonna be
an artist, I'm gonna get out of the hood open
now I'm better than that, you know. I think when
you're that young and you're hearing all those negative stereotypes
about our people, and then there's another lay of that.
If you're from any kind of hood like South Aukland,
you start to internalize it and think, yeah, yeah, I
(15:04):
don't I don't want people to perceive me like that.
So I got to abandon that part of my identity
in order to survive. And I guess that's kind of
mindset I had adopted at quite a young age, and
my parents cut that down.
Speaker 3 (15:16):
They were like, and so, yeah, I knew I was
someone I guess I don't know, will stop period.
Speaker 5 (15:32):
That story about you reading German on the form is
giving you know how some of those islanders do the German.
Speaker 4 (15:45):
I definitely had that was like, oh yeah, some way
back were German and I didn't know about the history
of like colonization anything. So I was like seven, I think.
So I went to primary school and I was like, yes,
I'm I'm half Pak like musical on European.
Speaker 3 (16:03):
I didn't say pack yet.
Speaker 4 (16:03):
Time have music on European a quarter somewhat and a
quarter German, which I would introduce myself and then I
look back now, and I'm.
Speaker 5 (16:13):
Like, for a moment, really, we want to go back
to COVID when he was on The New Girl, which
was a crazy time in itself because you're still in
high school back in COVID era, So you're in high
school and it's a tough time. Like we like to
(16:36):
think that the cost of living crisis is heading now,
but burn heading for people, burn struggling, and particularly around COVID,
we saw heaps of students leaving high school to take
up work to support their families.
Speaker 1 (16:50):
What a time, Yeah, it was, he and it felt
like personally it was quite weird for me because a
lot of the I look for students was happening during
the lockdown, so like it felt like a lot was happening.
Speaker 3 (17:04):
But then also like I'm at home that it went that.
Speaker 1 (17:11):
Far, But I do that cool, Yeah, And I really
do value that time because, oh man, I learned so much.
I was learning, like on the fly, doing a lot
of that coupapa, not realizing like how it would develop
and how I could build upon it, and especially trying
(17:32):
to navigate those worlds as a as a herd write form,
a teaen her write forms. That's what I was at
the time, and I think the most valuable thing for
me personally and the thing that was like keeping me
going through the chaos of all of it was really
just our students, like my peers, my friends, the stories
(17:55):
I would hear from people, and the acknowledgment that you know,
that it madded to them that people were talking about it.
And I don't think people know this, but at the time,
like I was never planning to go into the media
or do all of those things. Like I was a poet,
spoken word poet first, and I was always posting my
poetry on Instagram, just because as like a poet from
(18:18):
the hood, you don't really have many access to platforms,
especially at that time.
Speaker 3 (18:22):
Like spoken word.
Speaker 1 (18:23):
You know, this spoken word was like quite fresh. It's
come a long way since since we were in high school. Yeah,
oh my gosh, no, you know what's buzzy. Marina one
Storytellers and then the year after I want Storytellers. The
(18:45):
only reason I applied is because I saw Marina and
I was like school one, and I was like, okay,
we got to keep it going.
Speaker 2 (18:56):
All the time. Word camp like oh man, just yeah,
really good time.
Speaker 3 (19:00):
And spoken word is like a real community.
Speaker 1 (19:03):
So when I was posting onto my Instagram, it was
like my Instagram was, well, not that many followers, and
I was, yeah, it was just for whoever needed to
hear whatever message I had to say. You know, Once
his posts started being taken outside of the hood is
where things got, like the navigation of it got so hectic.
Speaker 3 (19:25):
And all of that.
Speaker 1 (19:26):
But it was really important to me that I was
matching those actions to the words that I was spitting,
because I was like, speaking word is there to shift
culture and perspectives faster than politics can, right, and then
activism is there to put action to those words. And
so I was doing activism trying to get those messages
out and making sure that I could build opportunities for
(19:47):
people at the same time and kind of weave together
people who were doing the work but weren't aware of
each other in all these different spaces, and it was
a beautiful thing. My time in the media was purely
because I wanted to get the message to government, and
then it got to government, and yeah, yeah, Once once
(20:14):
I realized that being in the media wasn't achieving the
goal that I wanted it to do, I was like,
oh yeah, sweet, you know what we'll do it ourselves.
And then that's when because I was also part of
a group called for the Culture, we did our homic
centers or eighty South Campus, worked with other foundation to
do food pustles, all of those things.
Speaker 3 (20:31):
So yeah, I think once it gets to that stage.
Speaker 1 (20:36):
It's kind of just like, Okay, cool, we can we
still got us, Like, we get the message out, find
the right people, the community is able to provide those resources,
and I guess it's just always like that sometimes, Like
at the end of the day, no matter what politics does,
community and the people who were in it are there
to fill in the gaps and to try and catch
the people who fall through those cracks. You know. Yeah, heck,
(21:00):
okay the time, I'm glad that all of that was
like during my teens in a weird way because it's
like a last it's over.
Speaker 2 (21:08):
A list is like what doesn't kill you makes me strong.
Speaker 3 (21:11):
I'm like, if I can survive that seventeen.
Speaker 5 (21:14):
My jeez man, my gosh, girl, could you do that?
I feel like we were skipping through the roses. This
was before COVID. Oh my god, what.
Speaker 4 (21:27):
Were we doing when we were seventeen?
Speaker 2 (21:31):
Not there?
Speaker 3 (21:34):
Kepting on that Microma, you are not.
Speaker 5 (21:43):
That's not for the.
Speaker 4 (21:44):
Culture able to say it's coming back.
Speaker 2 (21:47):
Oh yes, yes.
Speaker 1 (21:51):
For the Culture started because before I was advocating for
our students, I was involved in a lot of the
space work, and I had been going to from the
age of like fifteen, I'd been going to environmental forums
like confidences, that kind of thing. But what I kept
realizing was that like none of them had the solutions
(22:13):
for our communities. And when I say our communities, I
mean Indigenous pacifica South Auckland, and doesn't important because it's
like sofic people on the front line of so many
environmental issues issues, especially the climate crisis, and then so
many of the solutions for living sustainably cost so much money.
And I'm like, I can't take this back to the
hood and be like you should all go vegan and
(22:33):
start driving electric cars, just.
Speaker 3 (22:37):
They're gonna chuck me off.
Speaker 1 (22:41):
And so I realized I had to like take the
learning that I was taking from all these spaces and
try apply it to the context that I was living in.
And that's why for the Culture was started. At the time,
for the Culture was like I guess, quite new to people.
The concept of it so a lot of people were
like confused on what exactly, but it was a glassroots
(23:01):
collective of high school students who were just really passionate
about them, especially the climate crisis on the Islands. And
at the time School Strike for Climate had, like it
was twenty nineteen, they had come out with these strikes
and first strike was done on the day of poly
Fist and that same year I had one storytellers with
(23:27):
a speech about climate change in the Pacific, and then
I got invited to speak on the project. But what
people don't know is that I had no idea that
it was going to be an interview. I thought I
was saying my speech, and then I got to the
studio and they were like, oh, you are you excited
for the interview, blahlah blah blah, and I'm looking at
my mum, like interview. So I ended up doing the
(23:52):
interview because I was never like media changed. I was
just speaking like normally, but that's speaking normally. I kind
of called out School Strife for Climate for not involving
enough salsifica students or schools at all in their planning,
and then from there they reached out for the culture
(24:13):
School Strife for Climate Work Together. There's a documentary on
it called High Tide, Don't Hide. But by the time
we were involved in the strikes, the last strike that
you had around like eighty thousand people at the Auckland protest.
Speaker 2 (24:27):
I remember that what we went to.
Speaker 5 (24:29):
That's the one everyone that was such a good day.
Speaker 4 (24:34):
Great.
Speaker 2 (24:35):
I remember getting into the city and just seeing our
flags and I was like.
Speaker 3 (24:39):
Oh, like we was good.
Speaker 2 (24:43):
We looked good.
Speaker 4 (24:44):
Girl.
Speaker 2 (24:44):
Everyone was laughing, like we.
Speaker 4 (24:47):
Meet so many of that screens there actually, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3 (24:50):
I love that.
Speaker 2 (24:52):
Yeah, I really united the people.
Speaker 5 (24:55):
And I think it's because for the Culture lived that
strike and of including all of us, because you know,
before that strike, I didn't feel included in the movement.
I felt like, oh yeah, I feel like they're talking
about us without us.
Speaker 3 (25:10):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (25:11):
And I remember going to the afternoon that for the
Culture held at Pass and they were like a few
tele an are going on and then was that.
Speaker 3 (25:23):
Before after the strike that was leading up to the strike.
Speaker 2 (25:26):
Oh my gosh.
Speaker 5 (25:27):
And I remember having that fire in my belly after
going to Pass that day Pacific Advanced Senior School in
Otahuu and just feeling so empowered. And then that's what
made me want to go to the strike and it
was so good. Yes, I still got my sign white Wall,
Brown Lives.
Speaker 3 (25:44):
I love to hear that.
Speaker 1 (25:45):
That's so mean, And I think that really speaks to
the value of like community building in real life, like
trying to get those things, those initiatives so that people
can meet each other and I have those experiences and
learn from each other in those ways as well.
Speaker 3 (26:00):
Yeah, man, what a time.
Speaker 1 (26:02):
I was so guarded when the pandemic and all that
momentum was like yeah, but then we had to put
it to like more immediate issues for our communities.
Speaker 3 (26:10):
So I guess that's that's the nature of the work.
Speaker 4 (26:13):
You know now that a lot of us are older,
like a different age group than you would have been
catering for for the culture when you initially started. What
what are you thinking of like next, are we still
catering to their high school age group or is.
Speaker 1 (26:29):
It definite all the people definitely still trying to I
guess mental and give guidance to our youth who want
to step into leadership or to step into whatever avenue
it is where they want to express themselves or have
issues that they feel really passionate about. I think it's
(26:49):
important to recognize that activism is a skill set, you know.
I think sometimes people underestimate what it can be like
or how high the stakes can be sometimes. So we
want to keep we want to give that guidance to
high school students, especially because we're not in high school anymore.
And that was one of the big things that us
as a team had been like thinking about. We're now talking,
(27:12):
which is so buzzy for us because it's like, oh
my gosh, we get to give back in a way
that we were giving we were being born into.
Speaker 3 (27:27):
Yeah, So I think that's a policy.
Speaker 1 (27:29):
But at the same time, we want to keep a
core group of members and kind of expand that as well,
because I love I love my AG forty K members, man,
because I didn't think people they got so much respect
for all of them, because we were living through the
(27:50):
issues we were advocating, yes, man, which is the part
that I think people didn't realize because they didn't really
know what forty K was about, and people had all
these big expectations of like do the and we're like,
we are teenagers who have no funding Menica McDonald's with
our one dollar. But it's cool to see like that
(28:11):
there's foundations are there for us to build upon now
that we're a bit older, hopefully a little bit wiser
and know how to better navigate a lot of the
spaces that forty K had fallen into. Really mm hmmm,
and so expanding on again that community weaving trying to
bridge the gaps that are dividing our community right now
(28:33):
and take it offline into real life spaces where we
can be I face to face without all of the
drama and the pittiness, and like, you know, these are people,
these are issues and we should be as a community
fighting the issues instead of each other. And that's something
that yeah, that forty K just wants to wants to
sustain and whatever we.
Speaker 5 (28:52):
Do quite timely given the political climate and everything that's
going on and everything being stripped. Yes, yes, yes, oh
I want to talk about that. But should say the
government bombastic, Just a lot of decisions being made that
(29:18):
are questionable and I can't wait for the people to
you know, do people power tinks?
Speaker 4 (29:24):
Moving on, let's move on to our repond fire Girl.
We put together a little this or that Southok edition. MARIOND.
Speaker 3 (29:34):
Do you want to sure you give us the cues Okay,
call me.
Speaker 2 (29:38):
Who wants to be a millionaire?
Speaker 1 (29:40):
Really?
Speaker 5 (29:40):
Okay, so we're going to start off with little Ebner's
or maywa you know what I have to do?
Speaker 1 (29:46):
Yes, we do want to talk about that cheese and
onion mushroom. That cheese and mushroom tasty? What the people
on girl one? If you're not going to may one
and getting one tons, what are you doing? Yeh, don't
don't tell me watch your foods while are in south Side.
Speaker 3 (30:00):
I don't want to hear.
Speaker 1 (30:01):
Actually, And you know, I feel like this is such
like I feel like I prefer like run down takeaways
over like TikTok Instagram, like fancy places to.
Speaker 3 (30:21):
Go like I did the time and the place for it.
Speaker 1 (30:23):
But if I had to choose, I'm choosing like the
more run down the place is the better.
Speaker 4 (30:30):
Serving you.
Speaker 5 (30:32):
That's how you're not If these kids running around, if
the menus faded, they like blinds when you walk them,
then are like blue, yellow and white.
Speaker 4 (30:41):
Yeah, tape over the price and they put hand written
a new price over and.
Speaker 1 (30:45):
If the cat is waving a cheat.
Speaker 5 (30:53):
I low key wanted to keep this place, but may
I have been serving the four years?
Speaker 2 (30:58):
So if you're around outside, make sure have you tasted Mayward?
Speaker 5 (31:02):
Okay, I feel like the I feel like the chilmin,
the the beef steak.
Speaker 3 (31:12):
Okay, so that's little.
Speaker 5 (31:15):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (31:15):
We also love what right now, Kim Broker?
Speaker 3 (31:25):
Do you like the k Broker? I can't do like.
If that's what you like, that's all you.
Speaker 5 (31:36):
Sorry, Okay, So may one say all then? Mango flea
markets or flea markets.
Speaker 1 (31:42):
I'm gonna get five card books, so I'm gonna say market.
Speaker 2 (31:47):
Okay, okay, okay, but I love you.
Speaker 3 (31:50):
I think both.
Speaker 1 (31:51):
I mean, but yeah, yeah, I got family will store them.
Speaker 5 (31:57):
Mang Yeah, I love the Mungany flea markets.
Speaker 2 (32:04):
I oh my gosh, I'm hungry now something.
Speaker 1 (32:08):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (32:08):
I mean I work Saturdays now, so I don't go
there often, and it's like kind of drizzly. You're like
getting your hot food in the morning. It's definitely way
too early to be eating, you know, whatever the fun
you're gonna get, but it gres.
Speaker 2 (32:20):
Yeah, you get you some fried ass food.
Speaker 4 (32:23):
Some knockoff crock gibbits.
Speaker 2 (32:25):
Yeah, you know, come on now if you go on.
Speaker 5 (32:27):
Oh, my favorite stores at the flea markets, especially the
mongey Ones were back in the day. They used to
have all these CDs and.
Speaker 2 (32:37):
Those are my favorites.
Speaker 5 (32:38):
And you have like the reggae and the rip and
it would be like this old uncle and sunglasses out
of the front.
Speaker 1 (32:44):
It would be like the only stores blasting music for
the whole the confidence Just.
Speaker 5 (32:51):
Those are some good times, Okay, Westfield Mennox or the
au Tahohu Main wrote with all the shops and stuff.
Speaker 1 (33:00):
Yeah, I'm sorry, I feel like Westfield Manics can sometimes
go feel Oh yeah, right, why are we acting bougie here?
Speaker 3 (33:07):
Guys? Are were Sylvia?
Speaker 2 (33:09):
Remember? I'm like, why are we are.
Speaker 3 (33:11):
Looking at each other like we don't see each other?
Speaker 5 (33:13):
But on.
Speaker 3 (33:17):
Stip into Medics and I'm kind of just like, it's
a lot.
Speaker 2 (33:19):
I hate going to That's a lot.
Speaker 4 (33:21):
Yeah, It's funny like now that I'm a grown grown up,
I don't know, Like when I was younger, I could
have twenty dollars. I had twenty dollars in a dream,
I'd get a T shirt from JJ's food from the
food court and it was like a playground. Now I'm
older and I'm like it just doesn't have that Like
it was like Disneyland when I was younger, and now
I'm just like just manx.
Speaker 3 (33:40):
So you know what, you can take that twenty dollars
to and get all.
Speaker 1 (33:43):
Of that.
Speaker 2 (33:46):
If you need you some island.
Speaker 5 (33:48):
We are going to Autahohu and you can get your
stuff altered as well that and it's a one stop shop.
So I hid on over to the lastly basil train.
Are we talking about public transport?
Speaker 1 (34:03):
See, I want to expose myself. I don't know how
to drive, so I feel like I'm married to birth.
Oh maybe I'll say a bus because south alone. Oh
I'm sorry, babes.
Speaker 3 (34:17):
You've let me down so many times.
Speaker 1 (34:19):
The bus drivers come, they say, my lord, they say
how are you today?
Speaker 3 (34:23):
I'm like, I get on the train, I just get disappointments.
Speaker 4 (34:26):
You know what, You're so real for that. Actually there's
like a personal element that comes with catching the bus.
And also it's take a fifty thousand dollars like right,
you know, I've really made it in the world. I
don't know how to drive a personal driver.
Speaker 2 (34:40):
Some car.
Speaker 3 (34:42):
Everyone's looking at me through the window.
Speaker 2 (34:47):
Maybe for the reasons that I think they're looking at me.
Speaker 5 (34:51):
Oh man, okay, PHELI thank you so much for coming
into I don't thank you so much for Heavy because
that was as discussion and yeah, I just am in
awe of your work always. I still remember the first
time I saw you perform a poem I was was.
Speaker 3 (35:09):
That when I had like those upply as banks.
Speaker 1 (35:13):
That's like, I'm glad.
Speaker 3 (35:24):
I was your known man.
Speaker 1 (35:27):
I don't know, looking back on those old portubnos, I'm like,
who taught us?
Speaker 2 (35:32):
Yeah?
Speaker 5 (35:33):
Yeah, I am too, a members I archived all my words.
Speaker 2 (35:36):
Someone, Philly, thank you so much for Johnny, and a
mess of thank you to Philly for joining us on
this week's episode. As always just a beacon of hope, wisdom, knowledge, truly, Yeah,
she is a truly.
Speaker 4 (35:53):
Truly a person of community. So just the example of
I want to be like who when I grow up,
to be honest, And.
Speaker 2 (36:02):
She's younger to me.
Speaker 5 (36:05):
I know her older sister. She her older sister was
there now yeng level? Actually oh yes, it's a very
small world for all us Southders, and if.
Speaker 2 (36:15):
You're not from the South Side, then that.
Speaker 4 (36:18):
Sucks for you and we all need to try. Is
it may one?
Speaker 2 (36:22):
Yes, yes that said, We'll catch you later.
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