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Survivor tells of ordeal in system that 'couldn't cater for us Pacific kids'

Monday, 19 July 2021

Survivors of abuse from the Pacific community will give evidence before the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care. (First published July, 2021)

The Pacific hearing of the Abuse in Care Royal Commission of Inquiry has started, with survivors discussing the impacts of the Dawn Raids, among other hurt suffered at the hands of the state.

Tulou: Our Pacific Voices; Tatala e Pulonga is the first of its kind for New Zealand and will be held over two weeks at the Fale o Samoa in Māngere.

The second witness to give his testimony, Fa'amoana Luafutu, is survivor of abuse in state care, and now artist and playwright.

Fa’amoana Luatufu was barely 12 when he was taken into state care. Speaking on Monday to the Royal Commission of Inquiry, he walked through the impacts that decision had on his entire life.
Fa’amoana Luatufu was barely 12 when he was taken into state care. Speaking on Monday to the Royal Commission of Inquiry, he walked through the impacts that decision had on his entire life.

“We were put into a system that couldn't cater for us Pacific kids. The State shouldn't take you away if your life is going to be worse off,” he told the inquiry.

**READ MORE:

* Pasikifa abuse hearings 'a start' in long process says leading lawyer

* The high costs of historical abuse

The Commissioners attending the Pacific hearing into abuse in state care are Aliimuamua Sandra Alofivae, Julia Steenson, Dr Andrew Erueti and Judge Coral Shaw.
The Commissioners attending the Pacific hearing into abuse in state care are Aliimuamua Sandra Alofivae, Julia Steenson, Dr Andrew Erueti and Judge Coral Shaw.

* The difficult goal of social cohesion

**

His experiences of abuse in state care left him lost, suicidal and struggling before he finally found solace in the creative arts during a stint in prison.

In response to his testimony, the Commissioners opted not to question him and instead, Commissioner Aliimuamua Sandra Alofivae thanked him in English and Samoan.

“We receive your story in its entirety. We receive it and want to use it for exactly what you were fighting for, to create change.”

The courtroom was exchanged for a Pacific Fale as the setting for the historic Pacific hearing into abuse in state care.
The courtroom was exchanged for a Pacific Fale as the setting for the historic Pacific hearing into abuse in state care.

From the audience, sitting District Court Judge Ida Malosi (New Zealand’s first woman Pacific Island judge) rose to honour Luafutu too.

“I stand for the might of our people and I honour you, because you show the best of our people,” she said, holding back tears.

Today, Luafutu is a successful writer and performer, and even starred in Ghost in the Shell alongside Scarlett Johansson. His stage work speaks to the abuse he experienced in state care, and he said he hopes those plays help other people process their experiences, especially children.

“I want these kids to know they're not by themselves, there are other people who have been through this abuse, who went through tough times growing up and understand what they are going through.”

Members of the public are welcome to attend the two-week hearing into the Pacific experience of abuse in state care.
Members of the public are welcome to attend the two-week hearing into the Pacific experience of abuse in state care.

Luafutu’s first time facing abuse by authorities was from his first teacher in New Zealand, who insisted on calling him John instead of Fa’amoana, his grandfather’s name.

“Part of my identity was erased when they gave me a new name.”

Four years after moving to New Zealand from Samoa, he was taken to Ōwairaka Boys’ Home, where the Housemaster facilitated “Sunday boxing” sessions between the children.

“If you were new and he could see that you could maybe put up a good fight, he would pick somebody out for you that could really fight, someone that had been at the Home for longer and he would put you up for a welcome bashing. That was his own little sick buzz.”

At one point, Luafutu spent what he believes was 21 days in a secure unit where a staff member tried to molest him.

“He wasn't the only one who tried things on… I just got so down, so depressed and I felt helpless. I attempted suicide and tried to do myself away,” Luafutu said.

His third stint in state care was in a foster home in Ponsonby, where the girls in the home were being sexually abused by the housemaster, he said.

Luamanuvao Dame Winnie Laban, New Zealand
Luamanuvao Dame Winnie Laban, New Zealand's first female Member of Parliament of Pacific Island descent gave her testimony on Monday, urging New Zealand to tangibly repair the damage done to Pacific Islanders over the years.

“His wife would go to work, and he would take girls in the room and sexually abuse them. We were helpless. We couldn't do anything, and we couldn't say anything.”

Later in life, Luafutu obtained his case files from the state, which included lines such as:

“This 12 year old boy comes from a family who have not settled into European ways readily and cling to a Samoan language and dress. If the parents would take a greater interest in English, then they would have been able to assist their boy to a far greater extent.”

The hearing is being held at the Fale o Samoa in Māngere, south Auckland.
The hearing is being held at the Fale o Samoa in Māngere, south Auckland.

His two sisters and two other cousins all went into state care for similar reasons to him, and have since passed away. Their loss destroyed their parents, Luafutu said.

His turning point came when in prison when he opened up to a psychotherapist and to a faith leader, which he says saved him.

“Until I hit recovery, I didn't know why I had turned out the way I had. And all those people, they actually took me right back to the beginning of it all. And that's when I started to understand and get a clearer picture.

Pacific culture was at the heart of a moving opening ceremony before the actual hearings into abuse in state care got underway on Monday afternoon.
Pacific culture was at the heart of a moving opening ceremony before the actual hearings into abuse in state care got underway on Monday afternoon.
Pacific Peoples Minister Aupito William Sio talks about his family's experience of the dawn raids.

“I came to realise that I had artistic and creative skills.”

Earlier on Monday, New Zealand’s first-ever Pacific MP Luamanuvao Dame Winnie Laban gave her testimony, where she said the country needs to do more practically to fix the damage done to Pacific Islanders across Aotearoa.

She called for a more culturally aware social welfare service, immersed in Pacific ways of restorative justice.

Laban, who today is the Vice Chancellor (Pasifika) at Victoria University of Wellington, said the seasonal work schemes and international agreements between New Zealand and Pacific Islands could be avenues for putting real money and support in the homes of Pasifika families.

She said New Zealand needs to better honour the economic contribution that Pacific Islanders have made to the country’s development.

She said restorative justice between survivors and their families, and the perpetrators of abuse, is needed in order to heal the damage done to not only their person but to their ancestry and genealogy too.

A traditional ava ceremony was held before the inquiry began.
A traditional ava ceremony was held before the inquiry began.

Lead counsel assist for the Royal Commission Tania Sharkey began her opening statements by acknowledging the survivors in the room, those who have passed on and those who are still unable to come forward and speak up about the abuse they experienced.

She said the experience of Pacific peoples across New Zealand has been marked by discrimination and neglect, which leaves the community overrepresented in state care and in the criminal justice system.

Even today, it is hard to get a clear picture of just how bad the problem has been or continues to be, with poor reporting across Government agencies leading to inaccurate data.

“Inaccurate reporting is a form of neglect, and as we heard… has resulted in distinct forms of abuse for Pacific peoples,” Sharkey said.

Director of the Crown Secretariat Alana Ruakere said the Crown will not be questioning survivors or witnesses during the hearing, and intends only to listen, and learn from them.

“Their contribution cannot be overstated and their courage and strength inspires us all.”

The public hearing considers the impacts of the Dawn Raids on individuals and the wider Pacific community – part of a bigger investigation into abuse and neglect in care from 1950 and 1999.

Minister for Pacific Peoples, Aupito William Sio, said the Pacific hearing will give an opportunity for those victims of abuse in care to begin telling their stories.

“And hopefully, in my view, will shine a light on the darkness that many have tried to cover up,” Sio said.

Sio said often times when it comes to matters of family abuse and sexual abuse, these issues are pushed aside and covered up.

“Because it's so challenging for our communities to talk about it.”

Over the two weeks of July 19-30, the hearings will follow the story of Pacific survivors of abuse in state care.

They will talk about their migration to New Zealand, circumstances which saw them separated from their parents and families, and the care they received in their new country.

Sio said bringing the hearing out to the Fale, instead of using a courtroom, matters to the Pacific community.

“In the Pacific communities, matters of significance must be discussed and debated in the open, for complete transparency.”

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