Moana Vā collective launches safe space for Pacific Rainbow community
Thursday, 24 February 2022
Moana Vā, a new collective launching on Friday, aims to offer a safe space for the Pacific Rainbow community in Ōtautahi Christchurch.
It will support the mental health and wellbeing of Pasifika Rainbow community members through connecting people and fostering friendships.
Mahmah Timoteo, a self-described “queer brown va’ine”, who identifies as “any pronouns used with respect” often doesn’t feel safe in the city.
“My bags are always searched, especially after I got my indigenous markings on my hands and chest, and I get followed … I have long black hair, an island nose and size 13 feet,” Timoteo said.
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“When a shop assistant asks if I want the receipt, my white friends say no, and I always say yes because I know for sure I am going to get checked when I leave.
“Navigating being queer here is one thing, but being brown and queer is different again.”
On an ordinary day last year the va’ine was walking with their sister in a public place when they were spat at.
“We were spat on by a group of white supremacist folk, eight of them,” Timoteo said.
“A lot of times I have chosen not to leave the house. Especially with the freedom protest at the moment, I just feel it is not safe for people of colour to be around that.”
As a way of offering more safe spaces for Rainbow LGBTQIA+, MVPFAFF+ (mahu, vakasalewa, palopa, fa’afafine, akava’ine, fakaleiti (leiti), fakafifine), Moana Vā, a collective of nine allies and mentors, launches via Zoom at the Grand Coming Out event on Friday.
“It is something our community has needed for a long time. Being a queer brown person in one of the most racist cities in New Zealand is something that is really challenging…
“Being brown as well as queer brings different forms of oppression to navigate on a daily basis,” said Timoteo.
“I am led by my ancestors. For me, Moana Vā provides this sense of safety and community for a group of people who may not have had it before.”
It is hard for Pacific people to present their “whole self” to the world.
“There are a lot more complexities with Pacific communities in the way we navigate our queerness. Religion plays a huge part in who we are and how we identify.
“Sometimes we move through the world presenting aspects of who we are as a protection mechanism, a way for us to keep ourselves as safe as possible.”
The anthropology student and part-time teacher at the University of Canterbury leads workshops on indigenous queerness.
“A lot of workshops delivered to workplaces and schools are from a Western view. A lot of language in the rainbow spaces is Western, very white. I walked into queer spaces and I didn’t see any other brown faces.
“White supremacy and racism still exist within these spaces and for brown folk to be a part of that they need to dismantle and disrupt ways of thinking embedded in them for a long time. That’s why Moana Vā is so important.”
At one workshop recently there were “people in the room who would rather you didn’t exist”.
“One woman there looked at my breasts the entire time to see if I was trans. They couldn’t fathom me not assigning to the gender of woman and she/her pronouns. I have a thick skin, but it is still very difficult,’’ said Timoteo.
Health worker Suli Tuitaupe agrees.
As a young person he felt alienated and alone.
“Growing up there wasn’t the option given to me because I didn't feel that I belonged. The collective is definitely a vision I had.
“It goes back to I don't want people growing up today feeling they had nowhere to turn to because that was the experience I had growing up,” he said.
“A message of being here in this city we hear often is that it is hard to align because of our sexuality, gender identity but also too because of the colour of our skin.”
He added it was often difficult for parents to find advice and support.
“To grow our community we were hoping to take part in two events, Polyfest which has been cancelled, and Christchurch Pride which has been cancelled, but they have taken us under their wing,” said Tuitaupe.
“We are offering a space for pacific rainbow, it is inclusive of all flavours is the main thing, wherever someone is at on their journey.”