1 'NEIGHBOURHOOD' THEME Captions by Ingrid Lauder. www.able.co.nz Captions were made possible with funding from NZ On Air. Copyright Able 2015 AMBIENT ELECTRONIC MUSIC Mt Wellington is one of the youngest volcanoes in Auckland. It blew itself into existence a mere 10,000 years ago. Its Maori name is Maungarei, which means watchful mountain. I'd like to think that it's watching over a suburb of real diversity. My family's from Zimbabwe, and I love the things about my culture that make me unique. That's why I like Mt Wellington. It's a true cultural melting point, and I don't think I could ever feel out of place here. Let me show you why. We'll meet a Mt Wellington resident with Samoan heritage who has dedicated his life to helping the community. One of the things that I was keen on going back to ` my lack of a Pacific language. I particularly pushed hard for better funding of early childhood education, in particular the full immersion or the bilingual education. A Chinese man shares his love of preserving the beautiful things in life. (SPEAKS CHINESE LANGUAGE) TRANSLATOR: I started painting when I was very young ` uh, in primary school. And then they entered me into competitions as well when I was very young. As Chinese students, we always had to learn Chinese calligraphy first, and then afterwards we would move on to watercolours or other types of painting. We'll meet an artist whose work is inspired by conversations with the locals. It's continuous, and so, you know, these workers are not acknowledged. They're not highlighted or anything. So this` this work acknowledges them, um, only for a temporary moment. And a man from Cambodia tells the story of his escape from the Khmer Rouge. At the time, I was about 9 years old. I remember just walking. You're hungry, you need food, and then you had to keep going. You can't stop, because there's no` no place for you to stop. I'm Munashe Tapfuya, and this is my neighbourhood. UPBEAT ELECTRONIC MUSIC REFLECTIVE MUSIC My mum's house is one of eight units here, each of which is home to a different nationality. It's a real indication of the community. REFLECTIVE MUSIC CONTINUES My mum wanted a change from life in Zimbabwe. Fortunately, she found a job here as a nurse and moved here in 2000. Four years later, I followed when I was 10. Normally, African families strive really hard to give their children to a very good education. Subjects that are not science or business are normally considered irrelevant. So when I decided to leave business school and pursue my career as an actor, it was very hard to convince my family. However, they were a bit more flexible about it, and now I have Mum's full support. Having someone in your corner who is prepared to support you makes such a big difference. As the first person of Samoan descent to become a Cabinet minister, Mark Gosche built a political career not only fighting for the PI community but for many vulnerable people in our society. GENTLE MUSIC My wife, Carol, had a severe brain haemorrhage in 2002. After three weeks of being in a coma in intensive care in Wellington, she was expected to die. Miraculously, she survived, and, um,... it left her, um, completely dependent on others. So she needs 24-7 care. I've retired from politics, but I still have to make a living, so... (LAUGHS) So we worked very hard to get her home, but I have to spend well over 50 hours a week as her caregiver. And being in Wellington and doing politics didn't mix. So I very reluctantly said goodbye to the political career. Reluctant because there were still a lot of things I'd liked to have done. But in the end, the person that I loved had to come first. When you can't speak for three years,... No. ...suddenly the first thing that comes back` lots of people come with` their first words are not very nice. (SPEAKS INDISTINCTLY) And they're usually swear words. (LAUGHS) Oh! (SPEAKS INDISTINCTLY) Carol's first words were, 'I love you.' I love you. Eh, darling? Oh, I love you. Yep. I am Vui Mark Gosche, and I was born in Otahuhu, just down the road, in 1955. Vui is a Samoan matai title that was bestowed on me in 2007, back in Samoa, where my grandmother and grandfather lived and where my dad was born, in the village of Lano in Savai'i. And, um, that title came about after a very lengthy process of discussion amongst the family. The family felt that I should have a title because of my work in NZ in the field of politics. Well, my dad is Samoan-German, so the Gosche is always a bit of a put-off for people who don't understand that obviously Samoa was a German colony. And so he had a Samoan mother, obviously. And, um, Dad, uh,... grew up in Samoa, didn't come to NZ until the early 1950s. So I was the first person of Pacific descent in NZ history to serve in a NZ Cabinet. And I'm very proud to have picked up what was a small portfolio compared to my other two, uh, which was Pacific Island Affairs. So there hadn't been a person of Pacific descent hold that portfolio before, so it had special meaning to me and our community. AMBIENT ELECTRONIC MUSIC I was able to drive things especially hard, and there were certain things that we were able to do in my other portfolio, cos as Minister of Housing, I reintroduced income-related rents. 40% of tenants in Housing NZ properties in Auckland at that stage were Pacific. So there were things you could do in politics that had real meaning and made a big difference to Pacific people. I particularly pushed hard for better funding of early childhood education, in particular the full immersion or the bilingual education. (SPEAKS PACIFIC LANGUAGE) I have never spoken the Samoan language. It's one of my great regrets. And that is because my father decided that we wouldn't, um, learn Samoan, and with a Palagi mother and a Samoan father, we never heard the language in the hou` in the home, only when we visited family. So one of my great regrets. And I have tried to learn, and I'm hopeless. (LAUGHS) But this is important, um, to me, that this doesn't happen for this generation. That our little ones are able to learn in places like this and feel comfortable with their language and their culture, uh, in a way that I never did. LIGHT ELECTRONIC MUSIC On the political front, I've gone quiet, but I like to encourage the young talent that's coming through. And there are some wonderful Pacific people who want to get into politics, who aspire to serving their community. And quite often you need somebody who's had the experience I've had, just to point you in the direction and continue to encourage you, so that you don't give up when the going gets tough. What are you doing at the` the housing thing? So the housing meeting ` as you know, housing is the actual number one issue that people come to this office asking for help and assistance with. Mark Gosche is one of my political mentors. And he's been one of these people that pushed me to be active and to be involved in politics. There are a lot of things that he did as a Cabinet minister that are still around today. Um, and, you know, a lot of us, uh, particularly those of us who are very active in politics, are really grateful for the leadership that he had and for, you know, everything that he did when he was a Cabinet minister for our people. Well, the Pacific population in NZ is very young, so in 20 years' time, a quarter of Auckland's workforce will be Pacific. So we are the future of this economy, because most of the rest of the population, like me, the baby-boomer generation, we're all heading to retirement. And what's coming in behind to replace my generation is young and Pacific, young and Maori, young and other ethnicities. So NZ will look very different. If we're going to be an important part of our society and our economy, we have to be part of the political life as well, part of where the decisions are made, and we can no longer leave it to others to do it for us. CHEERFUL DRUM MUSIC When I first arrived here, some of the most challenging things I found were the cultural differences. For instance, in my culture, it is considered very disrespectful to call an adult by their first name. And I'd often find my friends calling my mum by her first name and, you know... (CHUCKLES) Um, so you either have to call them auntie or uncle. Generally, African kids do get quite a lot of responsibilities from a young age. At the time, I didn't really appreciate it, but now I do, as it's kind of formed me into a more grounded and mature person for my age. Yay! Um... (LAUGHS) (LAUGHS) Um,... (LAUGHS) at the time, I didn't really understand why Mum would do certain things differently, cos, you know, you are in NZ and my Kiwi friends, their, um` they had a more freer lifestyle, it seemed, and I always wanted to do` to have that, but, yeah, I appreciate it now. Maybe. BOTH CHUCKLE CHEERFUL MUSIC Nothing I had to deal with as a kid comes anywhere near close to the hardships faced by a local restaurant opener. He was just 4 when the Khmer Rouge swept through Cambodia. REFLECTIVE MUSIC When I 7, 8 years old, I seen a lot. You know, like, basically in a war zone. You can hear bomb explosions every day, shooting. Uh... Some terrible thing, you know, like, you see people killing people, you know, stuff like that. But I was really young at the time. Getting out of Cambodia was really really hard straight after the war. There's no, like, public transportation, nothing. I remember, at the time, I was about 9 years old. I remember just walking and the other two brothers just sort of, like, crying, you know. It's really hard. You're hungry. You need food, and then you have to keep going. You can't stop, because there's no` no place for you to stop. Yeah. And the majority of the road that we passed through was, like, in the bush, through the bush, you know, and get to the point, yeah ` Vietnam. We lived in Vietnam in the refugee camp for about 11 years. So from '79 to 1990. And then we came to NZ. Uh, very lucky, Mum had a sister who migrated to NZ back in the '80s and sponsored our family to NZ as family reunion. We talked about opening a restaurant as give the family their job opportunity and maybe a better lifestyle. Because I` I been working in a restaurant and also when we were in the camp, Mum and Dad already start, uh, trading ` we selling the soya bean milk ` so that experience, and my parents also loved cooking. Because my name is Han, in Chinese mean 'looking at something', 'looking'. And my brother's name, San, means, like, 'mountain'. So one day I was around the area and try to familiarise the area, and I suddenly had this, like, 'Oh, looking at the mountain, so HanSan. Looking at the mountain.' I repeat it a few times and then I said, 'This is a good story to start a restaurant.' GENTLE ELECTRONIC MUSIC I basically brought up in Vietnam for 11 years. I loved the` the food there, cos Mum cooked the local food. We are doing, like, pork and prawn pancakes, uh, vermicelli and have the beef noodle soup. Oh, Mum` Mum is expert of making this. So, uh, I've seen her making that before, and I've done that a lots of time too, so I'm going to do may` hopefully the best one. Now put this pancake flour, the Vietnamese call banh xeo. So we are doing two things at once. Put a mince pork. SIZZLING Prawn. Yeah, I think when we had gathering, party and family meeting, uh, back in the camp or Cambodia, we were always making this pancake as well. Yep. Just put the bean sprout. Now let's look if it's ready. Yeah, fill it. So I'm going to turn that to here. GENTLE ELECTRONIC MUSIC CONTINUES Looks beautiful. So, Mum is smiling, so I'm doing things right. That's nice, and it's all ready. Now, this is the tricky part ` make sure I don't break before I put it on the plate. Nice! And that's finish. INTRIGUING ELECTRONIC MUSIC In this coming two years, when my daughter maybe turns 10 years old, I will take both of them and my wife back to Cambodia and show them, you know, where I used to live and where I was born. And maybe give my children a bit of, uh, my background education as well. I will probably take them to the local orphanage, show them, you know, how the people live over there. You know, in NZ we are very lucky, and they have every` everything that they need in NZ. We try to get together maybe once a week, and sometimes once every two weeks. It depends on everyone's, uh, schedule. How is the pancake? You try the pancake, yeah? Good. (CHUCKLES) Mm-hm. It has lots of tastes. Lots of tastes? Good. I am always, uh, optimistic, because I think what I've been through ` the war and in the refugee camp, all my life ` uh, when I come to NZ, I think everything is possible. Uh, work hard, uh, humble, uh, open-minded and try to learn. Uh, every day is a learning curve for me. AMBIENT ELECTRONIC MUSIC One of my favourite things to do here in Mt Wellington is to shop at Sylvia Park. There is so much going on here. AMBIENT ELECTRONIC MUSIC CONTINUES Looking around me, I think the biggest challenge still facing minority groups is racism. It's not as obvious as it used to be, but it still does happen in subtle ways. I believe that this is not an excuse to not succeed in life. I applaud those people who work hard and go for what they believe in. I aim to do the same. Like many PI families, John Vea's parents and grandparents moved here to make a better life for their children. He's turned migrant stories like theirs into art. AMBIENT ELECTRONIC MUSIC So, I live in Mt Wellington. I've been living here... since 1990. In the '90s, a lot of the migrants moved from Herne Bay or from the city, the central city, in` in so, uh,... in kind of, uh, response to the gentrification that was happening at the time. My parents came here to find a better life and also, you know, support family back home in Tonga. What they found difficult is in NZ is that finding a job and also working constantly. Daycare must have been expensive for them, so we, uh, followed them to` to work and watched them work and watched them in the process of work. So, today I'm going out and just have a basic conversation with characters around Mt Wellington. These conversations are used to form some kind of process in my art practice. I would call it, uh, responsive art. So you're the window washer cleaners as well? Yes. Yes. How long have you been here? Uh, I been here for about six months, boss. < Yeah? Six to eight months, yeah. So it's like a gypsy of window washers? More or less, boss. I mean, I wouldn't put it like that, in a way. But in a way we try and keep together as a family, eh. < Oh yeah. Try and stay family orientated, just to help everybody out. I mean, we're all out here to eat, and that's all we're trying to do. < Definitely, man. So through my art, I acknowledge the workers, I acknowledge the migrants. I pick subtle things or objects they use and put it in a more simplified kind of format. And that's when the artwork starts to generate into some kind of piece. AMBIENT ELECTRONIC MUSIC One of my fondest memories as a kid was tagging along with my grandfather to these kava clubs at night and watching him play these gigs, listening to the music and watching the men drink kava, and, um, it kind of puts... them in a trance and also myself, visually. So coming to` to NZ, they worked during the day, and at night, they could be this creative person or this creative character ` more themselves. It was a shock, though, cos it's totally` culturally it's different and the way of living is different. Tonga is quite a small island, and coming to NZ is a big, big place, you know, for me. So I study at AUT. At the moment, I'm doing my master's of visual arts. This work started off as` as investigating this scheme that the government just, um, started or initiated in 2008 ` RSE or the Recognised Seasonal Employment Scheme. It's a scheme where they get people from the Pacific Islands over to Aotearoa and work in the orchards. It's about the bodies that come over here, the beings, and working these lands. And then after they're paying them minimum wage, then they move on back to their islands. It's kind of just` This work is more of an acknowledgement towards them and more to highlight that they exist. The shape of the cone mimics the` the taro. And taro is a common` a common, um,... staple food for, um` in the Pacific. And also having this form, it kind of urbanises this shape. So these crates were displayed in the Wynyard Quarter. It was part of a project called Tidelines. The Wynyard Quarter reflected the... the migrants, um, working in` in NZ. It's continuous, and so, you know, these workers are not acknowledged, they're not highlighted or` or anything. So this work ` the crate, the import-export ` acknowledges them, um, only for a temporary moment. With the viewers that view my work, it begins humorous, so they start to feel, um` respond with humour, And once they` they experience the work more, they start to get more emotionally connected. I want them to leave with an awareness of what, uh, general` or generally migrants do in these spaces. And so it gives them, uh,... some kind of acknowledgement. UPBEAT ELECTRONIC MUSIC Africans take a lot of pride in their arts, particularly dancing. It's something that is hugely part of our culture. Music also touches many hearts. My family has a musical background, and I like to think I take a lot of that spirit into my love of performing arts. Music and dance is something we carry with us always. Eason Chen was born in China. He believes that his cultural heritage has given him the skills he needs to excel in his perfect job. REFLECTIVE MUSIC MAN SPEAKS CHINESE LANGUAGE TRANSLATOR: When I first came to NZ, my English wasn't very good, so that's why I couldn't find a professional engineering job, um, but then, uh, it was really good that I could find an artistic job, because I don't need to use my mouth to do it. I can just use my hands. (SPEAKS CHINESE LANGUAGE) And then I passed a studio, and then I went in and asked the receptionist whether they needed to hire anyone. When I came to NZ, I didn't think I would be hired to do any art-related job, so I didn't bring any of my things to show the boss. But then what happened was I just took a pen and then took some paper, and then I went to the beach and different landscapes, and then I just drew some pictures. And then showed it to the boss, and then he hired me. (SPEAKS CHINESE LANGUAGE) TRANSLATOR: I started painting when I was very young, in primary school, and then they entered me into competitions as well when I was very young. As Chinese students we always had to learn Chinese calligraphy first, so everyone would learn that, and then afterwards we would move on to watercolours or other types of painting. (SPEAKS CHINESE LANGUAGE) In terms of Chinese-type calligraphy, it's not so much about the detail or how exquisite the kind of painting is; it's whether the detail expresses the emotions of the artist. (SPEAKS CHINESE LANGUAGE) REFLECTIVE MUSIC TRANSLATOR: Because NZ is a Western country so that means there is more European antiques, and so it is quiet rare for me to restore Chinese antiques. (SPEAKS CHINESE LANGUAGE) So basically this painting is something that my Mum gave to me. And I really like the meaning behind the painting. So it's about this old grandfather who is a fisherman and he got drunk. And then his grandson tried to wake him up, but he can't wake him up. And then it shows just an elderly person just enjoying himself and just taking pleasure in his drink. TRANSLATOR: So I'm not sure exactly how old the painting is, but at least it would be half a century old. The first reason why it's special to me is because it's a family treasure. And also because I don't have a lot of Chinese paintings here in NZ. And so it's something that has been passed down through the generations, so I really appreciate it. So I really hope that I don't need to restore this painting. And I hope that` I know that I'll definitely take care of the painting. (SPEAKS CHINESE LANGUAGE) AMBIENT ELECTRONIC MUSIC (SPEAKS CHINESE LANGUAGE) TRANSLATOR: The reason why my mother brought it over from China was so then I can also show to my children what Chinese paintings look like and then pass it on as well. Which colour should I use? Oh, you'd use the yellow in the middle first, then put green in the... in the egg. TRANSLATOR: When I'm painting, then I might train them in the Chinese calligraphy brush, and then I will teach them how it is different to the Western styles that they might know. (SPEAKS CHINESE LANGUAGE) I try to do it because so at least they will have an idea of what Chinese calligraphy and using a Chinese brush is like. Definitely when they are older and they can appreciate the value of the painting, then I will definitely give it to them. AMBIENT ELECTRONIC MUSIC The Panmure Basin lies next to Mt Wellington. It's the perfect place to relax. I love going back to Zimbabwe. The feeling of being surrounded by old friends and relatives is just amazing. I do love this neighbourhood, because it is rich in so many cultures. It's given me a sense of belonging, and I feel right at home. Captions by Ingrid Lauder. www.able.co.nz Captions were made possible with funding from NZ On Air. Copyright Able 2015