'NEIGHBOURHOOD' THEME Captions by Shrutika Gunanayagam. Edited by Ingrid Lauder. www.able.co.nz Captions were made possible with funding from NZ On Air. Copyright Able 2015 ROCK INSTRUMENTAL Manukau Central ` the heart of South Auckland. I love the CBD. It's a gathering place for local iwi, but also those new tribes that have emigrated from other nations through the generations. ROCK INSTRUMENTAL CONTINUES My father's NZ-Scottish. My mother is from Tonga. She immigrated here in the '70s, after they were married. I've grown up mainly out east and in South Auckland, but I've chosen to live here, as a visual artist, the heart of Polynesia. ROCK INSTRUMENTAL CONTINUES It's a vibrant, young and inclusive place that welcomes all comers. We're gonna meet a woman who brings South American flair to her role with the Manukau Symphony Orchestra. WOMAN: Viola ` I love this deep sound that it has. I think it's not as bright as the violin. I feel the sound is more deep, so it also is` like, goes deeper in your body and in your feelings. A young Senegalese woman reveals what she loves about wearing traditional clothing. When you see something on your body, it just changes the way, you know, y` you look at things, and, you know, it` it just makes you really happy. A man from India shares his knowledge with international students. 'Initially, they just didn't knew how to go around, uh,' and find, uh, some good place to shop or even to get their bank accounts or IRD numbers set up. So I help with all of that as well. So it's more of, um, mentor or support kind of role added on to teaching. And a young woman, born in Pakistan, talks us through her long journey to a place of safety. We've been through it. So if we've been through it, people should know how to deal with it, how to cope with it, you know. If the next person that comes out of their parents' house or their husband's house, if they see what we've done, or if they see what our journey is all about, and if it inspires them, then we've done our job. My name's Benjamin Work, and this is my neighbourhood. 'NEIGHBOURHOOD' THEME UPBEAT MUSIC I'm a visual artist, and what I would describe of what I currently do is post-graffiti Pacific, where a group of artists have come from the graffiti culture, and now we're exploring other mediums. But we still retain that influence that we have from the Pacific region. UPBEAT MUSIC CONTINUES I love our Pacific histories. A personal favourite of mine is to take Tongan artefacts from our past and then reintroduce them to a new generation. I believe, as artists, we're doing more than just painting on a wall. I believe that when we create something it releases it into the atmosphere on a whole spiritual level. Must be that same kind of creative magic that Argentinian viola player Celina feels when she plays with the Manukau Symphony Orchestra. BACH'S 'SUITE NO. 1 IN G MAJOR, PRELUDE' When we were in Argentina and I was probably 9 years old, we went to see Teatro San Martin ` Teatro Libertador San Martin ` uh, which is the theatre where I work later. And... I had this very clear memory that we went there, and I was in the balcony with my mum. Um, I remember that I was watching the orchestra. The orchestra, I was just like, 'Wow.' Like, paying attention where each instrument` uh, where the sound of` of ea` each instrument were coming from, and I was just, like, amazed with that. Uh, I thought that was incredible, really. I think that was the beginning of my career, really. (CHUCKLES) (PLAYS BACH'S 'SUITE NO. 1 IN G MAJOR, PRELUDE') Well, about viola, I love this deep sound that it has. It's like, um... I` I think it's not as bright as the violin, usually. Some` Some violas are more, but I like more the sound that it comes closer to the cello. So it's a little bi` a little bit more darker. And... I feel the sound is more deep, so it also is` like, goes deeper in your body and in your feelings. SERENE MUSIC (COOS) Well, I come to NZ in February 2012. I came here to visit my sister. She was on a working holiday visa. I was here for a month and a half, and I met Michael. He was good friend with my sister, Nazeli. And so I met him when I just arrive here. Um... Ah, I` It was amazing. We really fall in love. (LAUGHS) Well, now we have a little Kiwi. (LAUGHS) This is the most amazing experience that I have had. REFLECTIVE MUSIC PLAYS Here in NZ, I am playing with the Manukau Symphony Orchestra. We are playing in the Vodafone Events Centre. It's this beautiful theatre that has the waka... (LAUGHS) on top. It's awesome. I mean, it's amazing place. MUSICIANS TUNE INSTRUMENTS Uh, we're gonna be playing tonight the Vaughan Williams Pastoral Symphony and, um, Tchaikovsky Rococo Variations. SLOW ORCHESTRAL MUSIC PLAYS Being part of an orchestra is` uh, for me, it's just beautiful. Still now, it keep getting me very emotional. I dunno, you hear the whole orchestra, it's like who` it's like a whole sea, and you're one of those instruments. But actually, it's like the whole orchestra is... holding you, and you're floating in the orchestra, and... the whole` the whole orchestra is moving all together and creating something that is huge. LIVELY ORCHESTRAL MUSIC PEOPLE CHATTER There are many different ages people, like, quite young. Peter, the` the guy that is sit next to me, he's around 80. Um, so, yes, it's a very big mixture of people. You have some professionals, some students, some amateurs, some people that used to play in a professional orchestra, and we are all together. Um, we just share the relaxed moment here. LIVELY ORCHESTRA MUSIC PLAYS Playing viola, it's me. (CHUCKLES) That's the thing that I have been doing for so many years, er, and... so if I` if I am playing with` with orchestras and interacting with other musicians here in NZ, that's the way that actually I am able to also connect with people here. So... it's a way to be part of the society, really. ORCHESTRA MUSIC SOARS AUDIENCE CHEERS REFLECTIVE MUSIC My Tongan grandmother was a big influence on us growing up. As a kid, we would travel to Tonga, and I remember watching her as she wove those Tongan mats. In Tonga, it's a woman's domain, so I could never participate in it. In some ways, it's in memory of her that I'm collaborating on this commission artwork for MIT with the Tongan women's group Fauniteni 'o e Mo'ui. I'm responsible for a small part in this project ` this project that has a visual artist collaborate with a Tongan women's group to make a tapa cloth that will hang from the ceiling ` the middle gantry ` and it's gonna drop down 16m. For me, it's something that I'm very proud of. It's a way of displaying your pride for your culture. Just like wearing traditional clothing. GENTLE MUSIC 'I work with Disability IDEA Services, and I mostly work with children that have disability.' So I go take them out in the community. Um, they learn independence skills and new skills and, you know, interact with others. OK, so we're getting this one. Mm. How much is it? $12. $12. So how much are you gonna give them? I think it's more about trying to help, um, people to, you know, better themselves. So, you know, live` live a better life and have an` have an illness to live with and accept that as well. REFLECTIVE MUSIC When my mum was really young, she was about under 20, and when she got married to my dad, they moved to Mauritania and` and started a life there together. My dad worked mostly with government agencies and, you know, trying to start, um, building his career for being, um, president and things like that. So he wanted to work in Parliament and, yeah, so he started doing voluntary stuff, yeah. A war started between the country and another Muslim country. That's when the shooting started, and there were no warnings or anything like that. My mum was home alone with the baby, and then she started... to hear gun noises and stuff, so she started to` wanted to take cover. Mauritania military came and started to get her to safety, but she was trying to ask them, 'What is going on? Where are we going?' No one's answering anything. So then they drove her to Senegal. There was a lot of Mauritanian refugees from the war there. And there was lots of injuries and lots of blood. And, yeah, she` every time she tells the story, it kind of` it's kind of scary. So, then, they refuged to Senegal, because it's not far from Mauritania. So the borders` they just crossed the borders to Senegal. My parents, once` when they got the refugee status, they decided not to say anything to anyone, even us children. We didn't find out until maybe a week before we left. And it was very devastating, but the reason why they did that was because they, um` the amount of, um, voodoo stuff they do there. People get jealous, and they start, um, doing things to prevent you from going or cause death. Stuff like that. So, yeah, that was the dangerous part of Senegal. (LAUGHS) PENSIVE MUSIC When I put on the African clothes, I just feel at home. I feel like I could hug myself,... (LAUGHS) because, you know, it's` it's really comforting to have that type of` you know, mentally, your culture is still with` within you. But then when you see something on your body, it just changes the way, you know, you` you look at things, and, you know, it` it just makes you really happy. REFLECTIVE MUSIC CONTINUES I remember how my house looks like. I remember how my street looks like. I still remember the neighbours we had. And when I wear the clothes, it just reminds me of all that. These are some of the ones that we wore during Eid time, which is after Ramadan. Me and my sister would take one material, and then we would make two different type of styles, and then we would wear the same material but different styles on` on Eid day. So, this one is, kind of like a, um... kind of like a tree. So we've got one flower here on top of another flower and then another flower. So, most of our clothes, um, are represented by the natural resources in Africa. So like a flower or, um` or a flag or something like that. So it` it has a meaning to it. REFLECTIVE MUSIC CONTINUES This is my first one that I have ever designed myself from, um, the African material. So, I took the African material, and I put it in the middle. And then I got satin on the sides to match the green inside. Cos we wear a lot of green in our country. And blue is my favourite colour. It's got a bit of a yellow in there too. I'm very proud to be a Senegalese. And, um, I love the culture. I love the food. I love the clothes. But mostly, when I come home, I can look at myself and say, 'Yup, Senegalese-born and proud.' (CHUCKLES) GENTLE MUSIC I'd love for NZ society to experience a little bit more to Tongan culture than just our amazing rugby players. GENTLE MUSIC CONTINUES Well, this is an important part of Tongan culture. This is a called a ta'ovala and this` the` this style of ta'ovala is called a lokeha. This was made by my cousin and her mother, my auntie, so it's very special to me. Um, the process that it takes to make it is a long one. And it's made with a lot of love and care. So, I'm standing here wearing this as a sign of who I am and my culture. GENTLE MUSIC CONTINUES The significance of the ta'ovala represents the fonua ` the land that it's from ` and also the royal family. And this importance, I will pass on to my children. Most of us wanna pass on something to the next generation. Nirmal Singh wants to pass on his love for nature to his international students at Manukau Institute of Technology. AMBIENT ELECTRONIC MUSIC When I told my dad that I'm going to study horticulture, his first reaction was, 'Why can't you just come back and do f` work on the farm? 'Why do you have to study horticulture?' Cos traditionally, in India, horticulture is not seen as a very... high-tech or` kind of career where you need a lot of education. It seen more of a primitive kind of career, where you just learn things on the farm. But eventually, when I told him all the technical stuff, how things actually work, and they applied some of the things on their farming as well, so that changed his perspective as well. AMBIENT ELECTRONIC MUSIC CONTINUES My name is Nirmal. I was born in a very small village in, uh, state of Punjab in Northern India. The total population is around 300 now. At that time, it was only around 200. You can't even find it on Google Maps. Most of it was, uh, wheat and rice farming. We did a little bit of sunflowers as well. I think most of my work ethic actually comes from my family. Growing up on a farm, I've seen my dad and grandad work really hard. We always been, kind of, entrepreneurs, and we know we have to work things out. So I think that's where it come from ` family. BLUES MUSIC Every Indian kid that's growing up, they are given only three dream` dreams. Either you're a engineer, doctor or a lawyer. So when I first came here to study IT, I studied that for three months. Then the summer holidays came in. I took up a job with a flower grower as a summer job. And from there on, I really figured out that IT is not really for me. I saw the horticulture industry in NZ is very high-tech. I can take a lot of things from here. And I felt like I'm, uh, more at home while doing farming. So I ended up in MIT, School of Horticulture. What's that one right now? It's 15. 15. Yep. OK, and, uh, what do we usually try to keep it at? If any one of you remembers? Yeah, 20. 20. Good. Well, the hardest thing I would say I found, when I first came to NZ, was understanding the Kiwi accent. Oh, honestly, it was horrible in the beginning. So that was the biggest thing. The second thing I would say was, uh, finding my way around and, uh, trying to... bridge the gap between the Indian and, uh, NZ culture, cos that was a big culture shock. 5 or 6 degrees, but it feels a lot... Well, uh, right now, I'm teaching in MIT, School of Horticulture, well, as a assistant tutor. I'm very very lucky to have this job. We got us some really nasty mould growing on. So we'll just do a quick clean-up. If a couple of you guys wanna... come and do something. 'We have a really big group of students over here. And very well mixed-up.' We have, uh, quite a few Kiwis, of course. And, uh, we have a lot of internationals as well. From internationals, we have a big group from India, a few from China, Taiwan, Philippines, um, Malaysian as well ` one. So it's a very diverse group. BLUES MUSIC CONTINUES Another thing that I` they told me I've helped them is, uh, in the social life as well. So, initially, they just didn't knew how to go around, uh, and find, uh, some good place to shop or good places to find some good, decent food. Or even to get their bank accounts or IRD numbers set up. So I helped with all of that as well. So it's more of, um, mentor or support kind of role added on to teaching. Nil is, uh, from our home country. So he tell me, uh, in our own language that what is our problem, and he will solve all the problems over here. Mostly I like the flowers, uh, because it, uh... uh, look like very beautiful. Uh, and, uh, mostly I work, uh` Oh yeah, in India, I belong to the agriculture family, so I like. CHEERFUL MUSIC You know, working with plants is something` you're dealing with something that's alive. And, uh, green colour generally just... is very soothing to the` to your soul. I mean, what we do when we're most stressed out in life? We walk` go for a walk in the garden. So, why can't you just walk in the garden all day... (CHUCKLES) and just be relaxed? CHEERFUL MUSIC CONTINUES Since my whole family's been in farming, that kind of runs in the blood. Other thing is, horticulture is a primary industry. We can live without computers, but we can't live without food. You know, the thing is, the food security is going to be one of our biggest issues, the way our population is growing. We went from six to seven billion in a matter of a few years and, uh, the next eight or nine billion isn't really going to be very far away. So I think we need to start putting some lawns back into gardens as well. Even if everybody can just grow maybe 2m x 2m at their home, it's gonna make a big difference. GENTLE PIANO MUSIC This is my father, Perry, and my mother, Silia. My father, Perry, grew up on a farm just outside Putaruru. And my mother, Silia, grew up in Vava'u, in the Kingdom of Tonga. Dad met a couple from church, and they said they had a sister-in-law back in Tonga, and she was single and she was pretty hot. So Dad started writing to her. Uh, approximately six months before I went to Tonga. But I'd never actually seen Silia. But the photos that I did have looked, uh, really really attractive. (LAUGHS) ALL LAUGH So, after six months, Dad must've been pretty keen, cos he went over to meet her. And he took over a ring with him. Of course I` I couldn't, um... (LAUGHS) understand the English, you know. Um, so my sister and her husband, they were helping me to... um, telling me the... um, the word. You know, what he was saying and... On the second day, um, was the day which I proposed to her ` also through an interpreter. Third day, we got married. And at the wedding, there was enough food there to feed 650 people. Although there was only 250 people to eat it. (CHUCKLES) So after the wedding, most of the guests came and, um, took home as much as they could carry. This must be one of the best love stories, I reckon. But some people are faced with a longer journey to find a safe place that they feel loved. REFLECTIVE MUSIC If I was to meet my younger self and say something to her, I would say, 'Your life is going to be hard, and it's not going to be the way that you want it to be. 'But it's OK. You would turn out to be a much stronger person. A much determined person. 'You would fight for women who don't have their own voices, and you would speak up for them.' My name is Sehar, and I was born in Pakistan. I have got five sisters, including me, and a younger brother and my mum. In Pakistan, it's really hard if you don't have an older brother or a father living in your household. Uh, people have a tendency to talk, but we knew what people were saying because our dad was not present. Um, how we would` if people would ask us, 'Why your dad was not here?' we would say, 'Well, he is overseas and there's nothing we can do,' you know. Now, our dad, he's a man that we feared our whole lives. He was an unknown god that, you know, we never really get to know. And with him, we never knew what he would end up doing. My dad had this surprise party, and he lined all four of us up, and he said, 'Shut your eyes,' and, you know, 'Have your palms up like this,' and we did. And when we opened them, there was a passport in each of our hands, and it has a` it had a visa for NZ. And we just started crying, cos we didn't know where we supposed to be going. What is NZ? We've never heard of NZ before in our life. This is... Sehar. That's her. That's me. Um, this is my younger sister, Anam. And this is Sava. So, they're the twins. Yeah. We are the four` Yes, there was four of us. ...who came to NZ, yeah. Yeah, we had` so this photo was taken in Pakistan. Um, I think` I don't even remember how old we were then. But we look really happy. REFLECTIVE MUSIC CONTINUES When we were here in NZ, now, we were four daughters, and we were quite young. And I think he still held that mentality. And he was really controlling. So he would control things like what we made, so every day, what we cooked; um, what clothes we wore, so he bought us clothes; uh, what time we slept; how long we slept for; who slept in each room. And, I think, after six months, we started living with our third mum. So, our dad got married. He's got married a few times now. But she lived with us for six months. And those were pretty good six months, cos we communicated with her rather than the dad. But after six months, one day we came home, and she had left us. You know, she said she couldn't stay with our dad any more. And it broke our heart. We cried, because we were fearful that we're going to be alone with our dad again. And that's when we decided that we don't want to be with our dad any more. So we contacted our guidance counsellor in high school. And she contacted Shakti, which is an organisation that deals with, um` that empowers young women and` or women as well that have gone through domestic violence, uh, especially with ethnic minorities. So we contacted them and that's when we started` you know, we left our dad once and for all. We got protection order against him, and we never saw him after that. POIGNANT MUSIC I just finished my master's thesis. So, the idea came that when we left Shakti, we had no social connections at all. We had no understanding of what to say to a person when they say` when even they ask your name. So if you were to ask my name 10 years ago, I would give you my whole life story, you know, of what I've been through, because it was so hurtful, and we thought people need to know. People need to know what we're going through. And I think the mistake that we made was we started telling the children that were our age what our story was, and they couldn't get it. I can't stop people who have been through domestic violence, uh, oversharing, cos, you know, that's what they're going to do. But I can, kind of, improve their conversational skills. So when they first meet someone, um, they don't tend` you know, they don't overshare stuff or they don't... or they don't disclose anything at all. So that's what, kind of, my research focused on. REFLECTIVE MUSIC Well, I am volunteering with Shakti NZ. And we are part of a youth group. And what we do is we try to raise awareness of, uh, children or youth witnessing domestic violence or actually going through domestic violence and finding their voice. So, uh, we're doing a launch for our networks for this project that we've been working on for the last few months, um, which is about empowering young people that have witnessed violence at home. And` And so this is just a way to distribute, um, all the informational resources that we've created. We've been through it. So if we've been through it, people should know how to deal with it, how to cope with it. And if we can do anything, you know, if the next person that comes out of their parents' house or their husband's house, if they see what we've done or if they see` what our journey's all about and if it emp` inspires them, then we've done our job. And that made me feel so good. (CHUCKLES) RHYTHMIC MUSIC With Tonga being my second home, I feel like I have one foot in Tonga and one foot here in Manukau. Manukau City has come a long way since the days that it was stigmatised for its crime and poverty in South Auckland, instead of its richness. There's so much here that is positive for us to celebrate. My desire is that this place becomes a place of hope. Captions by Shrutika Gunanayagam. Edited by Ingrid Lauder. www.able.co.nz Captions were made possible with funding from NZ On Air. Copyright Able 2015