By Saunoamaali’i Karanina Sumeo – Equal Employment Opportunities (EEO) Commissioner for the New Zealand Human Rights Commission
Leaving Pacific people behind by not addressing the indignities and inequities they suffer is not an option, writes Saunoamaali’i Karanina Sumeo
Pacific communities have shown to the rest of New Zealand what collective empowerment looks and feels like, exercised with dignity and faith in our right and duty to self-determination. The leadership, love, pride and belief in our hearts for our communities, and the enormous health and other professional expertise held within has made the swift Pacific response to COVID-19 possible.
I praise the countless Pacific groups who have banded together since this crisis began, and especially over this new outbreak. Church leaders, community organisations, food banks, health leaders, and Pacific media working together to share clear information about the level 3 restrictions in Auckland, contact tracing and other ways to protect our communities.
As a Human Rights Commissioner, I have watched with pride how Pacific people and South Auckland have risen above the racism, marginalisation and patronising attitudes that block our contribution and prosperity, in response to ill-informed media commentators, social and economic policy, discriminatory employment practices, and the continual ‘othering’ of Pacific people by the ignorant and disrespectful among our wider Kiwi community.
I am pleased to see our Prime Minister, Members of Parliament and the Director-General of Health praise the family at the centre of the recent outbreak. The life-saving work conducted by Pacific health providers and communities has also been recognised with additional funding announced this week by Minister Salesa.
Pacific people have the same human rights as everyone else. Leaving Pacific people behind by not addressing the indignities and inequities they suffer is not an option. It simply breaches our rights. I will continue to work alongside my fellow commissioners in the Human Rights Commission to advocate for you. We will serve you much better if you talk to us. I encourage you to rise in your dignified Pacific way and call on us if you have a question about what these rights are, or if you feel your rights have been breached.
For now, let’s ensure that new resource reaches all who are serving Pacific communities against COVID-19. Some have spent money they parked for other things to save lives now and have no back-up. Let us ensure that when Pacific people arrive to get tested, that their anxieties are respected and they get the test. We have been told people can carry the virus without showing symptoms. Petrol, courage and time are not free. Let’s ensure our rights are respected throughout the administration of the mandatory quarantine. With increased wage subsidies and higher benefits, our kids would not need to leave school in order to help their families get by. In work, Pacific people must be treated fairly, protected from exploitation, and given a staircase to wage increases and qualifications. Employers must stop unfair employment recruitment and promotion practices that deny equal opportunity to Pacific youth, women, men, disabled and rainbow people that continue to put Pacific workers at the bottom of the income bracket.
In the new normal, respect for the dignity of Pacific peoples, and support for our values, expertise and self-determination will ensure our protection, restoration and collective prosperity now and beyond this crisis.
