Filipino News 166

ISSUE 166 WAITANGI DAY | www.migrantnews.nz | email: migrantnews@xtra.co.nz | www.filipinonews.nz | Facebook: Migrant News 11
MIGRANT NEWS - Immigration News, Settlement Support ... New Zealand’s first Migrant community newspaper. Published since 1991. Print. Online. Social Media.
Jade-Ceres Munoz Thelma Trono Bell Miguel Manaig Romelyn Fernandez Garde Noel Bautista Laddie Lou Corpus
Acknowledging those who came first
By Ricky Matthew
AUCKLAND - For
some, Waitangi Day is simply
a public holiday. It’s a
chance to go on a road trip
with the family or to kick
your feet up for an extra
day. For others, Waitangi
Day is much more than
just a public holiday. It is a
day to remember the pain
and suffering in the early
days of New Zealand and a
chance to jubilate over the
agreement reached between
the Maori and the
Pakeha to coexist.
The document which set
this agreement in stone is,
of course, the Treaty of
Waitangi. The purpose of
which was essentially to
allow for the co-existence
of the Maori and the
Pakeha peoples, to protect
the culture, land and rights
of the Maori and to give
the Crown the right to represent
the interests of all
New Zealand with their
governance.
While NZQA has implemented
the teaching of
Maori culture and the
Treaty of Waitangi into
high school subjects such
as history and the government
has pressed for more
education around the
Treaty, it is the new
arrivals of New Zealand
that are the least educated
on the matter. This makes
the participation in
Waitangi Day celebrations
quite a confusing topic for
migrants, especially newly
settled ones.
In this survey we asked
migrants how they celebrate
Waitangi Day and
their understanding of the
significance of the Treaty
of Waitangi.
Some migrants celebrate
Waitangi Day by organizing
their own community
events. “I am involved with
a group that organizes the
Ashburton Multi Cultural
Bite, which has been
held during Waitangi
Day weekend every
year since 2010,”
shared Thelma Trono
Bell, JP. “It’s a celebration
of Mid
Canterbury's diverse
community by showcasing
the different
cultures through food
and performances.
We cancelled the
show last year for the
very first time due to
Covid-19 restrictions.
The event is back this
year.”
A former Ashburton
City Councillor,
Thelma is the first
Philippines-born
City Councillor in
New Zealand. “I am
proud to be a connection
between the
locals and the
migrants, blending
together, integrating
together and becoming
one community,”
she added. “No doubt
we have a lot to learn
from each other and
it’s pragmatic for us
to keep on doing so
for future generations.”
Filipino-Kiwi Roy Bustenera,
a senior citizen and
board member of the
Filipino Society Inc., has
lived in Auckland for several
decades. “When I first
arrived in New Zealand I
attended a Waitangi Day
Celebration at the Treaty
Grounds,” he said. “I
recall that there was much
discord and protests happening
during the event, so
I never returned.”
Waitangi Day is all about
unity, says Romelyn
Fernandez Garde, 35,
interim Director of the
Philippine Club of
Rotorua Inc., “It’s accepting
one another because
here we are, shining our
own light, representing
ourselves, our community,
and our family.
Waitangi Day celebrations in Rotorua on 6th February 2023.
Photo credit: Queenie Lee Tanjay
“This is my third
Waitangi celebration as a
Filipino community coordinator
and the experience
has been amazing. It has
connected me to a lot of
people, not just knowing a
specific culture, but multiculturally,
and more
importantly, reconnecting
to my own roots.”
For Marjorie Luxford,
27, from Rotorua. Waitangi
Day is a memorable
experience, “because we
don’t have anything like
this in the Philippines. This
is my 4th time already to
attend this occasion and I
really enjoy it. We are
already living here in NZ
so it’s a good time to feel
part of the local community
and connect as a citizen
of Aotearoa.”
Keith Patangan, 10,
from Rotorua says: “It’s
always about the community
and the culture of all
kinds that come together at
the end of the day. Clearly,
rain or shine, it’s a good
day to celebrate each
other’s culture.”
Argine Patangan, 10,
from Rotorua also shared
her viewpoint: “I like it
when all people embrace
each other’s culture, the
past, present, and the past
altogether. It’s good to see
everyone embracing and
helping each other and
despite the hail, rain, or
shine, we are still all here
united as one.”
Noel Bautista, a Filipino
Overseas Worker in NZ,
had this to say: “Beyond
the momentary respite
from their workaday
drudgery, most migrants’
awareness is barely
touched by the historical
importance of
Waitangi Day. Which
is a pity, as the event
produced consequences
that are still
felt today.
“New Zealand’s
birth and the continued
imbalance in
society are lessons all
migrants would benefit
from by understanding
Waitangi
Day.”
“When I first
moved to New
Zealand about 8
years ago, one of our
first family road trips
was to the Bay of
Islands. We stopped
at the Waitangi
Treaty Grounds,”
recalls Jade-Ceres
Munoz, a Filipino IT
professional. “Being
new migrants then, it
was such an amazing
experience for us to
connect to New
Zealand's history and
rich culture. It was
only the second time
we had seen a kapa
haka performance, so it
was quite a treat. We had
our daughter with us and it
was a great way to introduce
her to the country
that we wanted her to grow
up in. It's been a while
since we've been there, so
we're planning another
visit soon.”
“I first learned about
Waitangi Day in my secondary
school, Rotorua
Boys High, which is known
for being culturally expressive,”
recalls university
student Miguel Manaig.
“It is a public holiday that
commemorates
the signing
of the
Treaty of
Waitangi in
1840 - which
is considered
to be New
Zealand’s founding document.
“Understanding its
meaning and significance
helped bridge my own values
to those of Maori. Like
the value of Araw ng
Kasarinlan (Philippine
Independence Day) for us
Filipinos, Waitangi Day
means the same for Maori
- freedom from colonial
oppression.
“Celebrating it alongside
my Kiwi-Maori friends
meant acknowledging
their history and treating
both their culture and my
culture with significance.”
One man from Kosovo,
Vullnet Abdylli, who visited
the Treaty Grounds at
Waitangi in Northland,
says: “I’ve been to the Bay
of Islands and seen the
house where they signed
the document. I watch the
news on TV every day and
see them trying to work it
out. The Maoris feel that
the Europeans cheated
them, but the Maoris have
also benefitted from the
Europeans coming here.”
Hilary Martin Patrao,
from India, said: “I know
that they (Maori) are the
people who were uprooted
because of the cultures that
came after them. I feel that
we should learn Maori culture
when we are in the
country and make our lives
easier.”
Filipino-Kiwi nurse,
Laddie Lou Corpus, said:
“Waitangi Day is New
Zealand Day. It was the
time that Maori signed a
treaty that opened their
country to immigrants. A
day we appreciate and celebrate.”