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DAUGHTERS OF THE PACIFIC – TV DOCUMENTARY |
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By Justine Simei-Barton |
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Children of migrants share
a common story. The first generation born in a new country live
between two cultures – the land of their birth and the culture of
their parents’ homeland.
To be true to both is hard work. Success often comes at a cost to
the other.
This is the story of four young Pacific women whose parents have
come from villages in Samoa, Tonga and Niue.
These women are living very differently from their parents. The
documentary “Daughters of the Pacific” is about their struggle to
combine two cultures and to find their place and identity here.
Samoa, Tonga, Niue - the names sing with images of exotic tropical
paradises. But what if your parents were born there and you were
born in New Zealand.
Four kiwi born Pacific women reveal the issues raised for them as
they walk the delicate line between living in two cultures. That of
their island born parents and that of living here.
Four young women show the tricky issues faced by Pacific people born
in New Zealand to Island born parents.
Life appears pretty well sorted for four young Pacific women whose
parents came to New Zealand from villages in Samoa, Tonga and Niue.
These women show that being New Zealand born is not as simple as it
superficially appears.
Compromises have to be made and these can come at some cost to the
parent culture.
The documentary Daughters of the Pacific will show how hard it can
be living the life of two cultures.
EMELINE AFEAKI:
Emeline is a beautiful, independent 30 year old Tongan woman who has
managed to notch up 3 university degrees into her hectic life.
She employs 20 people in an extremely successful South Auckland
business which helps young Pacific Island kids who’ve gone off the
rails to get back on track again. |
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TV documentary 'Daughters of the Pacific'
featuring four young Pacific.
(Photo: Justine Simei-Barton) |
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Pule Puletua (Samoan).
(Photo: Justine Simei-Barton) |
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Emeline Afeaki (Tongan) and Lanni
Liuvai (Niuean).
(Photo: Justine Simei-Barton) |
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Her skills in this
difficult area have led to receiving the prestigious Sir Peter Blake
Memorial Emerging Leadership Award.
Emeline has a loving relationship with her Tongan born parents who
made huge sacrifices for their 3 New Zealand born children to
receive the education they themselves couldn’t have.
Emeline comfortably straddles the world of both palagi and Pacific
culture but has had some major learning experiences on the way!
Despite her sophisticated city ways Emelines’ dream is to marry a
like- minded Tongan and return to the islands to continue working
with seriously at risk children in Tonga.
PULE PULETAUA:
Pule is 32 years old and lives in West Auckland with her Samoan
husband and their 5 gorgeous children.
Pule lives and breathes her culture and English as a spoken language
stops at her back door. Our documentary is there for her eldest
son’s haircutting ceremony on his 13 th birthday - an ancient Samoan
tradition she has revived. Although a traditionalist, Pule is not
afraid to criticise Samoan cultural practises and speaks candidly
about the strain of financial obligations to the extended family.
Despite a violent childhood Pule has put that behind her and thanks
the church for rescuing the family. She’s a deeply religious person
but going to church is on hold for the moment as the weekends are
absorbed by her childrens’ passion for sport – a passion and dream
that was denied her when she was growing up.
Pules’ deep love for Samoa and her yearning to live there is
profoundly moving.
LANNI LIUVAIE:
Lanni is a young mother to two pre-schoolers and lives with her
Niuean partner Josh. She works at night for a bank so she can be
with her children during the day.
When Lannis’ father died she realised how much cultural knowledge he
took with him. She’s afraid Niuean culture is dying and now she’s on
a crash course trying to teach her children the ways of her Niuean
born parents. Her auntie has opened a language nest in West Auckland
in an effort to help rescue the language.
Lanni believes if the language dies then the culture dies, so she’s
now attempting to make up for lost time with her Niuean born Nana
who holds the family cooking and weaving secrets.
Lanni knows that economically she could never live in Niue and
believes that with more Niueans now living in New Zealand that the
culture will simply shift here.
This is a concept Emilene and Pule would never accept.
LOUISE TU’U:
Is a funky urban 26 year old Samoan playwright. Louise leads the
life most removed from her cultural background than any of our four
characters. She lives with palagi flatmates in the heart of latte
land in Auckland. She goes to the gym, rides a push bike and wears
girly frocks.
Despite appearances Louise is deeply absorbed in the big picture
relating to being a New Zealand born Pacific person and believes the
biggest issue here is identity. This is the recurring theme she
tries to come to terms with in her writing. She’s ashamed she’s more
fluent in Italian than Samoan and regards loss of language as the
main reason for lack of confidence in her generation.
Louise has a very close relationship with her liberal but
traditional Island born parents and drags them along to all theatre
events no matter how risqué.
To support her writing Louise has worked at the Auckland Museum, the
Foundation of The Blind and now she’s setting up a mentoring club
for Pacific writers. She’ll never live in Samoa but Louise knows she
needs to visit whenever she can to recharge that sense of who she
is.
For more information contact Justine Simei-Barton (09) 846-8348
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Copyright Event Polynesia Ltd.
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