How do we teach our kids about racism and inequality? Here’s my story of facing discrimination, finding strength through te ao Māori, and why hashtagToitūTeTiriti matters for everyone in Aotearoa.
I'm proud and I'm moved by the tens of thousands who took part in Hīkoi mō Te Tiriti because they are not only fighting for the rights of tangata whenua, they are fighting for my rights, the rights of my mokopuna and Aotearoa's future.
My parents and I moved to Aotearoa from China when I was 5 in the mid 90s with less than $2K in their pocket. Back then New Zealand was a hostile place for immigrants.
I remember seeing my parents stripped of their mana as their education wasn't recognised. They struggled to find work because of their Chinese names. I saw their pain and struggle as they worked in factories in the day while retraining in the evenings, often working multiple jobs to get by. Growing up we had very little. My parents struggled to reclaim their mana in a country that valued equality.
To spare me their pain, Mum told me these 2 things from her own place of pain when I was 8:
1. "Rui you need to stop hanging out with the Asian kids. Assimilate with the white kids."
2. "Because of who you are you need to run twice as hard and excel at everything you do in order for you to be equally recognised here"
And to interject a funny story - I remember in intermediate my basketball coach Ms Wilson looked me up and down (because I was a tall 12 year old) and said: "Well aren't you tall? Must be all that rice they are feeding you." 😂😂😂😂
While I understand why mum said this to me today, as a young person I remember feeling whakama (so ashamed) about being Chinese. And in conjunction of being bullied at school for being Chinese, I became ashamed of my reo (still struggle with it to an extent today) and would run and hide from my own whakapapa...
Until my Māori mates growing up and today loved me, invited me onto their marae, into their homes, brought me into tikanga, fed me, shared with me everything they had, mentored me, took a risk on me, backed me, helped me raise investment, and most importantly taught me the importance of standing firm in my own whakapapa.
Māori have taught me how to be a better Asian. It is through tikanga Māori I am now able to better connect with my own whakapapa.
And through the small-in-comparison-struggles of my own whānau, I can empathise with the generational pain Māori are experiencing ever since the Crown dishonoured the Treaty by confiscating Māori land and oppressing tangata whenua.
Yet history have showed us that while Māori have every reason to respond in anger, they continue to respond with aroha/love, manaakitanga/care and a vision of kotahitanga/unity for all people here in Aotearoa.
Tino rangatiratanga for Māori is not something to be feared. It provides a better way forward for our nation. What is good for Māori, is good for me. And I hope that you too will see that it's good for us all.
I'm proud and I'm moved by the tens of thousands who took part in Hīkoi mō Te Tiriti because they are not only fighting for the rights of tangata whenua, they are fighting for my rights, the rights of my mokopuna and Aotearoa's future.
My parents and I moved to Aotearoa from China when I was 5 in the mid 90s with less than $2K in their pocket. Back then New Zealand was a hostile place for immigrants.
I remember seeing my parents stripped of their mana as their education wasn't recognised. They struggled to find work because of their Chinese names. I saw their pain and struggle as they worked in factories in the day while retraining in the evenings, often working multiple jobs to get by. Growing up we had very little. My parents struggled to reclaim their mana in a country that valued equality.
To spare me their pain, Mum told me these 2 things from her own place of pain when I was 8:
1. "Rui you need to stop hanging out with the Asian kids. Assimilate with the white kids."
2. "Because of who you are you need to run twice as hard and excel at everything you do in order for you to be equally recognised here"
And to interject a funny story - I remember in intermediate my basketball coach Ms Wilson looked me up and down (because I was a tall 12 year old) and said: "Well aren't you tall? Must be all that rice they are feeding you." 😂😂😂😂
While I understand why mum said this to me today, as a young person I remember feeling whakama (so ashamed) about being Chinese. And in conjunction of being bullied at school for being Chinese, I became ashamed of my reo (still struggle with it to an extent today) and would run and hide from my own whakapapa...
Until my Māori mates growing up and today loved me, invited me onto their marae, into their homes, brought me into tikanga, fed me, shared with me everything they had, mentored me, took a risk on me, backed me, helped me raise investment, and most importantly taught me the importance of standing firm in my own whakapapa.
Māori have taught me how to be a better Asian. It is through tikanga Māori I am now able to better connect with my own whakapapa.
And through the small-in-comparison-struggles of my own whānau, I can empathise with the generational pain Māori are experiencing ever since the Crown dishonoured the Treaty by confiscating Māori land and oppressing tangata whenua.
Yet history have showed us that while Māori have every reason to respond in anger, they continue to respond with aroha/love, manaakitanga/care and a vision of kotahitanga/unity for all people here in Aotearoa.
Tino rangatiratanga for Māori is not something to be feared. It provides a better way forward for our nation. What is good for Māori, is good for me. And I hope that you too will see that it's good for us all.