Coco Talanoa — Coco News / Page 43

In the shadow of a state emergency, the streets of Apia have become a ghost town. The people of Samoa are on curfew as the government hustles to administer measles vaccinations to its vulnerable citizens, only mobile vaccination units, authorised government vehicles and media can roam the roads of what can only be described as something that resembles a post apocalyptic paradise.

Streets that usually bustle with life are empty and in the centre of a city that normally sings with the sounds of Samoans going about their daily life, only a handful of people can be seen. They’re manning the control centre, where all of the information is being fed back from the teams that are out administering the vaccinations.

In a country that bleeds blue, today they are seeing red. Told to mark their homes with anything red they can find, because that’s the signal to the authorities that someone in that household requires the measles vaccinations.…more

Our CoconetTV journalist Tuki Laumea is on the ground in Samoa providing live updates as the governments State-Of-Emergency orders come into force in Samoa.

DAY 1

10.15am 

An eerie calm has descended over Samoa this morning as families all over the island fly their red flags for mobile vaccination units to visit them for the measles vaccine.  The streets of Samoa are empty as people obey the 2 day curfew at home, praying that this state of vaccine emergency will have a good impact on this devastating time for Samoa. 🇼🇸

10.57am 

This is the coordination centre monitoring the mobile vax unit and the numbers of people being vaccinated and where mobile units have devices and feed the info back as they go.

11.21am 

Helping hands. People dropping off donations and the schedule for food. They've just set off to deliver meals. 400 meals out a day.

2.14pm 

Team coco in the empty streets of Apia

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DAY TWO 

8.32am

Tourists are on lock down over the 2 day curfew as well, staying inside their resorts & hotels.…more

Tuki laumea is an international award winning filmmaker and journalist and director of the award winning documentary, 1918: Talune - Samoa and the ship of death.

This is a place I’ve spent a lot of time in. So today when I touched down in Samoa, there was something to me that was noticeably different about it. There’s a sorrow that sits in the air, a sadness in the faces of usually jovial people and a silence in the streets which typically burst with life.
So, unless you’ve been living under a rock you’ll know the reason for this is that the measles has taken a stranglehold here and is rapidly ripping the life out of its beautiful population.

I’m here for what in western culture would be considered ‘sad reasons’, a funeral (non-measles related) but for my family at least, it’s a celebration of life. We laugh, we eat and we make fun of each other.…more

Artist Numa Mackenzie wears this stunning #Kiribati traditional suit of armour made with revived traditional knowledge by Pacific artist Chris Charteris, master artist Kaetaeta Watson, Lizzy Leckie and the Tungaru: The Kiribati Project team, proudly funded by CNZ to support heritage arts.

Numa modelled this at the Pacific Heritage Arts Fono 2019 in Wellington. The armour and the spiky helmet - made from a dried puffer fish - took a lot of research by the team to recreate and is a fantastic project that has exhibited nationally and internationally. #PacificArts

"The armour came about because we heard the stories about the Kiribati armour but none of us had ever seen one. They were never seen on the island, they had one but it was so dated and broken up so much, that people weren’t allowed near it. But we heard these stories of them being museums all over the world.…more

“Truth is us at the heart of our storytelling, the truth will set you free.  

The ground breaking documentary ‘A Boy called Piano’ has its Oceanic premiere in Tahiti at the Fifo Documentary festival to huge fanfare, and will now play out on Whakaata Maori TV for NZ audiences. 

YOU BETTER SAY YOUR PRAYERS WELLINGTON! 

Anapela Polataivao + Goretti Chadwick + Mario Faumui = a hell of a good time in the F.C.C production of Uma Lava by Victor John Rodger at Circa Theatre from November 23-December 7. Don't miss out...

We sat down with Anapela & Goretti aka Pani & Pani to have a chat with them about the show: 

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Victoria University of Wellington’s International Institute of Modern Letters (IIML) has announced the appointment of Tavita Nielsen-Mamea as the Emerging Pasifika Writer in Residence for 2020.
 
Tavita, a Dunedin-raised writer of Samoan and Tuvaluan descent, hailing from the villages of Safotu, Safune, Apia, and Nukufetau, will use the residency to work on a new theatre project.
 
Tavita’s first play Au Ko Tuvalu played at the 2019 Wellington Fringe Festival, where it was awarded Outstanding Ensemble and Tavita the Most Promising Emerging Artist. It has subsequently had successful runs at the Court Theatre and Kia Mau Festival, and also had an Auckland season at TAPAC from 23–26 October.

 
Au Ko Tuvalu takes the audience to Tuvalu, the homeland of the world's first climate change refugees, on its final day of evacuations. It follows a family watching their history, culture, and beloved homeland swept away in front of their eyes. The play has been critically acclaimed for its political relevance, fresh and compelling voice, and ‘heartwarming, heartwrenching’ emotional eloquence.…more

Celebrating our CoconetTV Birthday!  Here's how we been #KeepingItCoco for the last 6 years! 

Married couple Ben and Yvonne are Samoan & Tongan respectively & vlog about life together as well as cultural differences from Ben being American raised and Yvonne being New Zealand raised.

In this Vlog, Yvonne tests her husband to see how much of the Tongan language and culture he's picked up on so far.

Congratulations to the seven Pasifika artists honoured tonight for their innovation and excellence in Pacific Arts and their contribution to the rich diversity of Aotearoa's multi-cultural nation.

The seven award recipients this year represent a range of artforms and are cultural and artistic experts in their fields – from traditional Kiribati master weavers to a contemporary tatau artist, who is the first female to receive traditional tutelage in the art of tatau.

Leading influencer and advocate for the disability arts community, Fonoti Pati Umaga QSM, is the first ever Pacific Toa Artist Award recipient. This inaugural award is a new category added to the awards under Creative New Zealand’s Pacific Arts.

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The awards were presented tonight at the Banquet Hall in Parliament to the following recipients: 

PATI UMAGA QSM 

- Pacific Toa Artist Award recognises the contribution of a Pasifika artist with the lived experience of disability to the standing, and standard, of Pacific arts nationally or globally.…more