Kia Manawanui: be strong, steadfast, tolerant, brave, unwavering, and committed.
#Opinion by Taualofa Totu'a
The phrase Kia Manawanui means to be strong, steadfast, tolerant, brave, unwavering, and committed.
To be honest, like so many in our Moana community, I have been uncomfortable with remaining ‘tolerant’ during this lockdown, let alone committed. But not in the way you may think. I am but one of many Pacific youth fully vaccinated, committed to keeping lockdown rules. The worthwhile highlight of scrolling through petty arguments on Twitter, is seeing other youth like Hele and Fili amongst the vaccination volunteers, encouraging our people to get the vax.
Bubble life for my family this time round has improved in some ways and decreased in others. We have 4 of us challenging our internet strength by streaming school, 1 Zooming with their distracted students, another with their patients, and an elder glued to her Radio Samoa Live Facebook stream. My intergenerational bubble has become more reliant on technology than ever before, (our poor power bills). Our once regulated lockdown cooking schedule seems to have given way to mea’ai saiga, Maccas share boxes and toast at 10pm. (Supporting your local although important, can be out of your budget if you have a large family to feed.) Both school and work hours have been cut, but we’re amongst the privileged who are able to still make things work, despite living in an “overcrowded” home. (I do miss studying on an actual desk, rather than my bed tho.)
I’ve been thinking a lot about the word resilient and what it means in the unwanted mess of Delta, 2021. I am extremely proud of our wider Pacific family, especially here in Tamaki Makaurau. It has been difficult for my family during lockdown, but we are fed, sheltered, occasionally stressed yes – but safe. There are hundreds of our Pacific family who are feeling the strain of the current lockdown, with increased hardships a reality for too many. From South Aukilani, East, Central, North Shore to our Westies… Pacific people - as some have proclaimed - are admirable.
Many things can be true.
I believe being admirable and resilient comes at a cost. My mind always comes back to the attitude Pacific high school students turned essential workers received last year. Praise and a pat on the back from the public for being so… admirable.
For too long I think, Pacific folk have been overfamiliar with resilience, meeting systemic racism in healthcare, housing, employment, education, media and more for decades. And now in COVID times too! It is unacceptable that Pacific communities are on the frontlines of a pandemic, poverty and racism abuse. The boundaries set in response to COVID are important but have only meant more pressure for our Pacific communities to stay resilient. It is disheartening to see that despite our collective efforts, others in Auckland aren’t so compassionate in understanding what true unity is.
Resilience is of course, also closely related to mental health. Released last week by the Ministry of Health, Kia Manawanui is the 10-year action plan to transforming Aotearoa’s mental health support system. The main vision of Kia Manawanui is to improve mental wellbeing for all.
Some key things in the plan that will impact our everyday lives:
- Experiences that we may face in our jobs, housing, or changes in the way our communities are run, will be taken into consideration when we seek help. These areas contribute to our mental wellbeing a lot and the plan wants to improve these foundations.
- Kia Manawanui wants to give our communities the right tools, to equip folks in managing their own personal wellbeing.
- A Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission and Suicide Prevention Office has been created. This means we can hold mental health services accountable when we or our loved ones deserve better service.
- Kia Manawanui recognizes services that operate on the ground, know their community best and will support community-led solutions. Calling in Pacific people to lead their communities with solutions (and financial support) that do more than just bring awareness, can lead to long term success. For example, this week the mental health segment introduced on 531pi, Ngalu Fānifo
Kia Manawanui enters a climate where the mental and general health needs of our community, have long been at crisis point due to systemic racism. Its release was timed nicely with the annual #MentalHealthAwarenessWeek posts across our social media timelines.
I guess what has kept me resilient this lockdown, is seeing the way my mum has responded to our family’s wellbeing. She serves with understanding and has somehow got our extended family across time zones to communicate together once a week for the first time ever – a true feat! I’ve probably spent more time tracing my family tree with grandpa and caring for my younger cousins than being ‘productive’ but - it’s worth it. My grandpa’s retirement has meant he can choose rest over resilience. Lockdown days with him and nana are so valuable and have done wonders for my mental health.
Practicing resilience in lockdown and mental health ‘awareness’ is not enough for Pacific communities. We need change. My hope is that Kia Manawanui will be a restorative balm and the beginning of a shift in recognizing when resilience has gone on long enough.
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Public Interest Journalism funded by NZ On Air