Advance Pasifika takes living standards demands to Auckland’s Queen Street

June 18, 2012 by

Pasifika people have hit the streets of Auckland in large numbers for the first time since the infamous dawn raids thirty years ago. Mobilising behind the organisation “Advance Pasifika”, about 800 people marched on Saturday to demand affordable housing, better educational outcomes, quality healthcare and decent jobs with a living wage for Pasifika people in New Zealand. A fresh morning breeze raised up the national flags of numerous Pacific Island countries, the largest number being Samoan and Niuean. They were joined by the banners of trade unions as well as Mana, Greens and the Labour Party.

The march was a little bit different to your run-of-the-mill demonstration. It kicked off with songs, hymns and even an aerobics work out. At the half way point, marchers were treated to an energetic performance of drumming and dancing, turning the heads of passers by on Queen Street. When the marchers reached Aotea Square, they were greeted with a pōwhiri from Ngāti Whātua on behalf of the tangata whenua of Auckland. The overall vibe of the march was exuberant, but also angry at the impoverished position of Pasifika people and the institutional racism they face.

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Filed Under: Pacific

Seasonal exploitation by Kiwi capitalists

April 24, 2012 by

Yesterday marked 5 years of Vanuatu’s participation in the Recognised Seasonal Employer scheme. The RSE scheme allows New Zealand employers in the horticulture and viticulture industries to bring in labour from the Pacific to fill seasonal jobs. Vanuatu is one of the biggest contributer countries to the scheme and RSE income is now the Melanesian nations second largest income earner. the Department of Labour’s National Manager, Recognised Seasonal Employment, Emily Fabling said in a press release “RSE has been an absolutely wonderful scheme for our horticulture and viticulture industries, in terms of ensuring they have the labour force they need at specific times of the year. And of course we are delighted at the benefits the scheme brings to Vanuatu and other Pacific nations.”

This view ignores some of the more brutal realities of the scheme, which has seen migrant workers mistreated and exploited in rural New Zealand. In 2009, Workers Party activist Byron Clark spoke to Lina Ericsson, a Swedish political scientist who conducted field work among N-Vanuatu workers in the Bay of Plenty.

You can listen to the interview here:

Filed Under: Internationalism, Pacific

Tonga’s new king: where next for the democracy movement?

April 21, 2012 by

New king Tupou VI greets NZ governor general

Byron Clark

Following the death of Tonga’s King Tupou V, his younger brother, Tupouto’a Lavaka, now known as Tupou VI, has been crowned king. Lavaka, considered to be more conservative than his brother, served as the country’s Prime Minister until his resignation in February 2006. While he gave no reason for his resignation, its generally accepted that it was prompted by the huge social unrest brought about by protests demanding increased democracy. The protests turned into riots that destroyed most of the central business district in the capital Nuku’alofa, and as a result delayed King Tupou V’s coronation until 2008. The Democracy movement can take credit for reforms under Tupou V that saw his powers diminished and the number of elected members of parliament raise from nine to seventeen in the thirty seat house. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Pacific

Green Left Weekly: Atrocity in Afghanistan fuels opposition to occupation

March 31, 2012 by

This article, by Tony Iltis, originally appeared on Green Left Weekly and will be republished in the April Spark.

For the US military and the pro-war Western corporate media, the March 11 slaughter of 16 civilians, nine of them children, as they slept in their homes in the villages of Alkozai and Najeeban in Panjwai district, Kandahar province, was an aberration.

For Afghans, it was just the latest massacre.

There are differing accounts of what happened. The US maintains the killings were the work of a single “rogue” soldier. Eyewitnesses, however, insist there was more than one attacker. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Afghanistan

Senegal goes to the polls for second time after months of protest

March 22, 2012 by

Byron Clark

Last February, The Spark reported on the Occupy Nigeria protests that were taking place. Nigeria is not the only African country where massive demonstrations are erupting, indeed some commentators, such as Al Jazzera are starting to talk of an ‘African Spring’ similar to the ‘Arab Spring’ of 2011. As a continent subjected to colonial exploitation for a century, and neo-colonial exploitation ever since, Africa has many reasons to rebel.

 Protests have flared up in Senegal, centered on Independence Square in the capital, Dakar but large enough to extend much further, with demonstrators seizing control of a three block stretch of road during a clash with police. The target of these protests is president Abdoulaye Wade, who at 86 years old is running for his third term in office. While an election was held in February, a new election has already been called.

 Many Senegalese believe that Abdoulaye is preparing his son to take power when he dies, setting up a “neo-monarchy” similar to that accomplished by Assad in Syria and attempted by Ben Ali in Tunisia, Murabak in Egypt and Qaddafi in Libya. Of those dictators of course, only Assad remains, due to the extremely violent repression against protesters in Syria. The others were toppled by popular uprisings, providing inspiration to countries further south. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Africa Tagged With:
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