A traditional Samoan cloth was used when New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern apologized for the dawn raids targeting Pacific communities in the 1970s. Screenshot from Radio Samoa YouTube video.
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has issued a “formal and unqualified apology” to the country’s Pacific communities for the dawn raids carried out by police and immigration authorities in the 1970s.
The raids lasted from March 1974 to 1976. During this time, New Zealand carried out hundreds of raids between 11 pm and 3 am to arrest and deport individuals who “stayed too long” in the country. Authorities have been accused of discriminating against communities in the Pacific.
New Zealand encouraged Pacific countries to send workers after WWII, which helped develop the country’s manufacturing sector. But during the recession of the early 1970s, there was a spike in unemployment that was unfairly blamed on the influx of migrants from Pacific countries. This was followed by random inspections and interviews targeting migrants from Pacific communities and their families.
During his apology, Arden described how community members “were transported to the police station to appear in court the next day barefoot, in pajamas or in clothes loaned to them in the holding cells; others have been wrongly detained.
Ardern apologized at a town hall meeting in Auckland on August 1:
I stand before you as a symbol of the Crown that wronged you almost 50 years ago.
Today, I speak on behalf of the New Zealand government to offer a formal and wholehearted apology to the communities of the Pacific for the discriminatory implementation of the immigration laws of the 1970s that led to the events of the raids of dawn.
The government expresses its sadness, remorse and regret that the dawn raids and random police checks took place and that these actions were never considered appropriate.
The Minister of Social Development, Carmel Sepuloni, of Tongan origin, was present at the ceremony:
Today was a poignant moment in our Pacific and New Zealand history. The dawn of a new dawn. ✨ I hope today’s apology will play an important role in the healing process of our people, our aiga and our fanau. 🤎 @nzlabour pic.twitter.com/HKqSP6LpCl
– Carmel Sepuloni (@CarmelSepuloni) August 1, 2021
Samoa-born Pacific Peoples Minister Aupito William Sio linked dawn raids to racism:
The harm that was done to a proud people was bad.
We now know that this was racism of the worst kind.
Large numbers of over-waited people in Europe and America were virtually untouched.
It was wrong then, it’s wrong today, it will always be wrong – racism, discrimination, prejudice – whatever form it takes, it’s wrong.
Princess of Tonga Mele Siu’ilikutapu Kalaniuvalu Fotofili accepted Ardern’s apology:
I am very grateful to your government for making the right decision to apologize to make amends for the extreme, inhuman, racist and unfair treatment specifically against my community during the time of the dawn raids.
Let me assure you that we accepted the fact that some of our people at the time were on the wrong side of the law – yes.
This should not have justified the releasing of police dogs on our people, the raids of our homes in the wee hours of the morning and many other extreme measures put in place at the time.
Reactions on Twitter acknowledged the historic significance of the apology:
I know New Zealand’s apologies to Pasifika ppl for Dawn Raids will never be enough and is no substitute for justice, but it’s always a sight to see as I live in a country the government doesn’t even recognize. its colonial history and is actively working to ban its teaching. https://t.co/5JMqPxCfL4
– Terisa Siagatonu (@terisasiagatonu) August 1, 2021
There were Internet users whose relatives were among those traumatized by the raids:
Lots of emotions while waiting for the apologies of the dawn raids (my dad Chuck Thompson got kicked out and also later worked in the race relations office and education) 🇫🇯💜🏳️🌈
– Leilani (@ le1lan1) August 1, 2021
Some appreciated that a Samoan apology ritual was used during the town hall meeting:
wow, that gave me chills – Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and the New Zealand government are presenting an “ifoga” which in Samoan culture is a public display of forgiveness. this moment is monumental for our Polynesian people 🌴✨ #DawnRaidsApology
pic.twitter.com/gSVxKsiNXT– t⁷ 🌱 (@gxdchungha) August 1, 2021
Journalist Tim Murphy recapped a moving moment during the show:
But the lasting memory of this historic event, beyond the sight of Ardern’s ifoga-spanning ritual and tears – from the Tongan princess to the commoner pictured atop town hall on the livestream – beyond the chants and moments to laugh, will be a few minutes of deep audio played at the start.
In a silent town hall, a series of loud knocks on doors – knocks, bangs, thuds, barking dogs, weak sirens, people in distress, babies crying.
They were noises of injustice.
Ardern has announced several programs, including more than $ 3.1 million in scholarships for Pacific youth, as well as additional resources to educate younger generations about the painful legacy of the Dawn Raids.
