Dienstag, 26. November 2019

Hinemoana Baker ....

Berlin, ähnlich wie London hat eine große Kiwi community.... Seit mehreren Jahren ist Hinemoana Baker ebenso in dieser Stadt heimisch geworden. Ich kenne Hinemoana noch aus meiner Zeit in Neuseeland wo sie die Rede bei meiner Graduation gegeben hat. Sie ist eine so wundervolle Poetin, Kunsterlin und irgendwie auch Aktivistin. In Berlin hat sie nun begonnen ihren PhD zu schreiben und ich kann es kaum erwarten dieses Werk irgwann zu lesen. 
Ich wollte diesen Podcast in meinem Blog teilen weil er erstens, eine interessante Frau vorstellt, zweitens spannende Fragen stellen, und drittens uns als Deutsche und unser Verständnis von Moko, Haka und Maori Kultur kritisch hinterfragt.

Viel Spaß beim Zuhören:
https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/hinemoana-baker/id1484925523?i=1000457785621

Montag, 4. November 2019

Tuia 250- What the hell are we remembering here?!


Perceptions differ…. indeed …. Over the last weeks I have been thinking a lot about the internal and external viewpoints on the events and historical impact on things.

As part of remaining in touch with New Zealand news and issues, I am part of several New Zealand focused groups and forums online. There is huge amount of German driven travel pages where people report about their experiences or ask specific questions about New Zealand.  On the surface, unlikely to be controversial one might think.
Recently, people began posting photos of the replica of HMS Endeavour, The ship used by Captain James Cook on his first visit to the South Pacific. The “Endevour” is currently circumnavigates New Zealand as part of the 250 years celebration of that visit (Tuia250). Comments praised the beauty of the ship and what great celebrations are taking place around it´s visit.  As expected with travel sites, there was no critical reflection on Cook and his historical impact took place back in time. Cook, the great discoverer was praised and his great achievements for mankind stood at the forefront of the discussion.
At the same time in my Maori and indigenous groups, discussions continued about the appropriateness of these celebrations’.  Maori protocol naturally figured throughout the celebrations but many Iwi (tribes) refused to take part, bringing focus to the death and destruction Cook brought to Aotearoa (New Zealand).

For the first time, the British High commissioner to New Zealand offered an official statement of regret to Maori talking about Maori who had been killed in the initial meeting and subsequently through kidnapping and imported disease.  The quest arose, “was this enough”?
Embedded also in this discussion was a declaration to teach a more honest account of New Zealand’s history.  Maori have never had a strong voice in setting educational curriculum, so it quickly became clear that a strong Maori voice was still missing and that the celebrations were based on a very one sided and unbalanced view of history.  We therefore need to ask ourselves on whether this is an example of historical colonialism with tinges of far right rhetoric.

A beautiful historical waka ( a traditional Polynesian canoe)  arrived in New Zealand sailing alongside the Endeavour replica perpetuating the historical myth of equality and racial harmony. As a counterpoint, this waka was intended to remind us of the skilled and brave navigators that reached New Zealand and continued to sailed all over the Pacific for many generations.
These waka (also representing Tahiti and the Easter Islands) had been an “added on “ to the celebrations with the argument that it should not only be Cook who was celebrated, but also the generations of great navigators and discoverers.  Interestingly I could not find any coverage of this waka as or even a word about the amazing crew in those German travel groups. However Maori reporting about this ship took place over all Media and even the News. How can it be that the tourist have not taken notice of the waka?

So, this brings us to 2019 in the so-called Postcolonial period, celebrating a highly controversial historical figure, spending millions on someone that laid the foundation for colonisation of Aotearoa and brought death, disease, destruction and trauma to this country and the Pacific.  Dr. Arama Rata called the Endeavour a “ Death Ship”, and I could not agree more. Acting under the “Doctrin of (Christian) Discovery” which was released by the Catholic Church in the 15th Century. This was a document that gave European monarchies the right to conquer lands and to imprison, convert and kill native inhabitants and indigenous people.  Cook and all other “ Discoverers” systematically followed this doctrine acted not out of scientific interest but rather out of conquest to build on a commitment to superiority and expansion. These hundreds of years old papal bulls  have still not been revoked, even though the Vatican had been called upon it several times. Effectively, the result of this expand continues without any real repercussions. The United Nations have been called upon to strengthen indigenous rights and request of acknowledgement of wrongdoing that is still ongoing although support has been very slow in coming forward.
For me, I see the bandwidth of opinions on these Tuia250 celebrations collide in my News Feed again and again. New Zealand, claiming to be a bicultural nation and following its obligations of the Treaty of Waitangi, spends money on celebration of an event of an encounter that fuelled discussions how the world would be divided up and how Aotearoa would be used to serve the Empire.
Cook and his crew killed many on his journeys and knowingly impacted Maori destroying families abducted people into slavery, bringing disease and sickness to the land which would destroy the legacy of many tribes. He plundered resources from tribes, “played his cards” close to his chest lauding his supreme power.  It can be argued that with innocent posts “travellers”, unwittingly are supporting this showcasing of an institutionalised white supremacy. The difference is, now Maori have a voice: the message is loud and clear that the sacrifices of the ancestors will not be forgotten, and the atrocities of the past shall soon be address.  What we are seeing is the collision of democracy and Postcolonial ideology.  We are seeing colonial ideas, train of thoughts, carelessness and a dominant cultural situation based on out of placed historical and reminiscent viewpoint.
Cook is an interesting historical figure, and yes, his science officers documented interesting discoveries and strange flora and animals. Nevertheless, Cook is also a person that clearly represents the British colonial Empire and Colonisation. Some might say his role is similar to that of Columbus.
So what should we remember? Maybe we use this event to remember historical consequences and take this time to reflect on the past and engage in a discussion on the future. We can’t change what happened in the past, but we can decide how we use what we have learned.
Acknowledging that Cook real historical place in an honest and transparent forum might open our eyes to an authentic and painful discussion about how we deal with decolonisation practises nowadays. Approaching it this way gives room to acknowledge how far we have come in giving Maori voice, an agency to make and deliver their own decision and compensation for wrong doing. Do we need a replica of a ship for this discussion? Probably not, but it is here, and iwi have chosen to react in the way they have. What it achieves is an emotional response and connection, creating a historical myth that reflects the historical truth.
What should we celebrate? I don’t think we need a celebration at all. After all, 250 years is just a time for discovery of Europeans and has nothing to do with the much longer history or Aotearoa. Its just a little dot on the timeline marking one event of many in the history of the land.  But if we need to celebrate, we should think about shifting it more to a remembering rather than celebrating. We are remerging Anzac, why not remembering another event that relates to negative effects with a similar dignity and critical reflection?
By creating a myth of racial harmony and whitewashing history does not engage us in critical discussion that will continue the difficult process of addressing and removing trauma.
In accessing the observations of the German travel groups, I decide to not take part in this glorification and historical mystification of the visit. I took a strong and fully aware position and commented in these posts, clearly stating the historical reality. In this way I was able to present history in a wider more illuminated way and set a spotlight on the horrible effects people have suffered in the Pacific due to Cooks actions. His victims are not forgotten, and the time is long overdue that their voice should be heard. We need to open our eyes to the truth….moving through the fear and trauma igniting a flame of light and leading a way to the future.


Dienstag, 29. Oktober 2019

29.10.19 Rugby World Cup 2019

Wie alle Kiwis ( at heart) ist der Rugby World Cup ein wichtiges Thema. Das tragische Ausscheiden der All Blacks habe ich sehr bedauert. Aber ich habe mich gereut das das Haka und die Reaktion der Englischen Mannschaft es bis in die Deutsche News Welt gebracht hat. Es war mir eine Freude ein Radio Interview für Deutschlandradio zu geben.
Hier geht es zum Interview

Freitag, 30. August 2019

Waffengesetze In Neuseeland

Meine Webseite ist aus den tragischen Umständen des Christchurch shootings entstanden wo mich zahlreiche Anfragen zu Stellungnahmen erreichten. Viele hier in Deutschland waren überrascht wie schnell es möglich war die Waffengesetze zu ändern und zu verschärfen.  Vor einigen Wochen bin ich  über diesen Artikel stolpert und ich fand ich so gut das ich ihn hier gerne teilen wollteImmer wieder bin ich überrascht wie schnell diese Land reagiert und welchen impact Entscheidungen auf die Gesellschaft haben. Mit Sicherheit etwas wovon Europa lernen kann.

Freitag, 12. Juli 2019

Taking Action- mein neues Projekt

NEWS 12.07.19

Das Leben hat so viele Fassetten, so freue ich mich auf eines meiner neune Projekte hinzuweisen. Ich gehöre seit einiger Zeit zu einer Gruppe von Menschen, die sich nie im wirklichen Leben gesehen habe aber entschlossen sind die Welt ein Stück weit zu ändern und zusammen zu schreiben.
Jeder der schon viel in sein Leben geschrieben hat kennt die Ängste und Zweifel die damit einher gehen. Schrieben ist harte Arbeit. Dieses Buch ist aus unserer kleinen Gruppe entstanden! Ziel war es, das jeder einmal etwas andere schreibt, aber etwas das Bedeutung hat. Wir einigten uns auf das Thema „Taking Action“ denn wir sind davon überzeugt das nur so das Leben in Bewegung kommt und man sich und seine Umwelt verändern kann. Einiges in dem Buch ich Fiktion, einiges biographisch und alles kommt von Herzen.
Mein Beitrag befasst sich im weitesten Sinne auch wieder mit einem Maori Konzept: Wahine Toa und Mauri, der Lebenskraft.
TAKING ACTION !: Inspiriting Real Life Stories, How Ordinary People Are 'TAKING ACTION !' & Achieve A Higher Quality Of Life