Photo: Ilesa Tora
It's been 50 years since the infamous Dawn Raids - an approach by the New Zealand government to search for illegal overstayers, most of whom were from the Pacific.
The raids ended in 1979 but it wasn't until 2021 that the Pacific community received an official apology when then Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern gave the formal apology at the Auckland Town Hall.
Since then the New Zealand government has set up initiatives as part of their long-term reconciliation efforts of the raids.
Among those initiatives are the provision of resources to teach about the Dawn Raids in schools as well as $US1.3 million towards academic vocational scholarships for Pacific communities.
This year, 28 young Pacific people have been chosen for He Manawa Tītī Scholarship programme 2023 to build knowledge and skills.
Emerging leaders from Fiji, Samoa, Tonga and Tuvalu between the ages of 25 and 35 are spending just over two months in New Zealand.
The aim is to increase their leadership knowledge and skills to aid the public, private and voluntary sectors of their home country.
This is the first year of the scholarship and is a spin-off from the Tuli Takes Flight Scholarship.
The first Tongan scholarship recipient, Laitia Fifita, said government officials are doing the best they can for Pacific communities.
"I think the New Zealand government is doing a huge amount of work in different aspects, in social, economic development, environment and so many diverse areas in our Pacific countries and aids and funds that we received from the relief centre for the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai Volcanic eruption.
He also said he is not losing the Pacific context of his trip.
"For me the key aspect that I believe in is not whether it is enough or not but utilising the opportunity that we have to develop ourselves, build our capacities and to carry things that are valuable to be implemented back home.
"From a Pacific context, we've been taught basic and advanced leadership qualities, skills and core competence without losing the Pacific context, because we will return to our islands and we will try and implement what we learned when we are back on duty."
Ifoga
Entrepreneur Tiko Edmans said the leadership programme will help her business in Fiji.
"I am an entrepreneur back in Fiji, I run a home-based business in Suva and it is such an eye-opener. We are only there from our respective backgrounds and line of work from which we came so this is an opportunity to grow in a big role and upskill ourselves."
Another recipient, Theresa Henrietta Wulf, of Samoa reflects on what the Dawn Raids apology meant to her.
"Witnessing the apology was very emotional. I was able to imagine what my family and generation went through back in the day and how they were affected by the raids.
"In Samoa we have a tradition based on forgiving, it is in our traditional 'Ifoga' which is based on how you apologise when you do something wrong.
"This is a new generation, we all understand that we are moving forward and that we forgive people, we don't hold grudges against each other.
"We understand the world is moving and that we don't need to look back."
Jacinda Ardern giving the apology for the Dawn Raids at Auckland Town Hall in 2021 Photo: RNZ / Marika Khabazi
