Home Blog Page 439

Assault on family that led to death was cowardly and terrifying, NZ High Court told

By
Philip Cass
-

The New Zealand High Court in Auckland has described an assault which led to the death of a man as cowardly.

Photo/© 2018 RICHARD F. EBERT ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Siosaia Joe Maka was sentenced to 44 months on charges of assault with a weapon; assault with intent to injure; common assault and manslaughter.

The charges arose from an incident on October 19, 2019.

At 3.45am that morning Maka and others went to the home of the victims in Māngere because one of the group was angry about something said in a telephone conversation by one of the victims.  The two were once in a relationship. The victims were already outside.

Maka had a sawn-off shotgun.

“You and your co-offenders approached them and said” ‘Do you know who you are messing with?’ ” Judge Downs told the court.

“You pointed the gun at the chest of Ms Rogers.  She pushed one of her adult children behind her and grabbed the barrel.  She implored you not to shoot her children.

“One of your co-offenders spoke to you in Tongan.  You left the driveway and returned the gun to the car.”

A co-offender then attacked Ioteva Taikoko, 18, who fell to the ground. Maka and the other offenders repeatedly punched Taikoko in the head while he was defenceless on the ground.

Maka then punched Rocky Rogers in the head, who fell to the ground. When  Rogers got up and tried to leave Maka chased him and kept punching him.

Rogers’ stepfather, Hashim Saad and Ms Rogers’ partner came out of the house and went to help his stepson.

Maka pursued him and knocked Saad down with an uppercut to the jaw.  Saad hit his head on the concrete and later died.  Maka and his co-offenders got back in the car and drove away.

“He was doing no more than trying to dissuade you from assaulting his stepson,” Judge Downs said.

“Your use of violence was not spontaneous.  You went to the victims’ home looking for trouble.”

The judge said much of Maka’s behaviour that night was cowardly.

“You assaulted others and you pointed a gun at a female while her adult children were nearby.  That must have been terrifying,” he said.

“Your offending has caused great harm and pain.  Ms Rogers has lost her partner; her children their stepfather.”

Maka was 23 when he committed the offences and is a former Auckland University student with six children. He has three prior convictions.

Maka claimed to be a patched member of the Black Power gang.

“I doubt that very much,” the judge said. “Your conviction list is much too short.

“And even if this were true, it would be nothing to be proud of.”

Maka was sentenced to three years and eight months’ imprisonment for the manslaughter of Mr Saad.

He was also sentenced to 18 months’ imprisonment for the other offences, to be served concurrently, making three years and eight months in total.

Trademark of Mate Ma‘a Tonga name by New Zealand company  outrages rugby league fans

By
Kalino Latu
-

Mate Ma’a Tonga rugby league fans and businesses are not happy after it was revealed that a New Zealand company has trademarked the name, while two other bodies had their applications to register the name put on hold.

Mate Ma’a Tonga slogan has been trademarked in New Zealand

The trademark has been registered by Mate Ma’a Tonga Ltd while Iese Miti Tata’s application to register Mate Ma’a Tonga National League and Mate Ma’a Tonga Rugby League New Zealand’s request is now on hold.

Mate Ma’a Tonga Ltd was a company registered in New Zealand to an address in Grey Lynn  in April 2018 by Josaih Maile Latamai Koloamatangi.

Tongan fans and sponsors said the move amounted to “heritage-highjacking, politics” and hunger for money.

Mate Ma’a Tonga or Die For Tonga is a common Tongan slogan with a much wider cultural and traditional significance.

Its history goes back to the establishment of Tonga College in 1882 where the slogan was used as the school’s motto after a dispute between King George Tupou I and the founder of Tupou College, Dr James Eagan Moulton.

Protecting the brand name is something most businesses would do, to prevent a rival Mate Ma’a Tonga products or services popping up next door or a rival sports tournament being held without permission but this has enraged the fans.

Well-known Tongan singer Melenau Lino, sings the Tonga National Anthem during Tonga and New Zealand
Oceania Cup game in June 2019. Photo/Fox Sports News (Screenshot)

Well-known Tongan singer Melenau Lino, who triggered strong emotions among Mate Ma’a Tonga supporters, when she sang the Tonga National Anthem during Tonga and New Zealand Oceania Cup game in June last year said she did not want to lose the team.

She said she believed the name should stay with the rugby league team and the move by some people to control it was sad.

“It was the name that promotes worldwide in rugby league and I feel every Tongan will be disappointed if the team loses the slogan,” she told Kaniva News.

The director of Nasita Production, one of the biggest designers of Mate Ma’a Tonga T-shirts and team uniforms and fan  clothing said any other slogans for the team never beat the Mate Ma’a Tonga.

He said when the team was renamed as Kau To’a after the ousted Tonga National League Board prevented the Mate Ma’a Tonga team and its logo from joining the Oceania Cup last year people still referred to the team as Mate Ma’a Tonga.

“Every Tongan is proud to be associated with name because it sends out a very compelling message they have to die for Tonga no matter what,” Nasita Production Director Veili Paongo told Kaniva News.

He said the former TNRL board sent out a form last year demanding that anybody who wanted to use the Mate Ma’a Tonga slogan and logo had to ask permission from them and pay before selling items to their customers.

Tekiteki Kinikini, an administrator of the Aotearoa Mate Ma’a Tonga Supporters group, which has more than 25,000 members on Facebook, said the slogan was exceptionally unique.

“We have no choice but to change it because the Koloamatangis owned it legally.”

Last year a letter circulated on social  media which was claimed to come from former TNRL Chair Siaosi Koloamatangi prohibiting businesses in New Zealand from selling any Mate Ma’a Tonga products without his permission.

The letter drew an angry reaction, with many people saying it was an attempt to own something that belonged to the country as a whole.

Kaniva News has contacted Tonga’s Minister of Law and the new Tonga Ma’a Tonga rugby league chair for comment and is awaiting a response.

The main points

  • Mate Ma’a Tonga rugby league fans and businesses are not happy after it was revealed that a New Zealand company has trademarked the name, while two other bodies had their application to register the name put on hold.
  • The trademark has been registered by Mate Ma’a Tonga Ltd while Iese Miti Tata’s application to register Mate Ma’a Tonga National League and Mate Ma’a Tonga Rugby League New Zealand’s request is now on hold.

Heated debates arise after revelation gov’t guaranteed private companies loans for its roading project; Sika accuses gov’t of nepotism over lucrative contracts

By
Kalino Latu
-

Opposition Leader Sēmisi Sika has accused the Tu’i’onetoa government of designing the tendering  process for its roading project so the contracts would be given to three of its friends.

Hon.Sika made the accusation in Parliament after the Minister for Finance said the government would guarantee loans from the Tonga Development Bank to three private companies which won the bid of outsourcing road works from government.

Hon. Tevita Lavemaau said the government had supported the loans (“poupou pe pule’anga ia ki ai.”)

The Opposition MPs were concerned that if these companies failed to pay back their loans the taxpayers would suffer because the government was the main shareholder of the Development Bank.

Former borrowers fail to reimburse

There was a mixed response from the government, with the Minister of Finance saying these were secured loans and the companies’ assets and equipment were pledged as collateral.

The need for a guarantor was just something to add on top so the bank could sleep well, Hon. Lavemaau said.

He said there was a precedent  and the government had guaranteed loans by private companies before.

However the Minister said companies which borrowed from the government to rebuild their businesses after the Nuku’alofa 2006 blaze failed to reimburse the government.

“These companies could not pay back their loans,” he told the House.

One of those businesses was the Tungi Colonnade and the Minister said the construction was faulty and the revenue collected from renting out of the building could not cover the costs.

He said the government was now paying for all those costs.

Call for transparency

The democrats implied they knew the identities of the three companies, but wanted confirmation from government before they would discuss their background and histories in the House.

The government did not disclose the identities.

MP Mateni Tapueluelu said there were companies which could implement the work without having to borrow from the bank.

He said the people were uneasy about the scheme.

“We wanted to make sure the people feel secure as the government is there in that bank,” Hon. Tapueluelu said.

The Prime Minister told Kaniva News in a previous interview that Cabinet had made a deal with three quarry owners for the project, two of whom were Cabinet Ministers Lord Ma’afu and Lord Nuku. He did not name the third owner.

Two Tendering processes

Hon. Sika told the House the three companies made higher bids than those who were supposed to win the tender before the government cancelled it.

He said the three companies then made a deal with the government to bring down their prices to TP$70 per truck of rock before the tender was re-processed.

This time the three companies were successful and won the bid.

“Why wasn’t the $70 price discussed with all the tenders,  but only with these three?” Sika asked.

He said the other tenders may have offered a cheaper deal.

He said the intention of the roading project was to benefit the government’s friends and not because of a duty to build the country’s road.

Government response

Responding, Minister of Trade and Economic Development Samiu Vaipulu said this was the government’s own way of doing tenders.

He likened it to what Late Democratic Leader ‘Akilisi Pōhiva allegedly did when he was Prime Minister.

Hon. Vaipulu said these three companies won it and they wanted to apply for a loan to secure equipment for the work.

The Prime Minister told Parliament the loans for the government’s Roading Project had been criticised and described as wrong, illegal and something the government should not do.

In return, the Prime Minister said he wanted to  give the House some questions to answer.

“For whom are these roads being built?” he asked.

“For the elderly of the country. For the children of the country. The growers of the country. Men and women. Yes for everyone in the country.”

Noble scolds PM

The Prime Minister asked the House to give him and his government the opportunity to build and repair the road as this was people’s priority and urgent need.

He said according to history the Prime Minister of 2011, Lord Tu’ivakano attempted to build the road and what he did he applied for a loan from a Chinese bank.

Lord Tu’ivakanō interrupted and asked the Speaker to allow him to correct the Prime Minister.

Lord Tu’ivakanō, who received a suspended two year sentence for passport, perjury and firearm offences, told Hon. Tu’i’onetoa that during his premiership the IMF and World Bank had advised Tonga not to apply for any further loans.

The Prime Minister then said he wanted to correct his statement.

He said he was wrong when he said the government applied for a loan.

Lord Tu’ivakano told him to confirm his statement before making it as it was wrong.

“Maybe it’s better for you to sit down and allow the Minister for Finance to speak,” Lord Tu’ivakano said.

The former Speaker said the House would spend a long time on the issue because the Prime Minister was speaking balderdash (“me’a noa’ia.”)

Lord Tu’ivakano warned the House on Monday that it was wrong for the government to fund its Tonga Development Bank and at the same time guaranteed loan applicants.

Tu’i’onetoa’s outsourcing policy

Hon. Tu’i’onetoa was also criticised for the government’s outsourcing and procurement policy.

Some opposition party MPs publicly said they supported the roading project, but believed the multi-million cost was too much for the country to be spent within two years.

They believed this could cause financial trouble for the country.

The government has been working on its roading project since it took power in October 2019, but the construction is still stuck in Tongatapu 10, the Prime Minister’s constituency.  This means the government has to complete the construction of the other 15 constituencies within one year and five months to stay on schedule.

In a recent interview with Kaniva News,  Hon. Tu’i’onoetoa said it was very difficult to work together with people who they do not hold the same beliefs.

“We need to begin with people who believe in us and then end up with the unbelievers.”

“The same thing applies to contractors for whom we outsourced the roading project.

“We will use the contractors who hold the same beliefs with us before those who we do not have the same beliefs.”

 

Man jailed for rape, beating despite wife’s plea for three years six months

By
Kalino Latu
-

A man who raped his wife in what the judge described as “unwanted sexual violence” has been jailed for three years and six months.

The man was identified in court under the pseudonym VP pleaded guilty to three counts of rape, causing serious bodily harm and domestic violence.

He was sentenced to five-years three-months imprisonment but his final year and nine months had been suspended after being remorseful, he reconciled with the victim and co-operated with the authorities.

Na’e tautea’i ‘e he ‘Eiki Fakamaau Lahi’ Whitten ‘a e tangata na’a’ ne tohotoho’i hono mali’ ke ngāue pōpula ‘i ha ta’u ‘e tolu māhina ono.

Na’e ui pe ‘i he fakamaau’anga’ ‘a e tokotaha’ ni ‘aki ‘a e hingoa ko e VP, ‘a ia ne taumu’a ke ‘oua na’a faka’asi hono hingoa totonu’.

Na’e fakahā ki he fakamaau’anga’ ‘i he po’uli hifo ‘aho 9 ‘o Sune, 2019 ne fononga me’alele atu ai ‘a e husepāniti’ mo hono uaifi’ ki honau ‘api’.

Na’e mamahi ‘a e pōpula ‘i hono uaifi’ ‘i ha me’a ne hoko ki mu’a pea kamata ke ne tā.

Na’a’ ne fakamana’i te na iku ki honau ‘api ‘uta’ ‘o hoka’i hele’i ai.

‘I he’ena a’u atu ki honau fale’ ne kilofi atu ‘e he mamahi’ ‘oku ulo mai ‘a e kaungā’api’.

Ne hopo ia ‘o lele ki ai ka ne a’u atu e mamahi’ ‘o  hoko atu hono tā mo tuki mo hamu ke na foki ki ‘api.

Ne na foki mai ‘o hoko atu hono taa’ pea iku ki he’ene fakamālohi’i ‘a hono uaifi inu kava mālohi pea fekau ke ne vete hono vala’ pea fakahoko ki ai ‘a e tō’onga fakaepō ne ‘ikai loto ki ai ‘a e mamahi’.

Na’e faingata’a ‘ia ‘a e uaifi’ ni he ngaahi tō’onga kovi ne fakahoko ange ‘e hono husepāniti’ lolotonga hono tohotoho’i ia’ ka ne ‘ikai te ne toe mafeia ha me’a.

Ne iku e tō’onga fulikivanu ‘a e pōpula’ ni ki he’ene fakalavea’i ‘a e konga tapu ‘a hono mali’ pea ‘i he ‘ikai ke i kātaki ‘a e fefine’ ni na’a’ ne kaila ‘o  ongo’i mai ‘e he kaungā’api’ ‘o nau tā ki he kau polisi’.

Ne omi ai e kau polisi ‘o puke ‘a e husepāniti’ ni.

Tohotoho māsolo pe fakakautau:

Ko e fa’ahinga tohotoho ‘eni ‘oku ‘iloa he lea ‘Ingilisi’ ko e martial rape pe ko hono fakamālohi’i ‘o e hoa’ ka ‘oku ‘ikai loto ia ki ai.

Mahino ‘i he fekumi ‘a e fakamaau’anga’ ne te’eki ha keisi peheni ki mu’a ‘i he’ene lekooti pea ‘oku ‘ikai pe lipooti ia ‘i Tonga.

Ka ‘i he lao ‘o Tonga’ ‘oku ‘ikai ha kehekehe e ‘uhinga ia ‘o e tohotoho ‘o tatau ai pe ka ko hano fakamālohi’i ‘o ha taha kehe pe mali pe paatinā.

‘Oku ‘i ai ha fānau ‘e toko fā ‘a e mamahi; mo e pōpula pea na’a’ na kei nofo fakataha pe a’u ki he ngāue pōpula ko eni’.

Ko e tautea ‘o e tohotoho’ ko e ngāue pōpula ta’u ‘e 15, fakalavea lahi’ ko e ta’u ‘e nima pea ko e fakamamahi ‘i ‘api’ kapau ko ha toki fakahoko ko e ngāue pōpula ta’u ‘e taha pe ko e mo’ua pa’anga ‘ikai toe ‘ova he $2000.

Na’e meesi ‘a e fakamaau’anga’ ma’a e pōpula’ ‘i he ngaahi makatu’unga ko ‘eni:

Na’a’ ne feongoongoi mo e kau polisi pea tō mu’a ‘ene tali halaia’, si’i hano tautea ia ki mu’a pea lekooti lelei, mātu’aki fakatomala mo’oni ‘o iku fakamolemole’i ai ia ‘e he mamahi’. Ne holoki ai ‘e he Fakamaau Lahi ‘a hono tautea’ ‘aki ‘a hono to’o e māhina ‘e 21 pe ta’u ‘e taha māhina ‘e hiva. Na’e toe leva ‘a e ta’u ‘e nima mahina ‘e tolu ke ngāue pōpula ai.

Na’e peheni leva hono tautea’:

Fakatupu lavea lahi’ ke ne ngāue pōpula ta’u ‘e taha māhina ono ai, pea ko e fakamamahi ‘i ‘api’ ke ne ngāue pōpula ai māhina ‘e ono. Ngāue’i fakataha pe ia mo e tautea ki he tohotoho’.

Koe’uhi ko e ngaahi lekooti lelei ‘o e husepāniti’ ni mo ‘ene fakatomala pea ‘osi fakalelei mo e uaifi’ pea hā mai ‘a e mahino ‘e liliu ‘ene mo’ui, na’e  tautea toloi leva ‘e he fakamaau’anga’ ‘a e toenga ta’u ‘e taha māhina ‘e hiva’.

Ka kuopau ke ‘oua na’a’ ne toe fai ha fakahoko ha hia ‘e ala tautea ngāue pōpula ai ia, kuopau ke ne polopeisini, ‘oua na’a’ ne ma’u ‘olokaholo pe faito’o konatapu, fai e koosi kakato ‘e tu’utu’uni ‘e he ‘ofisa polopeisini’ pe ngāue ke solova ‘ene ‘ite’ita mo pā’osi’i’ ‘i he ta’u kuo toloi ai hono toenga tautea’.

Castaway and former South Pacific Boxing Champion Luke Veikoso claims they discovered about “60 skulls and human remains” and met devils in ‘Ata

By
Kalino Latu
-

Former South Pacific Heavyweight Boxing Champion title holder Luke Veikoso claimed he and five other Tongan men stranded on ‘Ata island 60 years ago discovered about more than 60 skulls of what appeared to be remains of human adults and children.

Veikoso was one of a group of six Tongan schoolboys marooned on ‘Ata in 1965 when a plan to sail for Fiji went wrong.

He believed these people were Tongans who had been killed and their bodies scattered around the ground.

As Kaniva News reported last  month, their story was recently rediscovered by Dutch author Rutger Bregman, who told the Guardian newspaper  it proved people in extreme conditions could work together and co-operate to survive.

Veikoso also claimed they saw and heard voices of what appeared to be supernatural beings.

He said they heard an electric band performing various kinds of excellent music, but they could not identify what language was being sung.

He said the arrangement of the instruments were marvelous and was extremely loud.

Veikoso said the incident occurred one evening while the castaways were praying.

He said before they appeared he felt terrified.

Mr Luke Veikoso, fourth from left in 1968, including the survivors from ‘Ata. Photograph: Fairfax Media Archives/via Getty Images

READ MORE:

He said that evening he told the other boys he was feeling uneasy and apprehensive. One of the other boys, Sione, said he felt the same.

Veikoso said they used to sit around a fire made from three casuarina branches. That evening, instead of burning, the  branches only gave off smoke.

He said Sione told them to pray and this time the fire was glowing before they saw what appeared to be a human form with four glowing eyes dressed in white clothing.

Veikoso claimed another boy, Tevita, yelled out that it was a devil.

Veikoso said he took one of the casuarina branches and chased after what they saw and threw the branch at it before it disappeared.

He said at the same time their chickens fell out of the trees.

Veikoso, who now lives in Hawai’i told a livestreamed interview on Facebook recently that they re-buried the skulls and the human remains they found.

“The teeth were so beautiful and were still intact,” he said in Tongan.

“it looked like these people were murdered.”

When he was asked by the livestream host about the ethnicity of these people Veikoso replied he believed they were Tongans.

“Adults and children according to the sizes of the skulls,” he said

Boxing Careers / Hollywood Film Deals

Veikoso was born in 1947 and grew up in Ha’afeva in Ha’apai before he moved to Houma, Tongatapu where he was married.

It was in Houma that he began his boxing career.

He was a heavy weight boxer who reached the peak of his career when he won the South Seas Heavyweight title in 1976.

Acording to the Fiji Sun, Veikoso continued boxing in 1980s and in 1982 he lost his South Seas heavyweight champion title to  Fijian Samuela Naliva.

He was one of the seven Tongans named in the National Sports Hall of Fame in 2009.

Meanwhile, the Hollywood studio behind 12 Years a Slave and The Revenant has won the battle for the film rights to the story of the Tongan castaways.

Veikoso came out with his revelation two weeks ago after Kaniva News, the regional and international news media ran stories on Bregman’s version of their story.

The main points

  • Former South Pacific Heavyweight Boxing Champion title holder Luke Veikoso claimed he and five other Tongans men stranded on ‘Ata island 60 years ago discovered about 70 skulls of what appeared to be remains of human adults and children.
  • Veikoso was one of a group of six Tongan schoolboys marooned on ‘Ata in 1965 when a plan to sail for Fiji went wrong.

For more information

Mad and murderous or co-operative and alive? Tongan students’ story shows castaways can survive  by working together says Dutch author

Kiwi-Tongan woman complains after shipping drums of shopping turns to ice; company takes back compensation offer after dispute goes public

By
Kalino Latu
-

A woman in Auckland said she was overwhelmed with anger after her five cargo drums of non-refrigerated goods arrived in Tonga frozen.

Lani Pongi Vaea accused the owner of the Tika Way cargo shipping in Papatoetoe, South Auckland of being negligent and not telling her the goods would be sent in a refrigerated container.

The goods included packs of wipes, rolls of toilet papers, tinned fish and beef, 20-litre buckets of paint, bags of white sugar and flour as well as other cans of food.

Vaea claimed the goods were unusable and not fit for consumption.

She said her shopping for her parents had ended up being thrown into the deep ocean (“laku ki he moana.”)

She said the paint looked like sand after it was defrosted.

The goods included packs of wipes, rolls of toilet papers, tinned fish and beef, 20-litre buckets of paint, bags of white sugar and flour as well as other cans of food. Photo/Lani Pongi Vaea (Facebook)

“I feel for my dad as he was looking forward to painting our house,” she said in Tongan on Facebook.

She also shared photos of the goods which appeared to have been taken in Tonga after they were unloaded from the container.

The photos showed what appear to be various frozen goods and the post received a number of supports for Vaea on Facebook.

The post racked up 358 reactions, 151 comments and had been shared 252 times.

Vaea cursed the company and said it would bear the brunt of her anger.

Tika Way response

Tika Way representative Kalo Koloamatangi said she was unhappy after she discovered her customer had shared the complaint on Facebook.

She said her service provided refrigerated shipping containers.

The goods included packs of wipes, rolls of toilet papers, tinned fish and beef, 20-litre buckets of paint, bags of white sugar and flour as well as other cans of food. Photo/Lani Pongi Vaea (Facebook)

Koloamatangi said she contacted her staff in Tonga who confirmed the goods had become blocks of ice.

She said she was willing to pay for the damage, but because the issue had been made public she had withdrawn her offer of compensation.

“They have posted it on Facebook and any problems on Facebook are difficult to be resolved,” she said in Tongan.

Koloamatangi said on Facebook the complainant contacted her, but instead of naming the complainant she likened them to the coronavirus.

She also denied an allegation made on a livestream video that she swore at the complainant.

She said she told the client she can pay back up to $700- $1000 but they weren’t happy with that.

Koloamatangi said her service had operated for two years and she felt for the complainant as it was her duty to look after her clients.

She said she was free to put whatever she wanted in her containers and how much she charged. She said her license could not be revoked unless she shipped illegal or prohibited goods.

She said the complainant threatened to see a lawyer, which she welcomed.

Ko e ongoongo’ ni ‘i he lea fakaTonga:

Lāunga ha fefine Tonga ko Lani Pongi Vaea ‘i Nu’u Sila he  ‘ai hake ‘ene ngaahi talamu ‘e nima ko e me’akai mo e me’a ki he fale kuo poloka ia ‘i he ‘aisi’ ‘i Tonga. Ko e ngaahi kane vali fale ‘eni, mo e me’akai kapa hangē ko e kapapulu mo e kapaika pea kau ai e pepa toilet, uaipa mo e suka pehē ki he mahoa’a. Kuo’ ne tukuaki’i ai ‘a e kautaha ‘ave uta koloa ko e Tika Way mo e tokotaha ko Kalo Koloamatangi ki he ngāue pango’ ni. Kuo fakamahino ‘e Kalo he ope’ ko ‘ene kautaha’ ko e kautaha fetuku koloa ‘aisi pea’ ne ‘osi fakahā mei he’ene kau ngāue ‘i Tonga’ ko e mo’oni ne tū’uta ange uta’ kuo poloka ia. Pehē ‘e Kalo ne ‘ai ke ne totongi fakafoki e maumau ko ‘eni’ ka kuo’ ne kaniseli hili ‘ene ‘ilo kuo ‘ave ia ‘e he tokotaha lāunga ‘o tufaki he Feisipuka’.

Heartbreaking: Tongan-US survivor of COVID-19 says “great courage” saved her; husband returned to ventilator

By
Kalino Latu
-

A compassionate Tongan mother who contracted Covid-19 in Salt Lake City said she recovered because she did not want to surrender to the disease.

Lotomo’ua Tu’akalau was isolated in her house along with three of her children while her husband Lelea Tu’akalau was fighting for his life in a hospital isolation ward.

Lotomo’ua said she understood there were a number of Tongans infected with Covid-19 in the US and she urged them to be strong.

She said while her husband was struggling with the disease she kept on telling him to keep fighting as he would be fine.

She said while in isolation, she lost appetite, was nauseous and frequently become unconscious.

She said she could no longer taste anything,  but forced herself to drink a lot of smoothies and energy drinks to keep her active.

She said when she became ill she felt weak and in pain for the first three days.

She said she tried hard to make sure she would not have any difficulty breathing because she did not want to end up in hospital, too, because of her children.

Lotomo’ua said her positive test result came after her three children also tested positive.

She said her children asked where she would stay  if her result came back negative.

Lotomo’ua was emotional and said she told her children if her result was negative she would never leave them, no matter what.

“Their question was so heartbreaking to me,” Lotomo’ua told Kaniva News.

“This disease takes away your sense of taste and you must force yourself to drink otherwise you will end up dehydrated, which puts you in a worse situation.”

Lotomo’ua and her children were cleared after three days. She was given 21 isolation days, mainly because of her job at the Salt Lake International Airport which included spraying aircraft cabins.

“If you are not courageous enough you will end up in hospital,” Lotomo’ua said.

“I tell you I had great courage.

“When Lelea put in a video call to me he could not look straight at me, but I urged him to look at me and be strong he would be fine.”

As Kaniva News reported last week, Lelea was on ventilator and Lotomo’ua had asked the community and relatives to pray for him.

On Monday Lotomo’ua celebrated after doctor removed the ventilator.

However, this morning she said Lelea was returned to the machine.

She said Lelea was struggling because of his diabetes.

International media reports said study showed that almost one in three deaths from Covid-19 among people in hospital in England during the pandemic have been associated with diabetes.

Get tested

Earlier this month Kaniva News ran  story  about a Tongan woman who was stranded in Auckland while her daughter was ill in the United States.

Tongan mother Sloane Tai Finau called for people to take the Covid-19 virus seriously.

“If any of you are feeling unwell, go and get tested,” Finau said.

The main points

  • A compassionate Tongan mother who contracted Covid-19 in Salt Lake City said she recovered because she did not want to surrender to the disease.
  • Lotomo’ua Tu’akalau was isolated in her house along with three of her children while her husband Lelea Tu’akalau was fighting for his life in a hospital isolation ward.

For more information

Tongan mother of Covid-19 victim in United States calls for people to take virus seriously

Time to give RSE workers a voice in the media and start asking hard questions says research

By
Philip Cass
-

Recognised Seasonal employee workers in New Zealand rarely have a voice in the New Zealand media, new research at Massey University has found.

Doctoral student Angie Enoka said coverage of the RSE scheme by regional media  tended to focus on official sources and employers’ views and almost never quoted workers.

Ms Enoka said she was inspired to research media coverage of the RSE scheme when, in her former role as a communication officer for the scheme, she noticed a disparity between what workers were telling her, from one Samoan to another, and what the media were publishing.

She examined 115 media articles from 2007 to 2012, in key regional newspapers in New Zealand’s busiest horticulture regions: Hawkes Bay, Marlborough, Nelson, Bay of Plenty and Southland.

Her research looked at coverage of the RSE in its first five years  by regional media.

Ms Enoka said even when workers were heard there appeared to be little understanding of the Pacific cultural values that would make it difficult for them to voice complaint or criticism.

Most articles quoted representatives of the horticulture and viticulture industries, who were predominantly European, she said.

Industry-affiliated individuals were the most frequent sources in articles, followed by government officials.

She said the two most common themes found in regional media centred on the idea that there was a labour shortage which represented employers’ views that a shortage of labour was the key reason for needing the scheme and reports on government policy.

Enoka said the media could have asked whether increased pay and better conditions could make the jobs more attractive to local workers. None of the articles she had seen quoted unemployed locals for other views on work and conditions.

Instead, regional media had “parroted the employer view that cheap imported labour was the only solution,” she said.

“With the closing of borders here and in the Pacific, we have an opportunity to hear all the relevant parties’ voices and ask the hard questions about whether it is fair to Pacific workers to expect them to come and work in New Zealand at pay rates and conditions that New Zealanders won’t accept.”

“It is an opportunity to speak to Pacific countries and Pacific workers, not just to employer and government officials in New Zealand.

“It is an opportunity to query what long-term benefits really go back to the Pacific, and whether there is any room to move in profit margins for horticulture and viticulture in order to make the work attractive to resident communities, including regional Māori and Pacific communities.”

Enoka said questions needed to be asked about what skills RSE workers were able to develop that could help them when they returned home.

She also said consideration needed to be given to whether RSE work could lead opportunities for citizenship in New Zealand.

“Now that we have hit ‘pause’ on the flow of temporary workers over our borders, we have the opportunity to diversify the media coverage and encourage investigative journalism,” Enoka said.

“This should open up a wider public debate that can help us evaluate who really benefits and how much, from temporary migrant worker schemes.”

The RSE scheme began in 2007 with a cap of 5000 workers from five eligible Pacific nations. It now has a cap of 14,400 workers from nine Pacific nations.

She said her research showed that important questions were not being asked about the scheme’s ethos.

“When the media don’t ask key questions, those questions typically don’t make it into public debate, either, so community understanding of an issue is limited.”

“These are the kinds of questions the media should have been asking all along, but with limited resources and limited diversity in print newsrooms, particularly regional newsrooms, this certainly wasn’t the case in the media coverage I sampled,” she said.

The main points

  • Recognised Seasonal employee workers in New Zealand rarely have a voice in the New Zealand media, new research at Massey University has found.
  • Doctoral student Angie Enoka said coverage of the RSE scheme by regional media tended to focus on official sources and employers’ views and almost never quoted workers.

For more information

Allocation of RSE workers in 2019/20

Ko e ongoongo’ ni ‘i he lea fakaTonga’:

Kuo pehē ‘e ha fakatotolo fakaako fo’ou ‘a ha taha e kau ako Toketā Filōsefa mei he Pasifiki’ ‘i he ‘Univēsiti ‘o e Massey ‘oku si’i ‘aupito ‘a hono ‘ohake le’o ‘o e kau ngāue Fakafa’ahi Ta’u’ ‘i he mītia ‘a Nu’u Sila’. Ko e tokotaha Ha’amoa ‘eni tupu hake ‘i Nu’u Sila ko Angie Anoka pea na’a’ ne pehē ko e ngaahi ongoongo ‘oku tuku mai kau ki he ngāue ko ‘eni’, ‘a ia ‘oku tokolahi taha ko e kau Pasifiki kau ai ‘a e kau Tonga, ‘oku fakatatau pe ia ki he ngaahi fakamatala faka’ōfisi mo e anga e lau ‘a e ngaahi ngāue’anga’, kae ‘ikai pe tuku ange mai ha lau tonu mei he kau ngāue’.

Watch: Suspicious chicken eggs discovered in Vava’u amid food complaints and disputes saga

By
Kalino Latu
-

Food officials in Vava’u were investigating the possible discovery of fake chicken eggs being sold in Neiafu.

An experiment was carried out included boiling the suspicious eggs together with real eggs before comparing them appears to have confirmed the suspicion, Neiafu Town Officer Vāvā Lapota told Kaniva News this morning.

A video clip, whose authenticity Kaniva could not verify independently was taken during the experiment. It showed a person was trying with his hand to break what appears to be a mixture of cooked egg white with rubbery stuff.

Lapota said the eggs were reported to him by locals at Holonga, Vava’u after buying them from a local convenience store.

He took them to the Food Division office before they initiated the investigation by performing the experiment.

He said the eggs will be sent to Tongatapu for further scientific investigation.

READ MORE:

The discovery is the latest in a long running concern about unfit food being brought into Vava’u.

On Friday, the Food Division authorities have been accused of being indecisive and letting down the Vava’u taskforce team after the release of six inactive refrigerators of meat that had been seized.

World Bank says Pacific households may be at risk as pandemic lowers flow of remittances

By
Philip Cass
-

Remittances to Pacific islands, including Tonga, could drop dramatically as a result of the Covid-19 crisis.

A World Bank report said households could be put at risk because of the projected decline.

Remittances – money sent home by Tongans working overseas accounts for 37.6% of the kingdom’s GDP.

Tonga is the largest receiver of remittances of any of the Pacific Island nations.

A World Bank report said remittances to East Asia and Pacific were expected to decline by 13 percent this year.

Inflows of money from overseas workers grew by 2.6 percent to $147 billion in 2019, about 4.3 percent lower than in 2018.

The World Bank said it expected remittances to grow by 7.5 percent in 2021.

World Bank Group President David Malpass said remittances helped families afford food, healthcare and basic needs.

“Remittances are a vital source of income for developing countries,” Malpass said.

“The ongoing economic recession caused by COVID-19 is taking a severe toll on the ability to send money home and makes it all the more vital that we shorten the time to recovery for advanced economies.”

Global remittances are projected to decline sharply by about 20 percent in 2020 due to the economic crisis induced by the COVID-19 pandemic and the accompanying economic shutdown. The projected fall would be the sharpest decline in recent history.

Tongans and other Pacific Islanders working in Australia and New Zealand on government-approved regional employment programmes have been luckier than most.

In New Zealand, Pacific workers on Recognised Seasonal Employee visas had their visas automatically extended and were able to jeep working and earn money as long as they were doing essential work.

This has allowed them to stay in essential employment if they were working in the agricultural and viticultural season as New Zealand enters its main harvest season.

In Australia, Pacific workers on that country’s version of seasonal employment programme were allowed to apply for an extension of their visas and could remain in essential work.

However, not all migrant workers have been so lucky. A survey of migrant workers in New South Wales in April month by the world Bank found that half had lost their jobs and one-fifth had seen their work hours reduced while none would be eligible for government assistance.

A plan to pay employers Aus$1500 per employee each fortnight did not extend to those employing temporary migrant workers, except New Zealanders.

The main points

  • Remittances to Pacific islands, including Tonga, could drop dramatically as a result of the Covid-19 crisis.
  • Remittances – money sent home by Tongans working oversea account for 37.6% of the kingdom’s GDP.

For more information

World Bank Predicts Sharpest Decline of Remittances in Recent History

COVID-19 Crisis Through a Migration Lens

Ko e ongoongo’ ni ‘i he lea fakaTonga’:

Ala malava ‘oku uesia tamaki e ngaahi ‘api Pasifiki he tō lalo ‘a e tā pa’anga mei muli’. Ko e lahi ko ee pa’anga ‘oku ma’u ‘e he fo’i tokotaha Tonga hili hono vahevahe tatau e mahu’inga fakapa’anga ‘o e kakai kotoa ‘a e fonua’  pe ‘oku ‘iloa koe GPD, ko e pēseti ‘e 37.6 mahu’inga ko ia’ ‘oku fakakakato atu ia ‘e he tā pa’anga mei muli’. Ko Tonga ‘a e fonua motu Pasifiki lahi taha ‘ene tā pa’anga mei muli’.

1...438439440...951Page 439 of 951