Issue 71 - editorial

Troubled times

Tena ano tatou

I wonder if like me, you have despaired at the reports and images from the latest wars in the Middle East.

In Israel - as we go to print - around 80 people have died and we are told thousands of others are having an uncomfortable time down in their non-air-conditioned bunkers.

In Lebanon at least ten times that number have died. Whole villages and suburbs have been flattened. The innocents killed include scores of children. Hundreds of thousands of others have been displaced and made homeless. The scale of the death and destruction in Lebanon has taken the spotlight off similar action the Israelis are taking against the Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank.

A grossly unequal contest is taking place before our eyes, something Maori can relate to. And the world has been simply watching.

Israel is a country about one fifth of the size of our North Island, yet it has a massive military capability, far greater than any of its neighbours, supplied by the United States. And with American support and re-supply, it doesn’t hesitate to use it.

In Lebanon, Hezbollah, as well as their much highlighted militia role, run hospitals and social services for their people who make up about a third of the country’s population. They take part in the government of Lebanon and are regarded as the ‘resistance’ against Israeli aggression. It is their supporters who are being bombed, killed and terrorised out of their homes, villages and suburbs.

Well enough of the geopolitical lecture and back to this issue. Some of the people portrayed in our cover story, if they were real, would probably come in handy in the Middle East at the moment. Cover boy Benjamin Mitchell is the new great brown hope in our top-rating soap opera, Shortland Street. Ben is not only shaping up to be a fine actor but is also a staunch promoter of Maori language.

Someone who understands the reality of war is Whakahuihui Vercoe, the soldier priest who served in action in Vietnam in order to be close to his warrior flock. He’s made a few headlines in his time as bishop and archbishop for the Maori and Anglican communities, but as Lloyd Ashton’s warts and all profile shows us, there’s a humanitarian behind those headlines.

And while violence in the Middle East rages, it’s impossible to ignore the fact that violence against innocent children here in New Zealand is a huge and shameful problem. Children’s Commissioner Cindy Kiro is one of the leading campaigners in the fight to make home a safe place for kids. In this issue she explains why the law that allows parents to use ‘reasonable force’ to discipline their kids should be abolished.

Starting the first New Zealand website for surrogate parenthood propelled Lorinda Robinson, from Taitokerau, into the headlines too; especially when she announced that she was pregnant with the genetic child of a Pakeha couple.

I travelled to Vanuatu recently with a New Zealand delegation where I saw a form of ‘rangatiratanga’ in action, functioning alongside the conventional parliamentary government with no apparent difficulty.

As usual, we have many other engaging Maori stories in this issue.