who are we?
A word from the Editor in Chief of Samoans in south Auckland website,
ose upu tomua mai le alii faatonu ole tatou itulau mo samoa i Aukilani i saute.
Seulupe Falaniko Tominiko
E muamua lava ona ou fa’atalofa atu I le paia ma le mamalu o le tatou atunu’u olo’o alaala ma papa’a’ao I atunu’u eseese o lenei kelope.
O le paia lava lea I Aiga ma latou Tama, Tama ma latou Aiga
Le Usoga ia Tumua ma Pule, Itu’au ma le Alataua
Aiga le Tai, ma le Va’a o Fonoti.
O le paia foi lea ia Sua ma le Vaifanua
Fofo ma Aitulagi, Sa’ole ma le Sale’aumua, ma le Launinasaelua
O le paia lava lea I le La’aunaamotasi
Le mamalu ia Faatui ma le Auva’a o To’oto’o
Ma upu ia te oe le Manu’atele
Afio mai, maliu mai, susu mai, ma tala’a’ao mai.
Malo le soifua maua ma le lagi e mama.
Talofa, my name is Seulupe Falaniko Tominiko and it is a real honour and privilege to be appointed the Editor in Chief of the ‘Samoans in South Auckland’ web page. South Auckland has been my home since 1982 when my parents, my younger brother and I migrated from Western Samoa. Since then, we have lived in a number of suburbs within the South Auckland area. When we first arrived, we lived with my mother’s uncle in Mangere. A few months later, we moved to Otahuhu. From Otahuhu we moved to Papatoetoe, before a final move back to Mangere East where my parents have been living since 1988. When I left home, I flatted in Papatoetoe, then lived for a brief time in Otara before moving to Mangere Bridge. Currently my small family and I are back living in Papatoetoe, so South Auckland has been my home since we migrated here to New Zealand 34 years ago.
According to the 2013 New Zealand Census, there were 144,138 people of Samoan ethnicity living in NZ. This made up 3.6% of NZ’s total population, and they were by far the largest Pacific population in NZ. The next largest Pacific group were the Cook Island Maori with 61,839 and the Tongan population was 60,366. Of this, 95,916 (roughly 67% of Samoans in NZ) lived in the wider Auckland region, and it would be fair to say that the majority of them resided within the South Auckland region. South Auckland has a very high Pacific population, and over the last twenty years, the name ‘South Auckland’ has had a negative stigma attached to it, with high poverty, unemployment and crime rates. Bruce Ringer’s (article link below), ‘Give South Auckland a little respect’, gives a great outline on the history of South Auckland.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm…
Given the generally negative representation of South Auckland in the media, it is my aim to reverse this trend and provide positive and inspiring stories of Samoan people doing great things in South Auckland. “O le ala I le pule, o le tautua” – “The way to leadership is through service”. There are many Samoans leading by example in South Auckland, who are serving not only their community and families, but also Samoa as a whole. It will be their stories that I will endeavour to capture and share with the world.
Ma le fa’aaloalo lava
Falaniko
O le paia lava lea I Aiga ma latou Tama, Tama ma latou Aiga
Le Usoga ia Tumua ma Pule, Itu’au ma le Alataua
Aiga le Tai, ma le Va’a o Fonoti.
O le paia foi lea ia Sua ma le Vaifanua
Fofo ma Aitulagi, Sa’ole ma le Sale’aumua, ma le Launinasaelua
O le paia lava lea I le La’aunaamotasi
Le mamalu ia Faatui ma le Auva’a o To’oto’o
Ma upu ia te oe le Manu’atele
Afio mai, maliu mai, susu mai, ma tala’a’ao mai.
Malo le soifua maua ma le lagi e mama.
Talofa, my name is Seulupe Falaniko Tominiko and it is a real honour and privilege to be appointed the Editor in Chief of the ‘Samoans in South Auckland’ web page. South Auckland has been my home since 1982 when my parents, my younger brother and I migrated from Western Samoa. Since then, we have lived in a number of suburbs within the South Auckland area. When we first arrived, we lived with my mother’s uncle in Mangere. A few months later, we moved to Otahuhu. From Otahuhu we moved to Papatoetoe, before a final move back to Mangere East where my parents have been living since 1988. When I left home, I flatted in Papatoetoe, then lived for a brief time in Otara before moving to Mangere Bridge. Currently my small family and I are back living in Papatoetoe, so South Auckland has been my home since we migrated here to New Zealand 34 years ago.
According to the 2013 New Zealand Census, there were 144,138 people of Samoan ethnicity living in NZ. This made up 3.6% of NZ’s total population, and they were by far the largest Pacific population in NZ. The next largest Pacific group were the Cook Island Maori with 61,839 and the Tongan population was 60,366. Of this, 95,916 (roughly 67% of Samoans in NZ) lived in the wider Auckland region, and it would be fair to say that the majority of them resided within the South Auckland region. South Auckland has a very high Pacific population, and over the last twenty years, the name ‘South Auckland’ has had a negative stigma attached to it, with high poverty, unemployment and crime rates. Bruce Ringer’s (article link below), ‘Give South Auckland a little respect’, gives a great outline on the history of South Auckland.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm…
Given the generally negative representation of South Auckland in the media, it is my aim to reverse this trend and provide positive and inspiring stories of Samoan people doing great things in South Auckland. “O le ala I le pule, o le tautua” – “The way to leadership is through service”. There are many Samoans leading by example in South Auckland, who are serving not only their community and families, but also Samoa as a whole. It will be their stories that I will endeavour to capture and share with the world.
Ma le fa’aaloalo lava
Falaniko