By TeKāhu
In an oft-forgotten part of the Pacific lie three atoll islands, collectively known as Tokelau.
What is also often unknown, is that the Tokelau people are New Zealand citizens.
Talanoa Sa’o presenter Papali’i Fuiavailili Ala’ilima was recently approached by concerned Tokelau people who felt that their elders and New Zealand Administrator were engaging in a human rights breach, specifically around Habeas Corpus, or unlawful detention. There was great fear that Tokelau was just too small to be of any concern to the outside world.
The fear communicated to Fuiavailili was over the house arrest of various families simply for choosing to not take the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccination. Some of these detainees have now been under House Arrest for over nine months. The Daily Examiner has been advised that the government have not supported those under House Arrest, now referred to as House Isolation.
Detainees told Talanoa Sa’o reporters that they would have struggled to feed their families if not for the disobedience of other families in the villages.
Fuiavailili and the Talanoa Sa’o team immediately began to apply pressure, interviewing Pastor Danny and Sarah Pelasio in Australia and spreading news of the shocking amount of time used for the detaining of families. It was also observed that the NZ Administrator for Tokelau is none other than Mr Ross Ardern, one of the original Dawn Raiders and the father of current Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.
The Friday Night Live episode can be viewed here:
This elicited strong emotions within the Tokelau community, and Talanoa Sa’o followed up with the latest escalation:
Five to eleven-year-olds are now mandated to take the Pfizer injection, with further punishment doled out to those who disobeyed.
The team again engaged with the Tokelau pastors, bringing awareness to the Tokelau plight of being house-detained for nearly a year, for simply choosing to not inject themselves and their children.
Tokelau has zero COVID-19 cases.
The full and live Friday Night Live episode can be viewed here:
After this episode ran, the Talanoa Sa’o team then met with a barrister who has been engaging with the Tokelau detainees. The team also held discreet discussions with two New Zealand MPs who displayed significant surprise at the extreme House Arrests/Isolations.
Further to this, emails were sent to Ms Jacinda Ardern, Mr Ross Ardern and the Tokelau government contact, Mr Tino Vitale:
Mr Ross Ardern happens to be the NZ Administrator over Tokelau
Tokelau government contact Mr Tino Vitale is yet to reply to contact attempts, despite messages sent from the Prime Minister’s and Administrator’s office forwarding to him.
Since growing pressure and awareness, there have apparently been communication lines opening up across New Zealand, Australia and the Tokelau atolls.
And today, Talanoa Sa’o can advise that the families have been given momentous news:
After many months of House Arrest/Isolation, there has been a sudden decision to free the families.
Talanoa Sa’o understands that the Tokelau government, in conjunction with Ross Ardern, have lifted the direction to be confined to their home, and the team were able to speak directly to two households. The latest interview is with Sei Aloisio Tonuia and Pastor Fa’afetai Ielu.
Both have received mockery, smearing and persecution for choosing to not take the Pfizer injection. And while there were laughs and smiles present throughout their interview, it becomes quickly apparent that deep emotions were barely restrained as they spoke to Leao and Fuiavailili.
“Have we not been considerate of our culture?…we’ve been called ‘condescending’, ‘ignorant’, arrogant’ and, you know, all sorts” – Sei Aloisio Tonuia
“We lost our jobs. My wife was the sergeant, that was her job, she was the sergeant, the Police sergeant…we couldn’t go out and provide for our families…” – Pastor Fa’afetai Ielu
While relief is being felt, there is a concern that tomorrow’s meeting may see an attempt to have the families sign a form waiving liability of the government, accepting a gag order to prevent speaking to media, or another form of coerced acceptance. It is also unknown if the Tokelau and New Zealand governments will apologise for the House Arrest of New Zealand citizens simply choosing to not be vaccinated in a region that has no COVID-19.
Talanoa Sa’o is monitoring the situation.
Interview with Sei Aloisio Tonuia Pastor Fa’afetai Ielu below:
