Message of unity after funeral for ‘our baby’
‘‘Tears of heaven’’ fell as more than a hundred people gathered to bury Baby Mona, the baby found at a Ma¯ngere reserve last year.
Despite rain showers, the community gathered just five minutes drive from the Mona Ave Reserve where the baby was found.
It was November 24 - a sunny day - that a runner discovered the baby near mangroves and wrapped in a t-shirt.
Ma¯ngere MP Auptio William Sio helped led proceedings, flanked by other community and religious leaders.
In a white casket and wrapped in tapa cloth, Baby Mona was buried at Ma¯ngere Lawn Cemetery.
The plot was one of many donations for the service by locals, many of whom asked to be anonymous. There were so many that some had to be turned away, Sio says.
Locals lay rose petals on the casket, sung Samoan hymns and the younger ones took turns to shovel earth on the casket. The community reeled after the baby was found and gathered days later at a memorial service.
On Saturday, there was a sense of sadness, but also one of unity in reaching out to people who might feel vulnerable.
Sio spoke of his youngest daughter who was at the funeral - he hoped if she ever found herself in a position like Baby Mona’s mother that she could find support.
‘‘I would hope she felt safe enough, [to have] confidence in me as a father and my wife, as a mother, to come and talk to us,’’ he says. ‘‘To young people who may feel torn in this situation - there is help.’’
Without passing blame, he addressed the Samoan community he represented.
‘‘To our fathers, matai, chiefs and orators; this requires loving leadership. Our elders often say ‘our foundations remain the same, but our practices differ and change from day-to-day.’’’
Sio thanked the gathering who braved the rain - or ‘‘tears of heaven’’ as he described.
Ma¯ngere-O¯ta¯huhu Local Board chairperson Lemauga Lydia Sosene says the community service was ‘‘about doing the right thing for our baby’’.
‘‘What has to change is the fear of coming forward in this situation. There is help out there and it’s about connectedness and com- munity.’’
Sosene says she had no doubts that Baby Mona’s mother may have had fear about coming forward.
‘‘This requires loving leadership.’’