NZ premier says ‘sorry’ for Dawn Raids
NEW Zealand’s Prime Minister has formally apologised for a racially charged part of the nation’s history, known as the Dawn Raids.
The events saw Pacific Island people targeted for deportation in the mid-1970s during aggressive home raids by authorities to find, convict and deport over-stayers.
The raids often took place very early in the morning or late at night.
As part of an emotional ceremony at Auckland Town Hall, PM Jacinda Ardern was covered in a large white mat and then embraced. The apology did not come with any broader financial compensation or legal changes, but many Pacific people say it represented an important first step.
By being covered in the mat, Ms Ardern was taking part in a traditional Samoan ritual known as an ifoga, in which the subject seeks forgiveness by exposing themselves to a kind of public humiliation.
Ms Ardern told a tearful crowd of several hundred that the government was offering a formal and unreserved apology.
“The government expresses its sorrow, remorse and regret that the Dawn Raids and random police checks occurred and that these actions were ever considered appropriate,” she said.
At the time of the raids, many Pacific people had come to New Zealand on temporary visas to help fill a need for workers in the nation’s factories and fields.
But the government appeared to turn on the community by deciding those workers were no longer needed.