1974-1976 Hiding under the covers, shutters closed, house silent. Hoping they wouldn’t hear. Families taken away from homes screams pitching away in the darkness. I was squeezing my mother’s hand as sweat trickled down my forehead. Bang! Bang! Someone was at the door knocking aggressively.
“Open up!” A man said stubbornly.
“Quickly, honey we got to leave this place, oh and if this is the last time we see each other, I love you…”
My mother told me I had to leave and escape this place.
“But I can’t leave without you!” tears flowed down my face.
“Go!Go!” Mum wiped the tears across my face. I ran out the backdoor, I didn’t want to look back.
This part of history remains a scar for Pasifika peoples in Aotearoa.
Agree. Powerful writing. Short, sharp sentences add tension. Do you have family members who were involved in this sad saga from our history?
ReplyDeleteMy grandmother lived in Ponsonby during the dawn raids. She moved here in New Zealand to work as a nurse in 1962. Some family member on my Mum's side was deported during dawn raid.
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