Mahelino Patelesio
Courage Under Fire … is a story that starts out in another place:
Imagine yourself with a partner and two children living the quiet life in a tropical paradise when the local village-council announces that, you must be jabbed with a needle of their choosing, in order to remain part of the community. If you refuse, you are to be put in customary isolation in your own home, with restricted communication and only the food supplied to you … read more about that here
Now that you know Mahelino a little better you may think he is a foreigner in a far away place. He’s a Kiwi, of Tokelau descent, who moved from New Zealand in 2017 to build a retirement home in Tokelau. He’s a born and bred New Zealand citizen who has managed to find himself a different form of persecution in a vacuum called a New Zealand dependency where he is a resident in isolation away from our domestic laws.
This week things got a whole lot worse.
Tokelau is made up of three atolls which each have their own Taupalenga or Elders Council that makes the village rules.
The other residents who had been under house arrest were all on Atafu Atoll who this week redefined their tunoa.
Those who remain unjabbed are not subject to house arrest any longer but they still cannot return to their former employment.
Mahelino Patelesio
Nukunonu Atoll on the other hand doubled down, extended their tunoa indefinitely and cut off the family’s internet, supposedly for spreading misinformation about their little peice of the world.
This happened on Monday. On Monday night after the family turned their lights out for the night, locals waiting in the dark threw rocks at their house.
Even if the family wanted to leave they can’t because of closed borders. Tokelau still lives in isolated fear of covid.
When it comes to human rights in civilised New Zealand our legislation doesn’t apply as they manage their own human rights, in our funded Dependency.
So, you can understand why there isn’t a peep out of government, but why there isn’t a squeak out of any Human Rights watchdog in New Zealand is puzzling.
Mahelino and his family are not asking for anything exceptional – just their bodily autonomy.
The Elders in this Pineapple Paradise have gone to extreme lengths to break his will to resist with a ruling of indefinite detention and isolation.
The Patelesio family are surviving on their last precious amount of data. When that runs out they not only lose their internet but their contact with the outside world as their phones die too.
Our mainstream media in New Zealand is now incapable of reporting independently and Mahelino’s story would otherwise remain untold.
That’s a warning to every one of us, not to let our country become a Hermit Kingdom behind closed borders, led by some insane South Pacific witch.
Imagine yourself living in a remote district with your only access to food and community is by your 4WD vehicle. For many years you have driven to town in your normal state of alcohol intoxication which you choose to have in order to cope with life. Out of the blue the local law-enforcement advise you that your car license is to be taken away as you have broken the law by exceeding the alcohol level more than a dozen times. Regardless of how many times, in your defence, you have advised them that you’re driving is always safe and you are no danger to anyone else, they continue to harass you and eventually confiscate your vehicle. They state that you are a danger to others on the road even though you have been driving drunk for the past 20 years without incident. You struggle to find anyone to support you in your fight against the draconian ruling made against you. Other alcoholics that were once your mates accept their punishment when caught thereby making your isolation more acute. The above description describes the actions of a police state and of reality Then our world today. Unless we allow individuals to determine their risk to others without fear of intervention by the state we will allow ourselves to live in a world without individual freedom. Fight back now before it is too late.
Comment by Bruce Webber — Wed 31st August 2022 @ 5:21 pm
#1 What ? Are you suggesting that people should be allowed to drive while completely intoxicated because they have a right to “determine their risk to others without fear of intervention by the state, we will allow ourselves to live in a world without individual freedom” ? Are you for real ?
Comment by golfa — Thu 1st September 2022 @ 3:40 pm
Golfa, did you read the lead article? Do you understand analogies? If so, I was using the art to take this piss.
Comment by Bruce Webber — Thu 1st September 2022 @ 11:22 pm
The most free, was the caveman.
Even then, you can imagine culture.
To keep a group together, there must be rules.
The spear, forced new rules about killing.
Because you can kill, society fails if you do kill.
You are powerful, with the spear.
But I also can have a spear, so can kill you.
Rules are made, when killing is involved.
Without them we could be worse, of even cavemen.
Drink driving laws, are ones society can accept.
But it is a removal of rights, to freedom.
What is the next step, in driving rights.
The officer with a sniff tester, finding everything.
Just by waving it near you, guilt is assessed.
Dozens of new things, removing rights.
Bit by bit, more and more laws.
The drink driver restricted, to AI driving mode.
So soon drink driving, may not be an issue.
Comment by DJ Ward — Fri 2nd September 2022 @ 9:36 am