I will never deny traveling a judicial journey with a loved one, seeing evidence withheld and watching a one-sided court case convict my whanau member isn’t life changing because it is.
The above scenario left me two options, accept and move on, or do what I believe is done too little in this country, that being stand up and question the system and process I had witnessed fail so miserably.
My mother passed away in 2020, the same year the judicial process was taking place, and as I reflected on my beautiful mother’s life, a life of giving, listening, learning, understanding, teaching but most importantly never judging, it inspired me to push back and get real answers. Mum, a proud Ngāti Porou decedent, who always had her door open to everyone, whether they needed a chat, a meal, or even a bed, instilling in me the value that living is giving.
I have lived in a women’s refuge, have had nothing but nature to entertain myself and have seen the very worst of people at various times in my life, but I now understand that all of this has created the person I am today.
Now that my family is a statistic of the broken system, I have chosen to support the wider community through advocacy, not only to highlight what is wrong with the system but also to create change in the system.
For me anger and bitterness has never been part of this journey, only sadness derived from what I am seeing happen to Aotearoa as a country, a beautiful country that simply is asking for both the truth and a system that is fair, open and transparent.
I will advocate for the country and people I love, but most importantly doing what I enjoy, something that I will never give up, so here I am at the start of my journey.
Jackie x
May 2022
