Elevating Pasifika voices
I remember in kindergarten, when I was about six-years-old, I became very conscious of my cultural identity in a way that I had never been before. I was the pale by-product of an Aussie father and a Tongan mother, who contrasted each other (literally), and the fact that I was the result of this union was something of a foreign concept to many people. Picture it: a brown-skinned woman picking up her white-skinned daughter from school. I remember a lot of my school peers, upon the striking revelation that I was Tongan, would hit me with the classic:
“But… you don’t look Tongan.”
Mean Girls comes to mind.
And you know what? Maybe I don’t look Tongan. That isn’t the point.
The point is, these kinds of attitudes, even if they were expressed by children who didn’t know any better, made me self-conscious about my identity. It was as if I had to prove my Tongan-ness, but why should one have to prove something that is unalienably true? I am Tongan. I am also Australian. Both run through my veins and do so simultaneously.
I offer you this reflection to ignite a conversation regarding cultural issues, specifically as it relates to Pasifika communities, which I do through the lens of my own cross-cultural experiences. Personally, I summarise it as a paradox; it has been the source of both turmoil and pride.
Tongan-ish?
The root of this turmoil seems to be insecurity. When my Tongan identity was constantly being questioned, I could not help but feel insecure.
“You don’t look Tongan.”
“You don’t act Tongan.”
“You don’t even speak Tongan.”
Maybe I was not all that Tongan. No-one seemed to think I was. Islanders in my orbit, including friends and relatives, would reduce me to one-half of my identity and refer to me as palangi (Caucasian). Constantly being categorised and prescribed one of your ethnicities causes a bit of an identity crisis, would you believe it?
The negative perceptions of Islanders wasn’t encouraging, either. In fact, the first time I encountered a ‘Tongan’ on the small screen was in Australian comedy icon, Chris Lilley’s, well-known and well-loved show, Summer Heights High, and it’s follow-up, Jonah from Tonga. If you’ve seen either, you’ll remember Jonah Takalua — a behaviourally and intellectually challenged high-school boy who bullies ‘rangas’ and refuses do his work.
And if the show’s title wasn’t evidence enough, he is Tongan. And, to my luck, my name, Joanie, sounds a little bit like Jonah (“Joanie from Tonga” echoes in my head as I write this). However, Lilley’s show is only the tip of the iceberg.
Pasifika communities in Australia
According to a 2015 study, a number of issues affect the Pacific Islander community in Australia, one of which concerns education.
Pacific Islander youth struggle in primary and secondary education for various reasons. Studies show that disadvantages at home impact upon Pasifika youth and their performance at school. These disadvantages are complex themselves, like domestic overcrowding, some Islander parents having a low level of secondary education, excessive care responsibilities, and financial stress. These realities are highly detrimental to Pasifika kids, resulting in high rates of school absence, mental health issues, academic and behavioural issues, school incompletion, and even criminal activity.
The depiction of Jonah Takalua, unfortunately, spoke to some of these realities, but that doesn’t mean it was particularly helpful in forging a better one.
#IslandPride
So, yes — I was incredibly self-conscious about my Tongan-ness. It wasn’t freely ascribed to me by others and it didn’t seem to be perceived well at large (thanks, Jonah). When everyone tells you what you are and what you’re not, you kind of feel like you have to end up choosing. But the beauty is — you don’t.
To others, I was just some palangi who happened to have a Tongan for a mother. But I didn’t allow that to disconnect me from a culture that is my birth right, my inheritance. The insecurities faded once I allowed myself to embrace my Tongan-ness and empower it as part of who I am. Pride was the antidote, and I think it’s fair to speak on behalf of my Pasifika brothers and sisters when I say we have a lot of #IslandPride.
Samoans when they see the Rock on the big screen (especially the Samoans that tell you they’re related to him).
Maoris when they felt Taika Watiti’s NZ wit jump through the screen in Thor: Ragnarok.
Tongans going all out to show their love and support for #MMT during the Rugby World Cup.
My turmoil was healed by embracing my culture and allowing myself to have pride in it. I stopped leveraging my Tongan-ness based on being deemed a palangi and being discouraged by the struggles faced by my community — I was Tongan through and through, and I was proud to be Tongan as much as I was proud to be Australian. And that’s the paradox: the source of the hurt was also the source of the cure.
Elevating Pasifika voices
Now, as discussed previously, the Pacific Islander community in Australia have a number of disadvantages. As a young Tongan-Australian university student, issues affecting Pasifika education hits close to home for me, as it wasn’t statistically likely that I’d end up continuing onto tertiary study.
In order to empower Pasifika youth to reach their full potential, we should develop new and/or strengthen existing initiatives that offer Pacific Islander kids mentorship and support in their learning. Pacific Islander kids statistically experience a lot of disadvantage in their home life compared to other groups, which is what directly affects their schooling. The aforementioned 2015 study maps out a list of goals:
Schools should be conscious of the unique disadvantages that affect their Pasifika students and strategize how to effectively address these. Initiatives like Pasifika Achievement To Higher Education (PATHE) at Western Sydney University are a great way to build community (which is a common value across Pacific Islander cultures) and encourage Pasifika youth in their education.
Also, more positive representation is vital. Just look at this list of Tongan characters in fiction:
The first one is NOT EVEN TONGAN!
So, you mean to tell me Jonah Takalua is the most famous Tongan character in fiction? I know for sure it ain’t Tongan Ninja.
For the love of God, someone write a Tongan character into existence that isn’t a nuisance!
Maybe then I won’t be called Joanie from Tonga.
