RENA DISASTER CREATES A STORM

AUCKLAND - New Zealanders reacted with sheer disbelief when it became increasingly clear that the MV Rena shipwreck on the 10th of October in Tauranga had caused massive environmental damage.

The country’s worst oil disaster was killing native wildlife and contaminating pristine coastlines. A little too hard to stomach for a nation that glorifies its clean, green 100% pure image.

In the media frenzy that followed the arrest of the Filipino captain and navigational officer of the ill-fated ship, it was reported that there were serious concerns for the safety of the entire Filipino crew who were awaiting developments in Tauranga.

Because of the Filipino connection, were Pinoy migrants here bearing the brunt of racial abuse? Local media played up this story about unjustified collateral damage based on isolated incidents.

The voice of Asian migrants - Asian Migrant News (AMN www.migrantnews.co.nz) - conducted a survey on this topic: Are Pinoys coming into the firing line because the crew on board the MV Rena were Filipinos?

The president of Tauranga Regional Multi-cultural Council, Ewa Fenn, says that she has only heard of one minor incident. “This has been blown-up by the media,” she insists.

“The one comment I heard of was made to a Filipino staff member in the workplace. I’ve spoken to several Filipinos and the Tauranga Filipino Society and heard of nothing more. In fact the local papers have not even focused on this story.”

Fenn reckons there’s a fairly large Filipino community in Tauranga and Mount Maunganui.

Filipina entrepreneur Daisy De Groot who runs a ship chandling company in Tauranga was one of the first people to be interviewed by local media for this story.

She told AMN that when she got calls from a radio station and a newspaper, she thought she was merely providing background information to help reporters get an overview of the situation in Tauranga.

De Groot says she was quite surprised that her comments would be so widely publicized and she felt she was also misquoted.

De Groot admits that she had heard of only three minor cases of racial harassment. “I personally experienced rudeness when I called a motel owner to find some information about the Filipino sailors.”

Terry Nicholls, President of the Tauranga Filipino Society, told AMN she has not heard of any harassment so far.

“All Kiwis around me are very good. They even ask how I am faring. By asking that question they show that they care for our feelings.

“If there have been any comments it would not necessarily be related to the Rena incident. We don’t focus on comments like that.

“We can understand the frustration people are feeling because of this calamity and its impact on the environment. Fisherman can’t go out to the neighbouring waters and the beaches are inaccessible because of the oil.”

Filipino community group Migrante Aotearoa New Zealand issued a statement headed: "Filipinos appeal against racial hatred over Rena disaster" after one of its members, a parking attendant, was abused in Auckland.

Dennis Maga, Migrante Aotearoa National Coordinator told AMN that the Filipino community planned to organise a volunteer drive to help in the clean-up of affected beaches.

He is appealing to New Zealanders to spare the Filipino community from racial hatred in the midst of the Rena oil crisis.

"The environmental disaster in Tauranga is a tragedy of the highest order,” he says. “Fanning racial hatred against Filipinos who also care so much for the beauty of New Zealand would be another gross human disaster.

“We do understand the intense feelings of New Zealanders over this disaster. We appeal for sobriety so that innocent Filipinos will not be subjected to racial hatred as already experienced by some Filipinos in Tauranga.

"We Filipinos are one with the people of Tauranga and the whole of New Zealand in lamenting the massive environmental disaster brought by the Rena oil spill.

“We regret that this happened and hope that those responsible would be made accountable in accordance with New Zealand and international laws.

“We too are deeply aggrieved over this tragedy and hope for the best possible efforts to save every living thing out there," Maga concludes.

The Office of Ethnic Affairs (OEA) says it has investigated media reports that anti-Filipino sentiment has emerged in Tauranga in reaction to the Rena disaster.

“The NZ Herald and the Stuff website reported on 14 October, that members of the Tauranga Filipino community say they are feeling the wrath of locals outraged by the disaster,” says the Director of OEA, Mervin Singham.

“The Office of Ethnic Affairs (OEA) has spoken to its contacts in the Filipino community and understands from them that only one or two minor comments have been reported. The Filipino Association in Tauranga says it is also receiving messages of support from the local community.”

Singham says he’s concerned about any perception that anger and frustration about the grounding is being directed towards people who have nothing to do with the incident, especially when ethnicity is totally irrelevant to the situation.

THE BAYANIHAN BRIGADE

Pinoys are lining up to join the so-called ‘Baya-nihan Brigade,’ informal volunteer groups that are ready to race to the Bay of Plenty to help with the massive clean-up operations there.

“New Zealand is our country, we need to do something, says Lienilo Lumanglas, from Auck-land. “I can’t just read the newspapers everyday about this tragedy and not do anything. We’ve got to go there. I encourage everyone to go there at the earliest to help.

“Let us show our hosts that we are one with them in loving and caring for this beautiful country. This will also be our show of supporting the Filipino Captain and crew of Rena.”

A similar sentiment is expressed by Lito Banal, a Filipino business leader. “I see it as a wake-up call for New Zealand. We cannot take things for granted, we should all play a part in preserving our greenery. It would be nice if Pinoys here could spend a weekend to help with the cleaning operation.

"We are not going to Tauranga because we are guilty … then it will be for the wrong reason. There should not be any guilt at all. We are going because we see this accident as a wake-up call, we want to change our attitude and become more environmentally conscious.

“We are so fortunate, we all enjoy and benefit from having one of the cleanest and the greenest environments in the world.”

According to the Tauranga Filipino Society’s chairperson, Teresita Nicholls, there are over 200 Filipinos resident in Tauranga.

“Members of the Society are volunteering to clean-up affected beaches and offered help to the crew members of the Rena,” she adds.

“Things that have been suggested other than the clean-up includes food preparation for the volunteers who work there.

“As part of the wider community, we Filipinos would like to be involved in anyway we can. This is our ‘bayanihan spirit’. Filipinos still practice this especially in times like this.”

The Philippine Embassy is inviting ‘Filipino organizations, associations and individuals to join the volunteer groups to clean up oil from polluted beaches in various locations in Tauranga.’

The Embassy suggested that they form themselves into “PINOY BRIGADES’ to demonstrate our time-honoured and well-known spirit of “bayanihan” (volunteerism and coming together) with the communities in the affected areas in the midst of the massive operations to save the environment.

“Like New Zealand, the Philippines greatly values the paramount importance of protecting the environment and the Filipino people fully understand what the people of New Zealand, especially those in the Tauranga communities are going through right now.”

To volunteer you can get information by calling tel: 0800 645774.

Online registration can be made at www.boprc. govt.nz/oilspillvolunteers/.

There is also the Wildlife Response at telephone number 0800 333771.

Contact persons regarding this matter at the Philippine Embassy are Minister and Consul Giovanni Palec and Cultural Officer Liza Jane Estalilla. Tel: (04)472 9848, (04) 4729921, 022 0594697, 0220594700 and email addresses 1stsec-consul@ philembassy.org.nz and cultural-ra9225@ philembassy.org.nz.