Deb - Waikanae

It is time we showed more respect to out tangata whenua - it may start to heal a little of the harm done by the wicked settlers that came after those first missionaries. Stubborn fellows who couldn’t see Māori were willing to share cultures and accept them in as partners! Ignorant people who had such wrong ideas about the mongrel strength of white folks - such a mixed race and language gained from many sources! Some were pretending to be Christian but were wolves in sheep’s clothing, taking lands by force and by trickery. So much sorrow, how can it be healed?



It is a beautiful language, so phonetic, and using sounds that are already in English, as well as found in many nations around the world! Europe, Asia, South America, Middle East and Africa use the same kinds of vowels!



But we need to learn in a new way, we need our friends who have the reo to coach us in the words we want to learn and use!



Ma Te IO e manaaki nga hoa! May the Great God bless us friends!