“We saw the accident on the news. It was near Te Puke, and we knew my sister was down that way but thought it was too far. We thought it was so terrible, but we carried on watching TV and didn’t think a lot more of it.
It wasn’t until 3 am that the news became real when the police knocked on the door. My sister Rebecca had died in that crash. That experience helped me understand that what we see on the news is real. Every time I see a tragedy in the news, I know that there are real families, real people just like me behind those stories. Everyone I see and meet is as real and as important as I am. All people are people with stories.
I love the people of Manurewa because they’re my people, my community. This is part of my belonging and cultural heritage, cause I’m from here. We have to take the time to get to know one another.”
Emma D
