Letter to the Editor Thursday June 6, 2013

Not by bread alone

The recent cartoons stereotyping Polynesians as deadbeats appeal to those who really don't know and who really don't care.

I have watched our Island relatives struggle to raise their children while working in low-end, minimum wage jobs.

They did not play the pokies, drink in the pubs, smoke cigarettes or own entertainment centres.

They lived two families (or more) to a house with the kids sleeping in garages. Their staple was white toast every morning before school.

Their biggest discretionary expense was tithing to their church, which is essential for their spiritual sustenance.

Desperate to escape a life of poverty, ALL my Kiwi-born nephews and nieces have moved to the Lucky Country where they now enjoy spacious homes, good jobs, new cars, and the means to provide better lives for their children.

Ironically, we are not just losing productive young people due to a lack of opportunity.

We have to suffer through watching expat Polynesians star against our Super 15 and the All Blacks.

MIKE WARD

Mangonui