Venkat Raman
Auckland, September 28, 2023
SAMER+Collective brings together victims of South Asian and the Middle East communities
An initiative to combat family violence occurring in larger ethnic communities was launched at Metro Theatre in the South Auckland suburb of Mangere on September 19, 2023.
Called, SAMER+Collective to denote the South Asian, Middle Eastern, Rainbow and other Communities, the Project has the support of the New Zealand government, the Counties Manukau Police and several Non-Governmental Organisations.
Inaugurating the Project, Diversity, Inclusion and Ethnic Communities Minister Priyanca Radhakrishnan said that her Labour government has been supportive of programmes, initiatives and activities that helped bring down family harm in the country.
“I am happy that SAMER+Collective has been established to address the problem of sexual violence occurring within our South Asian, Middle Eastern, Refugee, Rainbow and other ethnic communities. Our government has taken several measures which have helped tackle this problem. I am sure that this new initiative will help reduce this problem in our society. We will always be supportive of the projects and programmes that aim to make our women safer everywhere including their homes and places of work,” she said.
The Governing Board
The Governance Board of SAMER+ include Vishal Rishi (Chairman), Tony Tumai, Noeleen van de Lisdonk, Sucharita Varma, Shivani Arora, Professor Edwina Pio, Farrukh Gul Qaisrani, Sergeant Gurpreet Arora (Project Coordinator) and Ireen Rahiman-Manuel (Project Advisor and Design Lead).
People affected by family harm are identified as South Asian (people of Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Sri Lankan), Middle Eastern (people from Iraq, Iran, Syria, Afghanistan, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates), Fiji Indian and former refugees.
Mr Rishi described SAMER+ as a pilot project to minimise the current rapid rise in family harm cases that are seen in communities settled in Manukau.
We are here for our people and service providers have joined hands and worked in partnership with the Counties Manukau Police and other NGOs and community organisations to design programmes that consider the community realities, challenges, and experiences and support them to create safe homes and healthy relationships and prevent family violence,” he said.
The Virtues of Companionship
He said that SAMER is of Persian origin and has multiple connotations.
“It holds virtues of companionship (one with whom you speak), a fruit-bearing tree and loyalty. This symbolises the joint connections that we embrace and nurture through dialogue, our identified need to grow in unity and establish a foundation of trust. This is a small tree that grows over time into a giant, strong community. We acknowledge that family and sexual violence require all our efforts to ensure flourishing whanau and communities,” Mr Rishi said.
The Project is supervised by Impactdev360, an Auckland-based specialist organisation that provides a comprehensive range of leadership and services.
Founder-Director Ireen Manuel, who is the Design and Project Lead of SAMER+ said that the Pilot Project has set for itself a bold aspiration and is in alignment with the National Strategy and Action Plan to eliminate family violence and sexual violence in ethnic communities.
Objectives of SAMER
“Our aims are to (a) mobilise communities to create what works best for them, including designing and delivering solutions to effect change (b) work with the government, key agencies, and communities to build a skilled, culturally competent and sustainable workforce and (c)
invest in primary prevention and (d) mobilise a shift towards creating safe, accessible, and integrated responses. The Project is now embarking on a community consultation phase and is well supported by our communities and faith-based organisations. This will enable the first locality-based strategy for the elimination and prevention of family violence and sexual violence in SAMER+ communities. We acknowledge the support of the Ministries of Health, Social Development, Ethnic Communities, Justice, the Auckland Council, civil society, private stakeholders and the people,” she said.
Mr Rishi said that over the past decade, ethnic providers have worked diligently for communities with limited resources with the Counties Manukau Police.
“We want to do more; we know there is an urgent need to do more. Our population is growing, and we have observed a rise in family violence and sexual harm cases. As ethnic providers working closely under the guidance and leadership of Acting Inspector Sharon Price and Seargent Gurpreet Arora, we value the approach that lets us prioritise activities collectively identified with our communities in Counties Manukau locality,” he said.
The challenges ahead
Sergeant Arora said that SAMER+ is the result of years of hard work by the Family Harm Service Providers in Counties Manukau.
“The Strategic work has only started. There is a long road and many challenges ahead, but we are confident in designing a Family Violence Prevention Strategy to benefit future generations and save families and individuals from the harm caused by Family Violence and Sexual Violence,” he said.
Edwina Pio, Professor Emeritus of Diversity at AUT said that New Zealand is an extraordinary space and that those behind the Project must hold true to their origins.
“New Zealand has been a place of opportunities for more than a century, This country aspires to both equity and excellence, through fully engaging with Te Tiriti and anchored in the culture and whenua where we stand. It is not meant to be a place of violence and family harm. This is an opportunity to ponder on lamps to light the way, to break the cycle of violence, for a better world is truly possible,” she said.
