Jermaine | Papakura
“Yeah, oh there was a point in my life. It was just recently too, where I got mistaken for somebody else, and a Black Power sergeant of arms came into my house. Threw me, grabbed me all like this, threw me out of my house.
I didn’t know what actually happened there. He might have, he might have got the houses wrong or something, or something like that. I was just sleeping but then, getting woken up like that, picked up in my own house, and then chucked out my own front door. He doesn’t even live there, and then that quite scared me. Scared me a hell of a bit.
This lady with a Tā moko, that took me in, and she actually gave me a home. Made me feel loved. I felt loved and all that, and I just started bursting into tears. That was a bit of a first, kind of kindness I really felt, really like real kindness. Oh, it was more like love. For someone to take you in, and they don’t even know you. Yeah, I was like, words can’t explain how, kind that was and how, how love that felt.
She’s probably one of the kindest ladies. You show kindness, you’ll get it back. You show rudeness, she’ll still give you kindness.
Just experiencing that feeling makes me want to give it to the next generation, because they’re the ones that are coming up next. They’re the ones that are next up, next up and running. So, you’ve got to look after the little kids, the next generation. So, I just want to, because I felt that. She gave me that. That love, that kindness. I want to give it to the world.
In South Auckland, you’re a grown man when you hit 13. You’re a grown man. You’ve got to become an adult really, really fast. Really fast. It’s a bit hard, actually. It’s, it might look all good, might look peaceful and all that kindness, but really deep down it’s actually hurtful.
There are days you don’t get fed. Weeks you don’t get fed, and that’s why our young teenagers are doing the crime. Just to get a meal in their stomach, you know? Maybe look after their mum. We need a lot more kindness and there will be no more crime. Oh, well less of it if everyone, if someone asks for a dollar and you gave that dollar, you know, he won’t have to go rob a shop. You gave him that dollar. He can go buy something you know, because kindnesses can go for a lot. Can go far in this world.”
