Sione | Te Atatū, Auckland
“My name is Sione. I’m originally from Māngere, but now I stay out West in Te Atatū. I was born in Tonga. I’m Tongan, but I was raised up in mostly South Auckland. But now I reside in, Te Atatū, because that’s me and my wife and the kids. But I still visit Māngere, because Māngere’s, I represent, man.
Most of my teen years I was over here, and we still got a family half down the road from here. Maybe a minute walk or two, just on Mascot Ave. That’s why I always come to Māngere to shop some of my island food. I mean, not supposed to eat it, but it’s in my blood. I know it’s bad for diabetes, because I’m diabetic, but yeah I love the food and plus it’s always cheaper around here, to buy food, in South Auckland. I always call South Auckland my home, but I’m out West now, so sort of westside 275. Seventy-five is Māngere area code, yeah.
When I was a teenager, I used to always get in trouble with the law, and because just being a boy out South Auckland, you always get in trouble, and now I’m more mature now, because my kids are older. I work 40 hours; before I reckon, I would have been in a club, bikey gang or whatever, when I grew up. Most of my mates are in gangs, but I overcame that by just having a fulltime job. So, now I’ve been working at my job for 23 years, just down the road from here, and I enjoy it, because I watch my kids grow up, otherwise I would have been in jail, or would have been killed or, yeah because I had an early start on crime. I’ve been loyal to my job; go to work every day for the last 23 years. Whereas mostly the kids out South Auckland, they rather take the hard way by dealing drugs, or joining gangs. Most of my mates are not alive; they hooked up with Black Powers or KCs, but I didn’t choose that life.
I went inside when I was 16 but before that I was doing community detention. This means, when you break the law, you go clean up churches and that. One of my early teenage years, I went inside when I was 17, and it made me see that I don’t like to be told to go to toilet. You know? I like to go to toilet when I go toilet, not to be told by the wardens, and that. You know what I mean? So, to me it was wasting the time. You’re just wasting your time going inside. All you do is you eat well, in there. It’s like a hotel, to me, and I miss my family that much; and plus the missus was pregnant – she was three months I think when I went inside, because I only went in for a short while, but it made me see things, like you know, I didn’t want to do crime, because you’ll never get away with doing crime, or whatever.
You always say you do, one day you’ll get caught doing something bad, and then you know, the law always wins and always puts you inside. So, when I went in, when I was young, I um, it made me see a lot of things, and change, I have to change my life. When I came out I, I think to me I sort of had my own mind of thinking, not following people’s ideas and that. That’s how you get in trouble. Oh, my family helped me through that period. I still kept the same friends, but they ended up in gangs and things, and I’m not talking about that just to put myself up. To me that was an experience for me. It’s like, I’m still like, now and then I’ll go and see my mates, but they don’t, I guess my lifestyle is not the same as them. Some of them are still the same, but most of them, you know.
I’ve got four kids. They’re all old now. They’re all adults because I had them when I was around their age. Young. So, now you know, I’m in my 40s, and they’re in their 20s. You know, I advised them, in life if you choose the right path, you’ll be alright. You know? If you choose the wrong path then you’ll end up in jail, you know, doing hard time; if you kill someone, or you don’t live by the law. So, so far, I haven’t, I haven’t experienced my kids going to Court or, for anything. Yeah, in my last few years, the only trouble I got into, it was like my drink and drive. I have never done anything bad. You know? But I mean, I’m out of that scene. I still keep the same friends, because loyalty and respect is…that’s what I’m thinking about.
What I value in life is family, my culture, and respect, loyalty, you know, for my culture, and I respect people if they respect me. That’s why I value life, and my kids, my sisters, my brothers, my Mum and my immediate family like me and my missus and my kids. That’s what I really, like even close friends, and I respect anyone that respects principles. I call myself a man of principles. What’s that mean, but I mean I don’t bother no-one. You know what I mean? I don’t give anyone trouble. If they bug me, then you know, then it’s either I’m or me or her or me. I mean, I just keep to myself. Just work hard for home and then you go out with the boys and just drink, but I think I’m more responsible now than what I used to be. Maybe with age you mature.“
