Russel – Māngere East
“Proud? Ah, not for a long time. Yeah, not for a long time, because I’m not too sure. Maybe because of money.
I’m proud if I’ve earned something. Like, I grew up in Auckland and I was raised in South Auckland all my life. Poverty makes you feel a bit down and out, eh? Yeah that’s why I don’t feel proud at the moment, because of [my] financial situation. Well I went for an interview today for some work, but I’m waiting for them to contact me again, maybe on Monday or Tuesday. If I get that job I’d feel proud. I believe in earning things instead of handouts. That would make me feel a bit better, give me my self-esteem back. I like doing labouring, machine work, machinery work, you know? Labouring work, not computer stuff, but physical things. Yeah, factory work. So low self-esteem is correct, because I’m around a bit of negativity. I’m not around positive, open-minded things, but I’ll be alright. Auckland’s hard now, ain’t it? Yeah, Auckland’s quite hard to live in. I’ve got low self-esteem. I’ve got a partner, de facto, and that can be… it’s okay, but we have our ups and downs, but it’s not too bad at the moment.
Negative is like closed-minded, if something goes wrong they don’t find a solution. You know? And lies, people tell lies. What I could do better today? Maybe help people if I could. You know? It’s a hard question to answer to be honest with you.”
