Through diaspora and an eruption, 'Tonga still feels like home'

Wednesday, 19 January 2022

Suliana Mone and her family immigrated from Tonga to New Zealand in 2000, leaving behind their 'pristine' homelands in search of educational opportunities.

Suliana Mone, an academic who immigrated to New Zealand from Tonga says many Tongan New Zealanders are feeling a sense of diaspora in the aftermath of last Saturday’s eruption.

Born and raised in Tonga, Mone is now a law lecturer and convenor for Pacific engagement at Waikato University’s faculty of law where she continues to focus on research dedicated to Tonga.

She recalls distinct memories going to an all-girls school, attending church and planting crops on their family plantation.

“The environment, the greenery, it’s beautiful and not very polluted because tourism isn’t such a big thing in Tonga like it is in other places, like Fiji and the Cook Islands,” Mone said.

Satellite images of Tonga have shown some of the damage caused by the eruption and tsunami.

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Waikato University academic, Suliana Mone says New Zealand Tongan community member are supporting one another through prayer and plan to send aid back to Tonga.

There are many memories when I think of Tonga, and it’s always with family or church groups… I have a memory of my father and uncle who had plantations out in the bush area, and we’d go there every Saturday and as a family we’d plant crops together.

“We were taught very young, to share what we had, and I don't remember a lot of material prosperity,” she said.

A New Zealand navy ship is ready to be deployed to Tonga if needed, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says.

Mone and her family immigrated to New Zealand in 2000 when she was 17 years old, in search of more sustainable futures.

“We moved here because my father wanted us to have educational opportunities and career opportunities we wouldn’t have in Tonga, at the time there were no university or tertiary institutions, so if we either had to get a scholarship or move,” she said.

Mone describes the move to New Zealand as a “culture shock” due to the more hyperactive society.

But amidst the changes, the local Methodist church became their pillar of community.

Following last Saturday’s horrific eruption Mone said many Tongans in New Zealand have experienced sleepless nights.

She said despite Hunga-Tonga-Hunga-Ha'apai volcano having erupted in recent years, Tongans would not have been prepared for the magnitude of Saturday’s eruption, due to it being a once in a thousand-year event.

“For as far back as I can remember, we were never worried in Tonga, a volcanic eruption was not even at the back of our minds, so I think this has come as a real surprise and a shock to a lot of us.

“Everyone was very anxious and afraid, everyone was up crying and praying, it is still scary because there is no communication, many of us haven’t been able to get a hold of our family and friends.”

Mone said currently, many Tongans are grateful for the support and offers of aid from New Zealand and continue to feel a part of the New Zealand fabric.

She said the New Zealand Tongan community were already having discussions about sending further supplies to their families.

Until further information is shared from those in Tonga, the community is continuing to pray for their relatives safety while thinking of their homelands.

“Tonga still feels like home for me.

“As a community, everyone is standing together and praying together and that’s one of the strengths of us Tongan people.

“We were raised to help each other, through whatever it is that we lived through, and we’re always one.”