www.able.co.nz Copyright Able 2024 - Nga mate o te wa. Haere mai, haere. Tatou kei te pito ora, tihewa mauriora! And welcome back to The Hui. For decades, hundreds of thousands of children suffered sexual abuse, violence and neglect in the very places they were sent to receive care. Widespread abuse in more than 1600 schools, hospitals, foster homes, orphanages, churches and boot camps was hidden. Anyone who spoke out was silenced or ignored. For the past six years, the Royal Commission into Abuse in Care has been investigating the abuse of more than a quarter of a million Kiwi children. It's the most complex inquiry ever in Aotearoa and cost $170 million. Its report will be made public on Wednesday. Survivors named it Whanaketia ` through pain and trauma, from darkness to light. The commissioners are calling on the government to act meaningfully on their recommendations, saying it's time to end our national disgrace. Ruwani Perera begins our special report, which some viewers may find distressing. (SOMBRE MUSIC) - REPORTER: A momentous day ` the closure of the longest, costliest inquiry ever undertaken in Aotearoa. - We didn't have hope five and a half years ago, so, yeah, a lot's happened since then. - The Royal Commission of Inquiry into the historic abuse of young people in state care. - You can't have a Royal Commission of Inquiry into something and pretend it didn't happen. (PENSIVE MUSIC) I thought I was the only one. It was bigger, it was wider, it was broader than anyone expected. It brought to light one of the evil pasts of this country. - The Hui first met Eugene Ryder seven years ago when he and others abused in state-run boys' homes spoke out. - And he took me into the showers and, uh... yeah, abused me... um, for a long time ` uh, for over an hour. And it seemed like all night. He was a qualified social worker, um... and a paedophile, all in one. - I had horrific, inhumane shit done to me. Who do you`? Where do you go? You got no one to go to. - The government refused to hold an inquiry into the alleged abuse. - An inquiry into the... systemic abuse of this country ` I think it's well overdue myself. People knew this was happening. The problem is, is that we're too fast to bury things. - I felt free after that. I felt like a burden was lifted off my shoulders, because now it was out in the open, and that instigated others to come forward. - And their bravery made all the difference. Not long after, they met with Jacinda Ardern. - These men are seeking a chance to tell their story, and for there to be change in the way that we deal with young people who might be in the system now. - Ardern's government then committed to an inquiry. - Today, we are announcing that the inquiry into historic abuse in state care will be a royal commission. This, I think, is a significant step towards acknowledging and learning from the experiences of those who were abused in state care. - In 2018, the Commission began hearing from some of the 250,000 survivors. A few were able to tell their stories at trauma noho on marae, but most survivors of abuse had to give their evidence in a courtroom setting. - O, hupane! Kaupane! Whiti te ra. Hi! - Kia ora koutou. - (SNIFFLES) - And for many, that was re-traumatising. - This whole setup sucks. - Mm. - It's like a courtroom. You're in... Usually when you're sitting in the box, you're in trouble. - It's really important for us to have that feedback and, um... and we can always do better. - The Royal Commission, in the eyes of some survivors, looked, felt like the Crown. It looked like a government agency. It felt like a government agency. And so there was a lot of barriers that had to be broken down in order for survivors to come forward. I didn't like that there were judges and lawyers, the same judges and lawyers that represented the system that put us in those homes. That was one of the biggest challenges that I had. When I saw how the Royal Commission was panning out, I wanted to give up. - Eugene didn't give up. He kept going... supporting other survivors through the inquiry process as they gave confronting testimony after testimony. - I'm honoured to know each and every person that I've engaged with in this space because I see their courage, I see their sadness, I see their fear. We could not have done this without each other's support. - Was it re-traumatising for you? - I only get (EXHALES) re-traumatised when I think about the impact it had on my sister. - Loretta Ryder, Eugene's sister. She found the courage to tell her own story after hearing her brother speak out. - You know, this is a long time coming, I mean, that I can say what really happened. - Her whanau had no idea what she'd been through as a child. - My whole family are gonna know. What are my children gonna think of me? Am I gonna say everything? (EXHALES) Would they allow me to say everything? Yeah, the hardest thing I've done in my life. - Loretta gave her harrowing account to the Inquiry three years ago. Much of her two and a half hours of testimony is too graphic to repeat. - Well, my role at home... every lunchtime, I had to go home and service my father's needs. - From the age of 8, Loretta was forced to have sex with her father, who was a minister in the church. Her mother did not protect her. - My mother was very abusive. She beat me constantly for stupid shit. - And at 12, Loretta was put into a girls' home where she was meant to be safe, but they allowed unsupervised visits from her father. The sexual abuse continued inside the home under the supposed care of those who ran the home. When she told authorities, they didn't listen. - They kept telling me I'm lying, that, 'How can you say that about your father, the man of the cloth?' I wanted to end my life. (SOBS) - Caught up in a system of abuse, both Eugene and Loretta went from state care into gangs. Eugene joined Black Power at 15. - I saw love in the Black Power. I saw people that had been abused in the same homes I was in. So why wouldn't I become a part of them? - I'm Black Power. I am Black Power. Why? Because they're my whanau. They're the ones that were there for me. The majority of gang members that I know ` all been through the system. They all stuck together as one because that's a whanau. - There are those of us that made a living out of crime. We called it survival. It's not an excuse. It was our reality. We were young, vulnerable children. So it's sad to see the way our gang whanau are perceived in society. - United by trauma, rival gangs came together for the first time so the Commission could hear their stories. It's estimated 80% to 90% of Mongrel Mob and Black Power gang whanau have been in state care. - Even the term 'state care' is ironic. - Eugene is now straddling two worlds ` still Black Power, but also heard in the halls of power. - I wanted to be a voice for anyone that felt they didn't have one, and there's still survivors that have yet to come forward, and we just hope that they see themselves in us. - After the break, truth brings reconciliation... - The hardest thing is forgiveness. - ...and the power of letting go. - I forgave him, and that set me free. - As we've seen, the six-year inquiry process has been painful for survivors. And with the commission's report and recommendations about to be released, they are hoping it will all be worth it. Ruwani Perera with part two of Eugene and Loretta's story. (REFLECTIVE MUSIC) - I go into the ngahere to calm my mind, to help me with my healing. - The impact of a lost childhood has affected Loretta Ryder's whole life. - I have never in my life... known what it's like to be (VOICE BREAKS) in love... with somebody. EMOTIONALLY: I turned to drug abuse and alcohol to nullify the painful memories. Things could've been so different. The system just tore all a-fucking-part. (SNIFFLES) I'm the land. You're the sea. - The system that tore them apart has now brought Loretta and Eugene together. - I have my brothers here, you know, more or less holding my hand all the way through, protecting me within that Royal Commission process. - I love her to bits, and... nothing's changed for me. She's still my hero. - It's beautiful, eh? - The Eugene Ryder today... walks proud like my sister ` proud that, you know, we've... we've uncovered something that's been kept a secret for so long, with the same purpose ` to protect our children and our grandchildren. The hardest thing is forgiveness. I met one of my perpetrators. And he was someone's koro. And I forgave him. And that set me free. It's not about dismissing what happened. It's not about no accountability. It's about growing, but I understand that there are some that won't ` and I fully understand it. There's so much bad things happen to little kids. It is unforgivable in some people's eyes. - I forgave my mum for everything that went on in my life. You know, my dad done things... that he shouldn't have. But he's the one I... I love the most in this whole world, is my father. Because he may have done that, but not in a way... (SIGHS) I don't know how to explain it. - Some people might struggle to comprehend that after what he had done to you. - Yeah, I just (SIGHS)... I love him. I don't care what anyone says. - Healing from trauma is a long journey. - The biggest thing for me was learning to forgive myself... to learn to love myself. Back then, I was a whole lot of hate, a whole lot of distrust. I was one angry, angry wahine. Now I walk around with my head high. I wear my moko kauae that represents my six boys on the top, my two girls and my mum and my dad. I wear that proud as. So this Loretta, I'm strong. I'm not afraid to speak up anymore. And I look at my brother now and all his mahi that he does, I'm in awe of everything he does... and says. - Throughout the process, the Royal Commission offered wellbeing support to survivors. - Wellbeing at the beginning came from a Western perspective. They started seeing that that doesn't work with all our... all our whanau, especially our Maori whanau. The counselling thing, that was hard for me. When I was in care, those were the spaces where adults were alone with children, and that was hard. I still can't sit in a room with a counsellor. That was the opposite of wellbeing, what they were offering to me. And so I challenged them, and I said my wellbeing revolves around going into the moana, getting kai and distributing it to those they can't, and then that became a reality. And I'd like to think that that helped change the Royal Commission's attitude about what wellbeing looks like. - Aotearoa's treatment of the young and vulnerable in state- and faith-based care has been laid bare. - The one thing I see in common with all the survivors is that said they want change. They want change in the system. Personally, I also want change among te iwi Maori. So my challenge is to our people as well ` to look after our own children and not wait until they're in state care before they start thinking about them. It's become generational. There's now five or six generations that are going through state care. - How do we keep kids out of the system? - With love... by looking after them, by feeding them, by caring for them. - Do you think change will happen? - We all want change. It can't be happening all over again. I just hope we're not gonna be speaking on deaf ears. - Thank you for coming and speaking truth to power today. - I'm only going to say one thing, and that is that your words have not fallen on deaf ears. - Eugene hopes the government will listen to the commission and its recommendations to transform the country's care system. - I think the fact that this korero has been brought out into the open will bring about change. How fast? I don't know. There are still children in care that are getting abused today. The reality is it's still there. The act of taking a child from their family is abuse in itself, and that still happens. Change can only come about if status quo is challenged, and we've managed to challenge the status quo. It's an opportunity for the government to play a major role in the lives of those that were abused in care, and to stop any abuse that could happen in the future. They have their responsibility now. I just hope and pray that they make the right decisions. - Maori were overrepresented in care homes and institutions. So too were another community ` our whaikaha community. We look at their story next. - Speaking up about abuse is difficult, especially for a community that often feels like it has no voice ` our whaikaha community. Gary Williams is a long-time disability advocate and also a state abuse survivor. He was an expert for the Royal Commission's inquiry. Gary issued a challenge to the government when he spoke to our reporter John Boynton. - The public doesn't often see these hospital training schools, as they're called. It prefers not to think about them. - They were the hidden hospitals where our most vulnerable suffered horrific abuse. - These are inspiring places, where the close, misty horizons of the mentally retarded's world are slowly clearing. - Places where generations of children with disabilities were supposed to be kept safe by the state. - A number of survivors from the disabled community gave their testimony at the Royal Commission of Inquiry. Now two years later, they wait to see what redress will be on the table from the government. State abuse survivor Gary Williams now a voice for his community. - Gary only has one picture of himself as a child. How old are there, Gary? - Five? - Yes. - Do you think about what that young boy is gonna be going through in just a few years? - It's not widely known that in the outskirts of Christchurch, on the hills overlooking Nelson, and on the plains near Levin are three special hospitals caring for 1500 patients, most of them children. - In the 20th century, the parents of disabled children faced considerable pressure from society to place them into state institutions because they were deemed to be the places for them to be. But once in these institutions, many tamariki would never leave. - Some patients are severely subnormal and need the constant care of the nursing staff. - Parents tried to fight the expectation that they should put children with disabilities into institutions. However, in 1953, a government committee led by Dr Robert Aitken recommended further expansion of hospitals for disabled children. - Gary first entered state care at 13 because he had cerebral palsy. He was sent from his East Coast home to the Pukeora Sanatorium in Hawke's Bay. - Gary spent six years at the sanatorium. - A place where Gary says patients were treated like prisoners. - Inmates? - In total, Gary would spend 26 years in different residential facilities. - So the system convinced you that... - Yes. - ...you were consenting to living that way? - Yes. - But somehow, Gary never let the system stop him. Instead, he's become a leader for the disabled community, fighting to change the care structures put in place by the state. - In the last few years, he's again been an advocate for his community as an expert on the Royal Commission of Inquiry. - He's heard the abuse suffered by people with disabilities in places such as hospitals, schools and care homes. - Gary contributed to the final Whanaketia report and its recommendations. What is your challenge to the government, Gary? - Get on with the job? - No reira koutou te hunga i kimi whakawhirinakitanga i te wa o te porotaika nui whakaharahara. I manawanui ra koutou i mua. A e manawanui tonu nei koutou i te wa nei. Ka nui te aroha kia koutou, ko puta i te kerekeretanga, ki te whaiao kia whakawhanaketia ake ko te ao marama. Ka nui te aroha, me nga manaakitanga nui ki a koutou katoa. And if those powerful stories from Eugene, Loretta and Gary have raised any issues for you, there are many agencies out there offering help and support, so call or text 1-7-3-7 at any time or contact one of the other specialist agencies on screen now. These numbers will also be on our Facebook and YouTube channels. Kia ahatia e te iwi. That is our Hui for this week. Kia mau ki te turanga o Taputapuatea. Haumi e, hui e, taiki e. Captions by Able. Captions were made with the support of NZ On Air. www.able.co.nz Copyright Able 2024