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Christchurch beautician Jasmine Dupre has not heard from her Spanish father since he was deported for domestic violence when she was a baby.

Investigative journalist David Lomas travels the world to track down separated New Zealand family members, and reunite them.

Primary Title
  • David Lomas Investigates
Episode Title
  • The Girl Whose Dad Was Taken Away
Date Broadcast
  • Tuesday 12 May 2020
Start Time
  • 19 : 30
Finish Time
  • 20 : 30
Duration
  • 60:00
Series
  • 1
Episode
  • 5
Channel
  • Three
Broadcaster
  • MediaWorks Television
Programme Description
  • Investigative journalist David Lomas travels the world to track down separated New Zealand family members, and reunite them.
Episode Description
  • Christchurch beautician Jasmine Dupre has not heard from her Spanish father since he was deported for domestic violence when she was a baby.
Classification
  • PGR
Owning Collection
  • Chapman Archive
Broadcast Platform
  • Television
Languages
  • English
Captioning Languages
  • English
Captions
Live Broadcast
  • No
Rights Statement
  • Made for the University of Auckland's educational use as permitted by the Screenrights Licensing Agreement.
Subjects
  • Television programs--New Zealand
  • Families--Separation--New Zealand
  • Families--Reunions--New Zealand
Genres
  • Reality
Hosts
  • David Lomas (Presenter)
Contributors
  • David Lomas (Director)
  • David Lomas (Producer)
  • Warner Bros. International Television (Production Unit)
  • MediaWorks (Production Unit)
  • NZ On Air (Funder)
(TENSE MUSIC) The night that he got arrested,... he took me from my cot. The picture from what you're being told is of a violent man. Why are you looking for him? Mum said that he did love me very much. www.able.co.nz Copyright Able 2020 (AMBIENT MUSIC) I am David Lomas, and I'm heading from Christchurch to Governors Bay on Lyttelton Harbour to meet 23-year-old beautician Jasmine Dupree. She wants my help to find her Spanish father, who left New Zealand when Jasmine was just 18-months-old. (EASY-GOING MUSIC) So, how can I help you? I'm looking for my dad, who I haven't seen since I was a baby. He got deported, and I just wouldn't know where to even begin to find him. (GENTLE PIANO MUSIC) Jasmine had a happy childhood with her mother and a younger brother from a different relationship. But the story of her father has always troubled Jasmine. He got deported. Do you know what happened? So, to my knowledge, he was a drinker, and he got abusive to my mum ` Physical, mental abuse. When it all came to a head, he actually tried to take me after a night of drinking. He got arrested then and there for multiple things ` refusing arrest, assault to a police officer. I guess we both never saw him again from that day. My mum changed our names, basically, I guess, out of fear of him finding me and taking me, when I was young. We're not sure what really happened after that, but he did end up getting deported. Jasmine's mum, Julie Dupree, was 20 and was traveling in Europe when she met 30-year-old Luciano Romero in Spain. He was charming and adventurous, and it was a passionate 10-month holiday romance. Then they moved to New Zealand where they married. Jasmine was born a few months later. Luciano was a doting dad, but an increasingly stormy relationship with Julie quickly turned bad, and by the time Jasmine was 1, they had separated. The following year, Luciano was imprisoned for assaulting Julie, and then deported. With no father figure in her life, Jasmine's found it hard to trust men, but she clings to one comment made about her dad. Mum said that he did love me very much. Yeah. Where there times growing up when you really felt you wanted your dad around? I don't necessarily think that I craved that or that I really wanted my dad around, but... it's almost a void of not knowing that I would have liked to have known. (SNIFFLES) (POIGNANT MUSIC) (SNIFFLES) I'm sorry. (GULLS SQUAWK) (WATER SPLASHES GENTLY) The picture from what you've been told is of a violent man. Why are you looking for him? I don't know if I will ever see him as... a father, a father figure, ever, because my mum has played both roles very well. I think I've had so many years of just disconnect that he, in my mind, isn't portrayed as anyone. Just a story. I would really like to know what he is truly like. If you got to meet him, what would you ask him? There's a hundred things I'd want to ask him. How did he get over this, get through this? How did he go so long without finding me, or did he try to find me? I think about it almost every day. Would he? Or am I just something that is completely in the past for him? Jasmine's given me documents that show when she was a year old, her mother, Julie, fearing Luciano might try to snatch Jasmine, got protection orders banning Luciano from being anywhere near her or Jasmine, and forbidding him from taking Jasmine out of the country. But that didn't stop Luciano. Frustrated at not seeing his daughter, a few months later he forced his way into Julie's home and took Jasmine from her cot. Justice Department figures show that each year, around 5,000 protection orders are granted by family court judges, and about one in five of those orders are breached. In Luciano's case, police were called, and he was arrested and charged with assaulting Julie, assaulting police, and resisting arrest. He was sent to prison for three months and then deported because he had not declared convictions in Spain. I wonder how Julie feels about Jasmine attempting to find this man with a violent past. (LINE RINGS) Oh, hello, Julie. It's David Lomas here. As you probably know, I'm helping Jasmine try and track down her father. I gather you had a pretty tough time with it, then. 'Julie, who does not want to be interviewed,' tells me that the tempestuous end of her marriage was a stressful and terrifying time, and that is was a great relief to her when Luciano was deported. She believes it is time for Jasmine to find her own answers about her father. Julie says she just hopes, for Jasmine's sake, that Luciano has now sorted out his life. (AMBIENT MUSIC) (BIRDS SQUAWK) Luciano was born in England, but raised in Spain by his Spanish mother. When I check his birth record, I discover he was registered under two different surnames ` Hanif and Romero De La Rubia. But using those names, I can find no record of him in either Spain or England. Julie told me Luciano had a sister, Jolanda whom she met in Spain. But that Jolanda had a different father, and therefore, a different surname ` a name Julie can't remember. So, I decide to try to find their mother, Nieves Romero De La Rubia, and I have more luck. In England, I find two marriages for her ` one in 1968 to David Allbones, then in 1981 to Victor Byrne. On the electoral role, I find Nieves Byrne living in a nursing home in Watford. What I want to talk to her about is not the kind of conversation to have with a 75-year-old woman on the phone, so I decide to visit her in person. I wonder, did she know she had a granddaughter in New Zealand, and did she ever try to contact Jasmine? (ENGINE RUMBLES) I fly to London's Heathrow Airport and then drive half an hour north to Watford. Luciano's mother has been living here, according to the electoral role, for four years. I'm hoping my visit won't be too much of a shock for her. Hello. I'm looking for a woman name Nieves Byrne. Oh sure, no problem. Are you a family member? No, I'm not but I'm here on behalf of family. Ah, OK. It's just that she's been moved to the dementia ward, so you have to be family. I'm trying to get hold of her for her granddaughter. I've come all the way from New Zealand. Is there a contact person you have for her? Next of kin? Uh... Let me just check with the manager. I may not have got to talk to Luciano's mother, but incredibly, my visit has still turned up exactly what I was looking for ` a telephone number and an address for her son, Luciano or Louis, as they called him. It seems today is my lucky day. First, I try the landline. PHONE: The number you have called is not connected or has been changed. The number's out of date, but I'm not discouraged. The address I have for Luciano is just 20 minutes' drive away, in Hemel Hempstead. Settled in the eighth century, the old section of the town is postcard England. When I began my search for a Spanish deportee, I never thought I'd be finding him here. I'm about to pay Luciano a visit he won't be expecting. (TENSE ORCHESTRAL MUSIC) (BELL CHIMES) (BIRDS CHIRP) MAN: Hi there. Hello. You're not Luciano are you? Luciano? Yeah. I don't know a Luciano here. Louis? Louis? Yeah. Louis Romero. Louis Romero. Is that his name? Well I'm not sure. He lives upstairs. OK. Is he here? from Domino's. (CURIOUS ORCHESTRAL MUSIC) Jasmine Dupree's father, Luciano Romero, was deported from New Zealand when she was just a baby. (ENGINE RUMBLES) I've come to the south of England to try and track him down. MAN: Louis? Yeah. Louis Romero. He lives upstairs. Is he here? No. He's not here at the moment. It turns out I haven't quite found Luciano after all. I'm not sure I'm even in the right country. Is he in Spain? All right. Well, look, thank you so much. His flat mate tells me he doesn't have contact details for Luciano in Spain, but that it's likely he's staying either with his sister Jolanda Allbones or a cousin. So, I turned my attention to tracking down his sister, Jolanda. Now that I have Jolanda's surname, I find her birth record online. Jolanda, who is Luciano's younger sister, has an interesting combination of Christian names and using these, I find her working for the BBC in Gibraltar. Oh, hello, is that Jolanda Allbones? Yes, speaking. Jolanda, look, my name's David Lomas, and I'm from New Zealand, and I was wondering, by chance, do you have a brother called Luciano? What's this about? Is it about his daughter by any chance? Yes it is. Jasmine is trying to get hold of him. I was told that he was either staying with you or a cousin there in Spain. Is that correct? Jolanda hasn't seen her brother for a few years and only talks to him occasionally on the phone, but she's heard from a mutual friend, that he's currently in southern Spain in Algeciras, near Gibraltar. So if I came over to Spain, I'd be able to catch up with him, do you think? Yes, yes. Definitely. Finally, it seems I have tracked down Luciano. From what Jolanda told me, he's often on the move, taking construction jobs between Spain and England. Now that I know where he is, I don't want Jasmine to miss the chance to catch up with her dad. (BIRD TWEETS) Before I left New Zealand, I warned Jasmine that she may have to get on a plane at short notice. I'm hoping her bags are packed. Oh, hi, Jasmine. It's David here. Hey, look, I'm making progress over here, and I'm pretty sure I can find your dad. JASMINE: Oh my gosh. Now, I've organised some tickets to meet you in Spain, if that's OK? (CHUCKLES) All right. Of course. Definitely. That's great. OK. How insane. Thank you. (ORCHESTRAL MUSIC) Two days later, I touch down in Gibraltar. Jasmine is in the air too and will arrive a day after me. Gibraltar, with its famous massive rock, is a small British overseas territory at the southern tip of Spain, and just 25km from the northern coast of Africa. Its airport is the closest to the Spanish city of Algeciras. I drive across the border to Algeciras and on to one of the city's seaside suburbs, where Jasmine's aunt Jolanda will meet me. Hi. Ah. Hi. You must be Jolanda. Yes. (CHUCKLES) Nobody else would be waving to me in this town. (CHUCKLES) Hi. Hello. Is there somewhere we can grab a seat? We could just sit over there. Sure. Yeah. 'Jolanda tells me she's tried ringing her brother.' So, any word from him at all? He has a mobile phone, but he never picks up, especially when he's over here in Spain. I actually went there a couple of days back, knocked on the door and nobody answered. So, they're very difficult to get hold of. Could I go and try there again? I mean` Yes, of course. I mean, I can either give you the address, or I can go around with you and show you where he lives. And if I can get hold of him, how do you think he'll react to hearing his daughter's looking for him? Um, I think he'll be shocked, but I think he'll be pleased at the same time. And does he ever talk to you about his daughter? To you? On a couple of occasions he has. Yeah. We don't speak much on the phone either, because he never picks up so... (BOTH CHUCKLE) Your brother, what's he like? He's a bit of a rascal. Yeah. Yeah. (CHUCKLES) And there's nothing else, really, I can say about him. Well, I hope I can catch up with Luciano soon, because Jasmine's actually in a plane on her way here now. Right. I hope so too. Yeah. But, irrespectively, I'd love to meet her. Yeah? I was hoping you would. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. (MYSTERIOUS MUSIC) I head across town to the address Jolanda has given me. (KNOCKS) It's late afternoon, so Luciano may still be at work. Jasmine's due to arrive tomorrow. I'm pleased that she'll get to meet her aunt, but I'm frustrated that I still haven't made contact with her father. I send Luciano a text on the number Jolanda has given me, then I head back to the address for more door knocking. (KNOCKS) Again, no response, so I leave a note and head back to my hotel. (MELANCHOLIC MUSIC) So far, I've tried two phone numbers, two addresses in two different countries, for Jasmine's father. Just why is Luciano Romero so hard to find? (BIRDS SQUAWK IN DISTANCE) So how was your flight? 'Christchurch-born beautician, Jasmine Dupree, has arrived in Algeciras in southern Spain,' hoping to meet her birth father, Luciano Romero. It's Jasmine's first time in Spain, and she's delighted to be in the country of her heritage. But the news I have for Jasmine is mixed. Well, anyway, look, I've been here for a couple of days, and there's a bit of a problem. Yes. Your dad is meant to be here. People have seen him in the last week or so. Right. But he's just gone AWOL. Right. I've been banging on doors. I just can't find him, but he's apparently a bit of a character. (CHUCKLES) Yeah. I've heard. (BOTH CHUCKLE) But the good news is, you have an aunt in town. Mm-hm. His sister. Yep. And she's very excited to` Really? ...to know you here. Really? Yeah. She's here? Yeah. OK. Wow. And she wants to see you. Yep. At least we've got one family member. (CHUCKLES) Definitely. (PURRS) That afternoon, we head to the home of Jasmine's aunt, Jolanda Allbones. For the first time, Jasmine will meet family from her dad's side, and she is emotional as we drive there. Are you nervous? (CHUCKLES) I am. Oh my God. I am. Jolanda and husband, Clive Borrell, live here with one of their three children. Jolanda has always wondered about the baby her brother had to leave behind when he was deported from New Zealand. (MUMBLES, CHUCKLES) (PIANO MUSIC) (CHUCKLES, SNIFFLES) My God. (CHUCKLES, GASPS) (SNIFFLES) (SPEAKS INDISTINCTLY) Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh, you're pretty. You look like your mother. (BOTH CHUCKLE) Thank you. Oh my God. (GIGGLES, GASPS) (POIGNANT MUSIC) You're going to make me cry now. (CHUCKLES) I've been crying all day. No, I'm not crying. (CHUCKLES) How are you? Good. Good. Oh my God, I'm so happy to finally meet you. (CHUCKLES) I'm so happy. My mum's told me so many good things about you. Oh, right. That's nice. (BOTH CHUCKLE) Oh my God. Hello. (DOG SQUEALS) Bimba, down. Down. You'll break the gate. (CHUCKLES) How many animals do you have, then? Seven, plus the cat, eight. And my husband too. Yeah. (BOTH CHUCKLE) Could count for two. It's a joke. Forgot the mother was here. (BOTH CHUCKLE) In addition to her aunt, Jasmine is also meeting Clive's mother and a cousin, Jolanda's 16-year-old daughter, Giada. (LAUGHTER) I was just visiting today. I didn't expect this at all. Oh, really? (CHUCKLES) We've been saying to her all day` Oh my gosh. I'm so sorry. I live in Gia` I just come and see them every now and then. Yeah, she lives in Gibraltar. Right. So, we've been teasing her all day. (SPEAKS INDISTINCTLY) You look good today. (ALL CHUCKLE) I want to know, how often do you speak to Luciano? When he picks up the phone` Right. Right. He's quite difficult to pick up the phone. Yeah. About once every three months. Not very often. Yeah. Really? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And how often do you see him? (CHUCKLES) I haven't seen him in the last four or five years actually. Really? Yeah. Yeah, because he's always working and... Yeah. Right. (CHUCKLES) Yeah, yeah, yeah. I see. Mm. Jasmine is beginning to understand more about her allusive father. Jolanda tells Jasmine she is happy she is going to meet her dad, but she says her brother is still a bit of a character who is always on the move. (BRIGHT MUSIC) Just a little bit, please. Perfect. Thank you. That evening, while Jasmine is at Jolanda's home, I'm in the adjoining town of Los Barrios, and I'm frustrated. I'm so close, yet not close enough to be able to give Jasmine the answer she is searching for. But finally, that evening, a text from Luciano. He wants me to call him. (LINE RINGS) Hello. Oh, hello. Is that Luciano? That's right. Yeah. that's me. Yeah, look, it's David Lomas here. Thank you so much for texting back to me. Look, I'm in Los Barrios, and I've been trying to find you. It's about your daughter. Right. You're a bit of a hard man to find. I knocked on your door in Hemel Hempstead the other day, and I was told you were in Spain. I'm always moving around. Sometimes I'm in England, sometimes I'm in Spain, sometimes in... I could be anywhere in Europe. Well, where are you now? Hemel Hempstead. You're back in the UK? Yes. That's right. Yeah. Unbelievably, I've chased Jasmine's dad around the world, only to find myself once again in the wrong country. Luciano tells me he returned to England the day I arrived here in Spain. He agrees to meet me, but gives little away. (BIRDS SQUAWK) (AMBIENT MUSIC) (WATER SPLASHES) Another sort of grey day, isn't it? Yeah, little chilly. Well, I'm sorry to get you out here so early, but things got a little bit complicated last night. Right. I got a text from your father,... Uh-huh. ...then I rang him, and this is where the complication comes in. He's not actually in Spain. Right. Where is he? Did he tell you or`? Well, he's in England. Mm-hm. I'm going to get a plane to England today and go and see him and see what his attitude is. I'll let you stay here today, and if it all works out, I'll get you to fly over tomorrow. Right. Right. So he's not even here. I see. I see. That would be great, though, if it all works out. Definitely. (HOPEFUL MUSIC) While she is looking forward to meeting her father, the reality that she is now likely to do so, has Jasmine once more conflicted. She wonders what sort of man will he be? I'm aware there are always two sides to every story. Did Luciano, on the night he forced his way into Jasmine's mother's home, try to take his daughter because he loved her? Or was he just using Jasmine as a pawn in a bad marriage breakup? any kind of family violence or abuse is still not OK, but it's still OK to ask for help, and help is still available. If you're in danger, call 111. If you're worried about yourself or someone else and need to talk, call 0800 456 450. Get to safety first. Or you can find more people to help at safebubble.org.nz. Family violence is still not OK, but it's still OK to ask for help. (AMBIENT MUSIC) I'm heading to England for the second time in a week, to finally track down Jasmine Dupree's father, Luciano Romero. I'm looking forward to talking to him. While a lot of bad has been said about Luciano, his sister supports him, and from all accounts, he clearly loved his daughter. Excuse me, are you David? (CHUCKLES) Luciano. Nice to meet you. And you. Is there anywhere we can grab a coffee? Yeah, of course. Yeah. Just across the road. (DUCKS QUACK) Thank you. There you go, boys. Perfect. Wonderful. Here's hot milk here if you want some hot milk. Um, yeah, I will. As I said on the phone, your daughter is looking for you. How do you feel about that? I just had a feeling she was going to come looking for me. I just had a feeling she was going to come one day. What happened? Why did you get separated? Well, the thing` What happened was, she wouldn't let me see Jasmine. I didn't see her for two weeks, and it was doing my head in. Mm. And one day, I just knocked at the door one day and said, 'Look, I just want to see Jasmine.' She said, 'No, she's asleep.' I said, 'Even better, I'm just going to give her a kiss, and I'll leave.' The next thing I know, the police were there, and that was it. It just went off. Mm. It just went all tipsy-turvy, as they say. And then what happened? I just got taken to court and put in prison for three months, I think. You must have gone quite topsy-turvy. Yeah, I did. Well, I think I did attack one of the policemen. The immigration's supposed to pick me up from the prison, and they didn't turn up, so the people just said, 'Just go. You're free. You've done your time.' And a week later, I was staying around a friend's house, and they came around for me` Immigration came around for me about 5 in the morning with a torch in my face, and said, 'You're going back to England.' I had nothing when I left there. I had nothing. I didn't even have any clothes. The only thing I had was the clothes I had on me. That was it. So, you were deported from New Zealand, split up from your daughter. That's right. Did you have any say in it? No, nothing at all. Nothing. When this was happening, did you mention you had a daughter? I had no choice. I had to leave. That's what they told me. I had to leave. I had no chance of staying there. Luciano did not appeal his deportation, but had he done so, New Zealand, as a signatory to the United Nations Convention on the rights of a child, would have been obliged to decide whether it was in the best interest of Jasmine, for her father to be deported. In the last six years, almost 500 people have been deported as a result of criminal convictions, and while there are no figures on the number of fathers involved, immigration say a number have been allowed to stay as a result of the UN Convention. When you got back here, did you try and keep in touch? Of course I did. Yeah. But they didn't want to know. Every time I rang up, they just put the phone down on me. (POIGNANT MUSIC) I think about her ever day. Every day I thought about her. It really hurt. It's like` When I was 13, I lost my little brother. He was four, OK? He drowned. And I saw the man pick him up. It felt like that, like somebody's been taken away from you. It's not very nice, and I did think about her all the time. When I heard of the earthquake, I had one phone number and that was Marie's, that's her grandma. I rang the phone up, and some bloke answered it, and he more or less told me to F-off and put the phone down on me. I just wanted to know if she's OK. That's all I wanted to know. Your life... Oh, dear. (CHUCKLES) Up and down. (CHUCKLES) 'Luciano cleaned up his act when he returned to England. He's not been in any trouble since, 'and he regrets the time he spent as a drug smuggler before he met Jasmine's mum.' It started off with smuggling tobacco from Morocco to Gibraltar, well, to Spain. And the box was too big, so we decided to do drugs, dope. They pack you up with blocks of hash all over your body, and as soon as you get to Spain, and you've got friends with walkie-talkie's keeping an eye on the civil guard, and they let you know when to come in, and you just run as fast as you can to a friend's house. I'd done it for a year, got caught, put away for about eight months, I think it was. Where did you meet Jasmine's mother? I met her the day I came out of prison, I met her mum. Believe it or not. (CHUCKLES) Yeah? The same day. (CHUCKLES) The same day. Yeah? Did you tell her that you were a bit of a naughty boy? I think she knew that where we met. They called it 'Smugglers Beach'. It's where we used to meet. Luciano, Jolanda, and brother, Andre, were raised by their Spanish mother. Luciano never knew his father, who was Pakistani, and he now regrets that mistakes he made in his younger years have meant that, in turn, Jasmine has also grown up not knowing her dad. Do you remember what Jasmine looks like? Yeah, when she was a baby. Yeah. Would you like to see what she looks like now? I would love to. Come on. I've been waiting, come on, 20 years now. (ENCHANTING MUSIC) Right, if you hit that button there. Hi, Luciano. My name is Jasmine, and I'm your daughter. I am 23. (EXHALES) I haven't seen you since I was a baby, and I would really love to meet you and meet my family, just to see what half of me is, my heritage. I would really, really love to know more about you. God almighty. Gorgeous. She looks just like my sister when she was young. God almighty. She has changed a lot. All the years, God. Ay-yay-yay. Come on, ask me more questions. She looks like her mum too. And a bit of me, actually. Well, I brought her to Spain to try and find you there, but she'll be in England tomorrow. Would you be happy to meet her? Of course, I am. Dying to see her. I've been waiting 20 years. That's great. Thank you. Thanks a lot. (PIGEONS COO) Luciano never remarried and has no other children. For most of his life, he has been restless, moving between England and Spain, changing jobs regularly. Now he's been given an opportunity he never thought possible ` a second chance with his daughter Jasmine. I regret everything. It was horrible for me not to know who my dad was. If I had a chance, I would come back for Jasmine. This is my daughter. (BIRDS CHIRP) (WATER BUBBLES) (ENCHANTING MUSIC) 23-year-old Jasmine Dupree has arrived in England, hoping to finally meet her father, Luciano Romero, who was deported from New Zealand when she was a baby. Well, I've had a good long chat to your dad and` Yeah. And is he pretty keen to meet me, or-? Yes he is actually. He's very excited by the fact that you're here looking for him. Uh-huh. I'm just not quite sure when it's going to happen, because we sort of caught him out with a bit of short notice on this one, and he's just trying to get the day off work today so, yeah. Right. So... 'But Luciano wasn't going to miss this big chance to reconnect with the daughter he has always loved.' He made a call last night, and his boss has given him the day off. So, today's the day. How you feeling? Edgy, nervous. Don't know what to think. Thought about what you're going to say to Jasmine? I don't know. No idea. Well, look, I'm going to leave you in here. OK. I'm going to talk to Jasmine up there very shortly,... OK. ...and in about 10 minutes, just wander up and say hello. OK. I will. OK. I will. Good luck when it all happens. And you. OK. Yeah. After so many false starts, finally today, Jasmine will meet her dad. Have you got any idea what your father looks like? I have seen photos, definitely. But only from when I was a baby. One of the photos was this little one, wasn't it? Yep. What do you think when you see that photo? It's bizarre. He definitely has a lot of my features. Yeah. It's very bizarre looking at these. (STIRRING MUSIC) You haven't seen a photo since then? No. 23 years ago. 'I told Jasmine that her dad is waiting at a cafe and will be up in a moment.' Do you have any idea what you're going to say to him? Yeah. I just want to let him speak first. I think I owe him that, and he owes me that, to see what he has to say. Yeah. (PIGEON COOS) (EXHALES DEEPLY, SNIFFS) Jasmine. You all right? Oh. Won't let you go again. (WEEPS) Oh, I missed you. Huh? God, you look like your mum. (GIGGLES) Oh, yeah, no, come here. (CHUCKLES) (CHUCKLES) Oh. Yeah. (CHUCKLES) (EXHALES) I'm all over the place right now. (CHUCKLES) What do you want to do? We need to talk, definitely. (CHUCKLES) Yeah. You've got a spot like me. (CHUCKLES) (EXHALES) (BREATHES JAGGEDLY) Oh. I'm so sorry. I'm sorry for what I've done and all. (BREATHES JAGGEDLY) (EXHALES) (CHUCKLES) (EXHALES) God, you've got your mum's eyes. (CHUCKLES) Mm. Oh. (CHUCKLES) Why haven't you? Hey? Why haven't you? (SOMBRE MUSIC) (BIRDS TWEET) (ENGINE TURNS OVER) (PIGEON COOS) (BIRDS TWEET) (BIRDS CHIRP) (BRIGHT ORCHESTRAL MUSIC) (DOG BARKS) (BRIGHT ORCHESTRAL MUSIC BUILDS) Jasmine and Luciano spent the weekend together. No. Why? (SPEAKS INDISTINCTLY) (CHUCKLES) It's been 23 years. I'll make up for it, I promise. (CHUCKLES) For Luciano, it has changed his whole outlook on life. Sort my head out. You know that scene, yeah? It's making me` Do you understand what I'm trying to say to you the other day? I said I didn't have no hope. Yeah. I was just putting up with life. Honest, now that you're here, honest, oh... I've got something to go for now, to live for. Yeah. To me, she's still my little girl. I feel brilliant. Just, the only thing is I know she's going to go, and it's going to happen all over again. And I'm going to miss her a lot when she goes. Don't even know when I'll see her again. That hurts. You've got to take a photograph just to annoy` What is it? Jasmine is enjoying getting to know the real Luciano. She'll go mad. She will go mad, she will. Send it? Yeah, yeah. (CHUCKLES) (SPEAKS INDISTINCTLY) Perfect. He's... slightly insane,... Never had a break. ...bit of a scatterbrain, talkative, funny. Yep. A character. From here to (SPEAKS INDISTINCTLY), it would probably take you, I don't know. Jasmine has accepted her father's apology, and she is happy to continue to build a relationship with him. I've been in France for a little while, for six months. Not long, south of France, Nice. 'He's still just a character in my life. 'It's hard to trust people, especially men, in my life that are new. (SCOFFS) 'New'. Um, but that's definitely something that I'm open to. Do you see a bit of you in him? Yeah, like I said, he's a little insane. Yeah. (CHUCKLES) Definitely. Just how quick witted he is, funny. His sense of humour is very similar. Yeah. (JOYFUL MUSIC) Jasmine and Luciano are keeping in contact, and Jasmine has since returned to Spain to stay with her aunt. I'm so beyond happy that I did this. It's a really insane experience. It helped me to understand myself a lot more. # The pieces start to come together. # This is hard, because I've never really spoken about him. He comes from Sierra Leone. When a brutal war ravaged Sierra Leone,... ARCHIVE: Many houses have been bombed down. ...Daniel lost all contact with his dad. I've never met him. I was angry at him. Now he wants to know ` did his father survive? (WOMAN CRIES) Daniel, Daniel, Daniel. Captions were made with the support of NZ On Air. www.able.co.nz Copyright Able 2020 Supporting local content so you can see more of New Zealand on air.
Subjects
  • Television programs--New Zealand
  • Families--Separation--New Zealand
  • Families--Reunions--New Zealand