A peace walk in Palmerston North was spearheaded by Hemi Davidson, formerly affiliated with Black Power and Nomads, and Matthew Ngatai Te Moananui, a past member of the Mongrel Mob. The peace walk was organised in response to escalating gang tensions in Palmerston North. Davidson and Ngatai Te Moananui’s paths converged at Legacy Church in Read more
Destiny Church through its Man Up programme aims to raise better fathers, brothers and sons. The programme has had some success helping hard men to turn their lives around. Here are two examples that have recently received publicity. Paris Winiata was a drug dealer but, after joining Destiny, he stopped taking drugs and has been Read more
Denis O’Reilly, a Pākehā now well into his 60s, linked up with Black Power because he was committed to social justice. It was the same concern for social justice that had his brother, Laurie, who died nearly 20 years ago, becoming a lawyer and then the Commissioner for Children. Each of the boys had many other Read more
A former Mongrel Mob member has gone viral after posting a video removing his gang patch and replacing it with a Destiny Church Tu Tangata Man Up t-shirt. In a post on Facebook, the former Mob member and a friend are seen talking to the camera telling viewers it is “time to make changes” and Read more
A City Impact Church pastor who has made his first film about gang violence in New Zealand says it couldn’t have been made without “God’s favour”. The trailer for Broken, a tale of vengeance which claims to be “based on a true story”, debuted on Friday afternoon and quickly went viral, racking up 850,000 views Read more
Black Power and Mongrel Mob members met in Wellington recently to discuss strategies towards making their communities safer and healthier. Mongrel Mob member Harry Tam has held eight similar hui across the island. Tam, a former policy analyst, had been involved with the Mongrel Mob since his teens. He worked alongside four other social workers Read more
A Palmerston North family has been flung into social media stardom after a video of them feeding the homeless went viral. “Maybe when people see a patched gang member like myself doing this kind of thing in the community, they might change their perceptions,” said Te Kaipo Ahuriri, Tūhoe. A Facebook video has reached more Read more
You may not be surprised to know that the St Vincent de Paul Society in Hamilton has the Loaves & Fishes programme, which takes school lunches to children in 24 Hamilton schools. What may be more of an eye opener is that a local gang is doing the same thing. The Tribal Huks is a Read more
A refusal to murder a bus driver has cost a Guatemalan 12-year-old boy his life. Gang members threatened to throw Ángel Ariel Escalante Pérez off a bridge if he did not murder the driver last month. Angel said no and was thrown off the Belice Bridge in Guatemala City, falling 400 feet. Branches and undergrowth Read more
So help me, Hone Harawira is right. It’s not the display gangs make of themselves that matters, but the reasons why gangs exist in the first place. That a blue-eyed, pink-skinned, blonde MP, Todd McClay, tagging along after ex-Whanganui mayor Michael Laws, wants gang patches banned, illustrates the ignorance of even intelligent people when they Read more