Compliance has become a pressing issue with recent incidents such as the North Shore party and protests in Auckland demonstrating peoples changing attitudes to compliance and collective responsibility.  

“There are some big waves we are riding at the moment. You’ll see that for some people, the tension of that means that they find it difficult to stick to the rules.

You find that there are families that are coming together in an indoor environment and not listening to advice. That environment creates an opportunity for the virus to be transmitted.”

Dr Foliaki encourages our Pacific community in particular to be purpose driven in our approach to compliance.

“Ngalu Fānifo is about riding the waves - we ride those waves based on a set of principles and values that we believe in. We stay the course because we believe that what we’re doing is going to save lives.

I think we can suffer together as a group if we believe in the same purpose. We can make sacrifices as a Pacific community if we believe in the reasons behind those sacrifices.”

As pressures continue to mount around getting vaccinated, with vaccine mandates being introduced, Dr Foliaki says we must be encouraging but not demanding towards our own family and friends. 

“There are people who have nervousness and legitimate questions around the safety and effectiveness of the vaccine. I’m not going to dictate the law to our Pacific community and tell people they must go and get a vaccination, but I can talk about my personal choices.

I know that vaccination carries risks but then I thought about the risks of not vaccinating and weighing up those two risks; it was obvious to me the right decision, but I don't think we should be telling other people what they should do.”

Dr Foliaki says it is important that we are tolerant and compassionate of each other’s views.

“We’ve got family members that believe that the vaccination isn’t designed to protect us. During these times of real difficulty, it calls for greater understanding, tolerance and compassion. 

I’m hoping that our families out there can find tolerance and compassion because we've got different ideas around the vaccination issue.”

See last week’s segment here. The Ngalu Fānifo segment airs every Wednesday at 12:40pm on 531’s Pacific Days show with Ma’a Brian Sagala. You can listen in on the radio or livestream on the 531 Facebook page.

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Friday 05 November 2021