Thread by @CherylMorrisW

Samoan 🇼🇸 🇳🇿 Chief Who Enslaved Villagers 😢 Sentenced To 11 Years In New Zealand 🇳🇿

New Zealand 🇳🇿 Based Samoan 🇼🇸 🇳🇿 Chief Joseph Auga Matamata Used 13 Of His Countrymen As Slaves Over A Quarter Of Century

theguardian.com/world/2020/jul… #NewZealand #Slavery

"Matamata’s case is the first time anyone in #NewZealand had been charged with both #HumanTrafficking and #Slavery simultaneously."

The offending occurred between 1994 and April last year involving 13 #Samoans 🇼🇸 🇳🇿 from three villages on the island of #Upolu. The youngest...

... was just 12. 😢 The Crown argued there was a pattern to #Matamata’s offending, with him bringing small groups of people to #NewZealand over the 25-year period for his “own financial benefit”.

"He promised paid horticultural work or schooling in #NewZealand and paid for their flights, visas and passports. But upon arrival, they worked long hours, often seven days a week, for no pay 🤬 while “bags of cash” 💰 were handed over to #Matamata... 😠
#Slavery #Samoa

"#Matamata’s lawyer argued his chiefly status meant he had a responsibility to look after the whole family and it was typical in #Samoan culture for all members of a household to pool their wages to help everyone."

That defense reminds me of the 'Family Claim' argument that...

... Plantation owners in the American South used to rationalize slavery and later to justify paying men a higher wage etc, ... 🤬

"Justice Helen Cull described Matamata’s offending as “abhorrent”, and ordered him to pay NZ$180,000 ($120,000) in reparations to his victims, with the crown seizing half of Matamata’s assets last month in a bid to recover funds for the #Reparations. All #Matamata’s victims...

... said they were too scared to complain about their treatment, given #Matamata’s matai or chiefly status, which commanded absolute obedience."

"In #NewZealand, #Slavery carries a maximum penalty of 14 years in prison. The #HumanTrafficking charges carried...

... a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison or a NZ$500,000 fine."

#NewZealand 🇳🇿 #Samoa 🇼🇸 #Slavery #HumanTrafficking #Matamata