This subject of the horrors of child abuse has not been covered by GreenplanetFM, as this program is basically premised on environment, health and consciousness.
However a ‘chance’ meeting of Ludovic C. M. Romany the author of the book ‘Innocence’ shifted my perspective so as to tell the NZ public that there is a major problem ‘lurking’ under the radar across this most fortunate yet unknowing nation.
With challenges coming to us daily via the worlds media - Child abuse - is an overwhelming subject and when we are bombarded with all the other horrors that the world media-corporations seem to hurl at us, I felt to go more public on this important issue.
When a baby is born into the world, we at heart, want that baby to be loved and cherished, to be wanted, by both its mother and father - however if this baby is unwanted and is instantly perceived as a burden - this can become hell on earth for this newborn. This in essence - is the story of Wi.
However there is a happy ending to this interview of Wi, coming through this harrowing journey in his 47th year - he is healing a broken heart and a shattered upbringing. This allows us the public to realise that we can always in the end, save the day. That against the odds, we can all come out - ‘sunny side up’
A profound account of how a little boy can come through this saga and still carry love in his heart gives us hope for all children who may have been born into a world of abandonment and suffering.
REVIEW
Jim & Helen Moriarty
In one solid committed sit down, I was able to ingest the weight, the daunting but inspiring tasks of opening myself to the Mauri of Innocence.
Innocence without question is a testament to the mana, the resilience, the survival of Wi Peepe in post-colonial New Zealand, against a backdrop of an upbringing, that defies belief. A New Zealand where the horror of Wi’s childhood, the guilt and blame is attributed to none other than the monster, the demonic force that is his father. So graphically detailed and truthfully portrayed.
This is a harrowing, yet ironically beautiful account of Wi’s deep connection to his wairua, and emancipation from a life that leaves many dead in its wake. That the occasional right kind word and action, amidst his nightmare existence coupled with a deep knowing of the healing, found in the constant of the river and nature, were enough to feed the soul of a child. A child who fought the complexities and distortions of those around him, themselves products of post-colonial alienation and cultural disenfranchisement….It is a window into Wi’s determination to fix the things himself and be accountable, into societies shifting lens around the intolerable, and at times over zealous reporting and response to family violence and harm. ‘Thank God for that.’
In the end, it is about Wi’s purotu, the magic within, that never deserts him. That equips him along the way, that is part of his whakapapa, that is recognised and supported by others, who could see beyond the battered exterior into Wi’s loving sacred self.
Thankyou Wi and to your whanau for letting us in.
Nga mihi aroha ki a koutou katoa.
Jim and Helen Moriarty