Massive: Issue 11 'Immigrant & Refugee'

MONDAY 20TH MAY

NEWS ‘YAN.” THAT’S FAKE NEWS

Disclaimer: The views presented within this publication do not necessarily represent the views of the editor. NZ Media Council: Those with a complaint towards the publication should first complain in writing to the editor editor@massivemagazine.org.nz If unsatisfied with the response, complaints should be made to the NZ Media Council info@mediacouncil.org.nz

EDITORIAL

Kia ora, kumusta I’m Jas Sabrine (pronounced sah-brie-neh). I am a Filipino (Ilonggo, Bisaya) fourth year Fine Arts student here at Massey, and your guest editor for this issue!

My current art practice is a little bit all over the place but most of the time I work between the mediums of photography, installation and Baybayin calligraphy. Baybayin is one of many pre-colonial writing systems of the Philippines, which was later pushed out by colonisation, and replaced with the Latin alphabet we use in English today. It is now uncommon to find Filipinos who know and use Baybayin, though there has been a resurgence of its use in art.

On the back cover of this issue is a work on paper I created last year entitled whose land? It is a poem I wrote from the perspective of my seven-year-old self, and the confusion and uncertainty I felt when my whānau moved us over to Aotearoa.

You will often see me around the Wellington campus, frantically walking back and forth from the library to the Fine Arts block, with an overpriced iced coffee in hand, as I am currently working on my honours project (which you’ll see a sneak peek of on page 8). This project is absolutely near and dear to my heart and I have been enjoying capturing photos of my Filipino diaspora community here in Pōneke. My hope is for immigrants to see their experiences and their culture reflected in Aotearoa, even if it’s through a little student magazine like Massive

You are seen and you are heard.

I can’t wait for everyone to see what we have in store in this issue!

Kita kits!

Jas

MASSEY UNIVERSITY REFUSES TO MAKE A STANCE ON WAR ON PALESTINE

WORDS BY YESENIA PINEDA A SHE/THEY

Massey students want the university to take a stance on the genocide taking place in Palestine, but the university says they have done what is “appropriate”.

Since October, Israel has waged an indiscriminate assault against the people of Gaza, murdering over 33,000 and destroying hospitals, schools, mosques, churches, factories, homes, food and water sources.

An Albany student who wished to remain anonymous said they hadn’t heard anything about Palestine from the university.

“That makes me think as though they don’t feel the need to support Palestine and they just don’t want to put the effort into supporting them.”

On May 1st, University of Auckland students showed up to campus with tents to protest, insisting that their university take a stance. Students wore the colours of the Palestine flag and chalked ‘Free Palestine’ on the ground.

The Massey student wanted to see protesting at Massey.

“As we are such a big known name across New Zealand, if all campuses got involved in standing up for Palestine, I believe that this would help bring more awareness to this situation.”

A Massey University spokesperson, “As is appropriate for a university, Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa Massey University has not taken a single position on this issue.”

“We are of course saddened to see the violence and loss of human life.”

“We encourage our students to discuss the issues and engage in informed debate as is appropriate for a university. We also respect the academic expertise of our experts in this area.”

Another anonymous student said, “The student body could be organizing protests on the campus and spreading more awareness for those that are not so educated on the situation.”

MASSEY VACATES MAJOR BUILDINGS ON AUCKLAND CAMPUS

WORDS BY SAMMY CARTER A SHE/HER

In a document leaked to Massive, the university said it has approved the relocation of teaching, research and service provisions offered within three buildings on the Auckland campus: Quad A, Quad B and Massey Business School.

Deputy vice-chancellor university services, Shelley Turner told Massive that the university is exploring several options for the future, “which could include leasing spaces to compatible and complementary organisations to work alongside us”.

The document was emailed to Massey Albany students on Wednesday last week.

The university has made its aim to reduce its gross floor area by 50% across campuses clear.

This comes as Massey had a budget deficit of around $40 million last year and is projected to have a deficit of $30 million this year.

While some suspect that Massey's Auckland campus will not exist in the future, Turner said, “We are committed to retaining our three unique campuses”.

“We must be able to operate within the income the university generates, so we can invest in strategic projects, our people and facilities.”

“This work is about providing financial relief and funding so that we can invest in the university’s future”.

The document said there would be specialist consultants on campus assessing spaces in the coming weeks to help with space optimisation planning.

It continued, “You may see people from external companies in these spaces as work is underway to determine their best future use.”

The document said no decisions had been made, but updates would be coming.

DISTANCE NEWSLETTER TRIALED BY TE TIRA AHU PAE

WORDS BY CAITLIN BINGHAM A SHE/HER

Massey Students’ Association has published its first distance newsletter as part of a campaign to improve communication with students.

Te Tira Ahu Pae’s distance vice president, Flynn O’Hallahan hopes the newsletter “sticks around for a long time”.

The newsletter, which will be published in the first week of every month, aims to inform students about Te Tira Ahu Pae’s achievements and upcoming events.

“I’ve labelled it as a trial as it’s something we haven’t tried before and didn’t know how students would perceive it.”

It was unclear whether other campuses will receive the newsletter as O’Hallahan said, “This is an initiative I’ve started as the distance VP, as I believed this is a form of communication suited our campus”.

“Each campus is different and it’s up to each VP to decide which method of communication works best for them.”

The newsletter can be found on the Distance Stream Forum and the Distance@Massey Facebook page. The association intends to have future issues accessible via their website.

Distance students have reacted positively to the newsletter, one student saying, “This was a great wealth of information thank you for putting this together!”

O’Hallahan said, “We’ve had hundreds of views and have received good feedback, so it’s looking like this method of communication with distance students is a success.”

Before Massive was created in 2012, there was a different student magazine for every Massey campus, including Off Campus, which was for Massey extramural students.

The April/May newsletter explored Te Tira Ahu Pae’s communication plan and the results of a recent O-Week/Events consultation survey.

The survey received 1108 responses, with 62% of respondents saying that events are important to them.

Another 52.9% of respondents stated that they would prefer events that are a mix of informative and engaging.

In response to the survey, Te Tira Ahu Pae announced a list of upcoming events throughout May, including a Student Service Fee Quiz, Māori Pre-Hui Get Together, Pasifika Virtual Social Event and Māori Kahoot Night.

“GOD THEY COULD ACCIDENTLY JOIN A CULT”: FALUN GONG INFILTRATES MASSEY UNIVERSITY

WORDS BY SAMMY CARTER A SHE/HER

AChinese student was shocked to see a poster on a Wellington bulletin board advertising Falun Gong, a spiritual practice many call a cult.

The posters were displayed on a Massey Students’ Assocation bulletin boards and had the MAWSA (now known as Te Tira Ahu Pae) stamp of approval.

The posters were taken down upon Massive’s inquiry, and Te Tira Ahu Pae has been apologetic.

Falun Gong’s leader Li Hongzhi, 73-years-old, claims he has supernatural powers, giving him the ability to cure illness.

In his book Zhaun Falun, Hongzhi called homosexual behaviour “repulsive”.

His teachings suggest that mixed race people don’t have a place in heaven.

The poster advertised Falun Gong free teaching classes with the title ‘A Happier Healthier You’.

The student, who wished to be anonymous, said approving the poster showed an association that supports bigoted messages, “It doesn’t exactly preach of diversity and tolerance.”

When asked how the poster could affect students, the student said, “God they could accidentally join a cult.”

The student felt the poster had been made intentionally, sarcastically saying, “You wouldn’t trust a Chinese person so let's just slap on a white, blonde woman.”

A Falun Gong Wellington organiser was approached for an interview, however, declined.

Te Tira Ahu Pae said it was apologetic for any offence or distress it may have caused.

“From the outset, it appeared to cultivate concepts such as self-care and wellbeing.

“However, upon further research, we do not support the homophobic and racist acts of this religion.”

The association said in the future, it would add a sign on its notice boards giving them the right to remove posters that do not align with values of inclusivity.

“We will do our best to ensure that from our best knowledge there is nothing offensive.”

Wellington vice president Tim Wilson also commented, and appeared to contradict his association.

“It is my opinion that I would no sooner condemn a Muslim poster promoting prayer time in a mosque on our boards, or an invitation to a synagogue from a local Jewish community, than I would any other religious group.”

A Massey University spokesperson said its policy recognizes that the university has an obligation to ensure that such material is not offensive, defamatory or illegal.

“We do encourage students to obtain the appropriate approvals before hanging posters, and to notify security if they spot any concerning posters around any of the campuses.”

INSIDE A FALUN GONG MEETING

WHAT’S FALUN GONG UP TO IN WELLINGTON? IS IT A DANGEROUS CULT? THEY WOULDN'T GIVE US AN INTERVIEW, SO SAMMY CARTER WENT ALONG UNDERCOVER TO FIND OUT.

I scanned the QR code on the poster and signed up for a class with a fake email and name. My sister came along also with a fake identity in case anything went wrong.

The class took place in a small room in the centre city. Only four others were there, all of whom seemed to have been going for a long time.

I felt apprehensive and expected to be meditating like the woman on the poster. I also wondered if I’d be hit up for money. But it wasn’t what I expected.

For a start, the organiser was a middle-aged European woman with a strong accent. She was incredibly friendly.

For an hour and a half, a recorded lecture played of Hongzhi speaking to a crowd with a bright yellow backdrop and many microphones surrounding him. The lecture appeared to be from the 90’s and had been poorly translated into English.

They said this was the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) “propaganda”. The CCP is atheist and banned Falun Gong in China in 1999.

He spoke about his supernatural powers saying, “At my level there isn’t even any[one] left to talk to”. He stated that if you do not have supernatural powers, you cannot cure illnesses at all.

According to the papers given to me by the organiser, Falun Gong is a “special Buddhist cultivation practice”.

After the lesson, I asked the organiser if Falun Gong was a cult, to which they laughed, “No, otherwise I wouldn’t be involved with it.”

I asked them if the practice was racist and homophobic, the organiser said, “It’s got nothing to do with that. People try and label and say because he (Hongzhi) said a few things and they pick at the one comment that he’s made.

“It's absolutely for everyone so don’t listen to anyone who tells you otherwise. Once people listen to the lectures and they do the exercises they find out for themselves.”

The organiser said they were the person who put the posters around Massey University Wellington.

I said to the organiser, “This is an ancient Chinese practice, right?

But there's a white person meditating on the poster.”

The organiser said, “It’s to let people know that anyone can do it. If we could we’d put everyone on the poster.”

The organiser said they had been practicing for many years, “It's very down to earth and factual and that's one thing that attracted me to the practice was its not kind of fluffy or new agey.”

After the two-hour class, the organiser offered my sister and I a large pamphlet on “cultivation exercises” and invited us to come back the next day. We weren’t asked for money, and while we left feeling safe, the content was disturbing.

A RE— APPROPRIATION OF FILIPINO COLONIAL PHOTOGRAPHS

Jas Sabrine (they/them) is a Filipino, tangata tiriti, visual artist studying at the Massey College of Creative Arts. Their work flows between mediums such as Baybayin (ancient Filipino script) calligraphy, photography and installation. Their work engages with decolonisation and indigenisation practices within the fine art space. Driven by a deep love for their culture, Jas’ art practice is dedicated to reclaiming cultural identity as a diaspora, self-determination, and representation. Jas’ art and perspective is largely informed by their experience of immigrating to Aotearoa with their whānau from the Philippines in 2008.

WHAT IS YOUR PROJECT?

What I am currently working on is my honours project, which is a documentation of how my Filipino diaspora community uses clothing to connect with whakapapa and express our cultural heritage. It is a re-appropriation of Filipino colonial photographs from postcards and anthropological material.

WHERE DID THE INSPIRATION BEHIND THIS PROJECT COME FROM?

At the end of last year, I was doing research for my project Engkanto: Folktales of an Enchanted Kind, and I was looking at old photographs from an anthropology book from the 1900s called The Inhabitants of the Philippines. This led me to researching colonial photography in the Philippines during the early 18th century.

WHAT DOES YOUR PROJECT MEAN TO YOU IN REGARDS TO YOUR CULTURAL HERITAGE?

Most, if not all, of my works are love letters in one way or another. This project is a love letter and an acknowledgement to my Filipino diaspora community who have helped me feel seen and heard in Aotearoa.

TELL US ABOUT SOME OF THE PEOPLE IN YOUR PHOTOS?

The folks in today's feature are my friends DX, Kaye, and Leigh, who were some of the first people I contacted to be part of the project. I first met DX when we were around 8 or 9-years-old. Our parents, somehow, became friends after we recently moved here from The Philippines, and we've been friends ever since. I met siblings Kaye and Leigh through DX a few years ago and we instantly connected over our shared identities as Filipinos.

HOW DO YOU EXPRESS YOUR CULTURE THROUGH FASHION?

In the Visayan region we are known for the patadyong which is a woven, plaid textile. It has been worn for centuries by my ancestors. My personal style is a little bit all over the place but I tend to gravitate towards bright coloured plaids, as it reminds me of the patadyong, helping me connect more with my culture.

WHERE VIETS

KISS KISS

“Oh, ladies, is this the weekly gathering session?” asked Mr. Mechanic, who just joined the group from across the street. The group, consisting of three members besides himself, often met to discuss tales around the village.

The much-condemned subject of this meeting was Thin Lip, the daughter of the village dressmaker. The other day, Mrs. Big Tooth saw a short, young man drive beautiful Thin Lip home at around 11pm in a white, decent car.

Mrs. Big Tooth doubted he was a good boyfriend, because no good boyfriend would take his girl out that late.

But it turned out Thin Lip was not a good girlfriend, either. Yesterday, they saw Thin Lip press a tall, full-sleeve tattoo guy against the public wall just across the street. What a terrible day it was to be able to see! Thin Lip poked out her tongue like an eel slipping right into the tall guy's damp cave.

So, they stared, because they had never witnessed such a strange thing in this village. The stare was so loud that Thin Lip heard it and stared back.

A sprinkle of tiny drops ejected aggressively through Mrs. Big Tooth’s teeth. “One can love by taking care of her partner when they’re drunk or giving home-grown vegetables to her friends. But instead, she kissed in the bright light of the public! She has dirtied the subtle art of intimate love.”

Meanwhile, Mrs. Green Hat’s grandson had a different concern. “Mr. Mechanic, do you know

yesterday Ms. Thin Lip kissed at the wall where you often pee? It must have smelled funny there. But Mr. Mechanic, why do you do that? You’re not a doggie?”

“What are you talking about?” Mrs. Green Hat hissed. Her face turned purple, which looked quite funny under that green hat.

“Nana, you and Mrs. Big Tooth saw it too, but isn’t it weird?”

“Mr. Mechanic, please don’t mind his words. He’s just a kid.” Then she turned to her grandson hurriedly, “Enough for today, let’s go home.”

AAA

Mrs. Big Tooth had never been so silent on her way back home. Even though he was a clever child, he was probably too small to understand common sense.

In this traditional Vietnamese village, we might urinate on the street, but we kissed in the bush. We might urinate in the light, but we kissed in the dark. Common sense to every Viet.

Kissing was a sensual, intimate act that any welleducated person would feel so embarrassed to do in front of others. And of course it was not nice to urinate on the street, but it was understandable.

Gotta go when you gotta go. Others would look away to give that person some privacy. There was nothing strange about the scene that one needed to investigate. The second thing that blew Mrs. Big Tooth’s mind was

that when Mrs. Green Hat and her grandson were about to go home, Thin Lip’s boyfriend appeared and picked them up. The same young man in the same white car. Mrs. Green Hat called him an “Uber driver.” Oh.

Thin Lip did not have two boyfriends.

And now the worst tragedy among all was awaiting Mrs. Big Tooth. The rattling chain. The clamping wheels. The bouncing pebbles. A group of rude cyclists swerved past her and knocked her off-balance.

In the next few seconds, Mrs. Big Tooth’s face would plunge into a soft yellow puddle. It was that damned wall again, where Thin Lip had kissed, where Mr. Mechanic had peed, and now, where her lips were about to fall upon.

A rank, yellow stench engulfed her nostrils. Her green fingers were a blink away from the damp, disturbing yellow.

But they landed on a warm and dry yellow instead. The yellow hand which had pressed a tattooed guy against this wall. Mrs. Big Tooth had never felt a hand so warm and dry.

“It is not nice to have your lips there. Trust me,” said Thin Lip as she pulled Mrs. Big Tooth back on her feet.

“Then why did you? You should have just done all that l-love stuff at home.”

“It was not a nice scent, though I’m gonna remember it when I leave this village and kiss somewhere dry and clean. Somewhere no one would stare at me like I have done something wrong. But I’m gonna miss this feeling, of doing the most intimate act with my lover under that intimate scent. My people’s scent.”

That girl just saved her and now she was talking nonsense. Mrs. Big Tooth furrowed her brow. She couldn’t understand any of Thin Lip’s words. Those abstract, ridiculously romantic words. Yet although she couldn’t understand, hearing those nonsense, loving words, actually vibrated something in her chest. Like someone was trying to dig up her arid chest to plant a tiny seed.

The next morning, to her surprise, Thin Lip received the biggest and greenest lettuce, covered in morning dew, fresh from her new friend’s garden.

SOPA DE FIDEO CON POLLO E MEMORIAS

My childhood kitchen was the place where magic began, and the children begged for more. The kitchen that remained meticulously clean and eggshell white surviving me and my siblings sneaking in and grabbing snacks as Ama (Mom) and Apa (Dad) cooked.

While the competition between my Mexican Ama and Salvadorean/Honduran Apa was blended with Spanish dialects and slang, it was also filled with their dedication to put the best of themselves into their craft of cooking. The smell of Mom’s own version of Sopa De Fideo (noodle soup) sticks in my nose forever.

Dad was careful and graceful when it came to handling the knife and cutting the fat off the meat or chicken that Mom would use in her dish later. And Mom, a master with seasonings and aromatics. Yet what made her food so good was the love in that small eggshell white kitchen with Mexican tiles. Not to mention the tiny white and beige chihuahua that would get the first bites whenever Ama wasn’t looking.

She’d make Sopa De Fideo when me and my sisters were feeling sick, or when Dad came home exhausted from welding iron together. She’d make it when the temperature dropped in Maryland, or when it was the hottest day of the summer, or when the grandkids came by to visit. I’d always sneak an extra bite when she sat with Dad to watch the news. My mother learned how to make all that she knows from my Abuelita, as for Hispanics our grandmothers and grandfathers are a giant part of our lives from our first breath to their last breath on this earth.

Sopa De Fideo is not only a staple of my Mexican heritage, but also a vibrant marker of my childhood in Maryland. It comes from generations of brewing, chopping, and Spanish conversations between mother and daughter. Even in the times where it was just me, my chihuahua and Abuelita, the fideo was always warm and ready to have with chunks of rotisserie chicken or Mom's own cooked chicken.

When Ama made Sopa De Fideo, she always made it a priority to have the noodles done first, breaking them in the bag then browning them in oil with garlic and onion. It’s a simple dish that didn’t require many ingredients, but the secret to making it delicious, she told me, was stirring. Even if you had one million things to do, fideo needed that love to make everything come together.

Even as I’m here in New Zealand, that Sopa De Fideo remains steadfast in my chest with the tinge of citrus lime gracing my tongue every now and then. The warmth and memories flood me in a broth like fluid and cradle me gently.

“TANTAS FOTOS LLENANDO LOS MARCOS, MI PROPIO MUSEO NO HAY MUCHOS TROFEOS CON USTEDES TENGO Y AUNQUE TE LLEVE EN LA SANGRE, ME DUELE SENTIRTE TAN LEJOS DESTELLAS EL CIELO Y AHORA TE CELEBRO”

“SO MANY PHOTOS FILLING THE FRAMEWORKS, MY OWN MUSEUM THERE NOT A LOT OF TROPHIES WITH YOU IT’S ENOUGH EVEN THOUGH I CARRY YOU IN MY BLOOD, IT HURTS TO FEEL YOU SO FAR AWAY YOU ILLUMINATE THE SKY AND NOW I CELEBRATE YOU”

Fantasmas by Humbe

SOPA DE FIDEO

1 TSP. OIL

8 OZ ANGEL HAIR PASTA (GOYA) BREAK TO DESIRED LENGTH.

1 CAN OR 3 FRESHLY DICED TOMATOES

½ WHITE ONION CHOPPED

STEPS

IN A MEDIUM POT ADD YOUR CHICKEN BOUILLON OR CHICKEN STOCK BOILING HOT AND SET ASIDE.

SET A LARGE POT TO MEDIUM HEAT AND ADD OIL AND ONE DICED GARLIC CLOVE. ONCE OIL IS HOT AND GARLIC IS FRAGRANT, BREAK ANGEL HAIR PASTA AND ADD IN. COOK UNTIL NOODLES ARE GOLDEN BROWN, ABOUT 2-3 MINUTES.

PLACE FRESHLY DICED TOMATOES, 2 GARLIC CLOVES, 2 CUPS OF BOUILLON OR STOCK INTO A BLENDER AND BLEND UNTIL SMOOTH.

2-3 DICED GARLIC CLOVES

5 CUPS CHICKEN STOCK OR CHICKEN BOUILLON

1 ROTISSERIE CHICKEN (LEGS, BREAST, OR WINGS)

1 LIME CUT INTO HALVES OR QUARTERS FRESH CILANTRO

STRAIN MIXTURE INTO THE HOT POT OF GOLDEN NOODLES. STIR CONSTANTLY TO PREVENT STICKING.

SERVE WITH HALVES OR QUARTER LIMES AND SOME SPRINGS OF CILANTRO (PREFERABLY FRESH PLEASE COMING FROM A MEXICAN MOM). 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

LET IT SIMMER FOR 1 MINUTE. ADD THE REST OF THE STOCK OR BOUILLON AND SET HEAT TO HIGH. ADD ROTISSERIE CHICKEN (SHREDDED OR CHUNKS YOUR PREFERENCE REALLY) AND COOK GOLDEN NOODLES UNTIL AL DENTE. STIR OFTEN AND ADD SALT & PEPPER TO TASTE.

“FAKE NEWS ‘YAN.” THAT’S FAKE NEWS DISINFORMATION AND THE PHILIPPINES PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS

“Fake news ‘yan.” That’s fake news.

I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve heard the phrase while I was in the Philippines. I even said it myself whenever my mother found herself drawn to a Facebook video that was suspiciously too good to be true.

This hasn’t always been the case, though. Before the 2016 Philippine Presidential Elections, disinformation was often restricted to celebrity scandals and business scams. At the time, most of us didn’t know that “fake news” could, and would, change the political landscape for the worse.

Enter President Rodrigo Duterte.

A mayor of Davao City for over 20 years, Rodrigo Duterte’s rise to political power is largely influenced by disinformation circulated by fake news outlets and troll farms (a group of people who do not really exist, set up to publish messages or posts on the internet to cause trouble, including influencing political views). Miguel Syjuco, a New York Times contributor, listed fake endorsements for President Duterte which included influential people such as Pope Francis, Emmanuel Macron, Angela Merkel, Nikki Haley, Angelina Jolie, Dwayne Johnson, and Arnold Schwarzenegger.

With so much disinformation at play, it isn’t a surprise that Duterte won the elections. It could have stopped there — should have stopped there.

But things got worse and we cannot talk about Duterte without talking about his political ally and the current President of the Philippines —

The Infamous President Bongbong Marcos, Jr.

Bongbong Marcos, Jr. (nicknamed BBM) is the son of the dictator Ferdinand Marcos, Sr. who is notorious for silencing anyone who dares oppose him (the most famous being Senator Benigno Aquino, Sr. who was assassinated in 1983 for openly criticizing Marcos and aspiring to run as President after Marcos’ term) and for declaring Martial Law in 1972. According to the Martial Law Museum, over 100,000 people were victims of human rights violations, 70,000 were arrested (often without a warrant), 34,000 were tortured and 3,240 were killed by the military and police.

Not only are the Marcos' known for their cruelty, but their greed, too. To start, the former First Lady Imelda Marcos was reported to have around 3,000 pairs of shoes. The Martial Law Museum reported that the Marcoses hoarded $683 million in Swiss banks, and their ill-gotten wealth amounted to $5 billion.

With all this corruption and violence, you may wonder how their son, BBM, became the president back in the 2022 Philippine Presidential Elections.

The answer? Historical distortion.

A good example of historical distortion is #IlibingNa (roughly translates to “Allow the Burial”), an online campaign for Ferdinand Marcos, Sr. to be buried in the Heroes’ Cemetery. It’s an honor he doesn’t deserve given what he did during his presidency and subsequent dictatorship.

According to Architects of Network Disinformation, a report of fake news production in the Philippines, the campaign involved online petitions, memes, videos, and articles that call for forgiveness and “national healing,” which minimises the crimes the Marcos' did during their reign.

Despite the protests, Ferdinand Marcos, Sr. was buried in the Heroes’ Cemetery in 2016. Little did we know that this was just the start of the Marcos’ plot to return to power.

Historical distortion and disinformation became much worse in the months leading up to the elections, and the studies around it aren’t promising to say the least.

A 2021 survey by Ateneo School of Government revealed that the supporters of Duterte have a “lower capacity” to distinguish fact from disinformation."

A 2022 study by the Far Eastern University Public Policy Center discovered that the Philippine history school curriculum “had commentaries [about the Martial Law era] that were incomplete or false due to the absence of supporting economic data”.

Meanwhile, trolls abound on social media, sharing pictures of infrastructures built during the socalled glory days of the Philippines during the Marcos regime. These “achievements” are often posted alongside BBM quotes: “If my father was allowed to pursue his plans, I believe that we would be like Singapore now.”

The chaos didn’t stay online, however.

On election day, there were 105,000 ballots deemed defective. There were delayed voting posts and irregularities in various cities abroad, including in Wellington. There were cases of vote-buying such as

Socorro Bayanihan Services Incorporated, a cult that forced its members to vote for BBM and his running mate, Sara Duterte, the daughter of former President Rodrigo Duterte. And this was just a few of what was discovered by Rappler, the news outlet founded by 2021 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Ressa.

Then, it was all over. BBM won. One of the most frustrating and heart-breaking moments I remember is when a troll confessed during the radio show Good Times, claiming that he voted for the opposition but participated in the disinformation campaign that led to BBM’s election.

“It’s a contract wherein I’ll be getting 2.5 million (PHP),” the troll claimed, to which one of the hosts later replied, “You sold us out for 2.5 million (PHP). Voting for [the opposition] and you calling us and telling us you feel bad does not make up for it. It does not.”

AAA

'Fake news' isn’t just a catchphrase or an online phenomenon. Fake news erases our history, minimizes the sufferings of those who came before us, and even kills people.

Despite it all, it’s important to stand firm — tumindig. As my mother always says, “Truth prevails.” They can write thousands and thousands of lies but the truth will come out eventually. But we shouldn’t wait idly. Let us remember and preserve our history. Let us seek the truth together.

NATIVE IMMIGRANT

As a young Māori boy, I remember playing manhunt outside the wharenui with all the other kids, while the elders met and shared their voices.

I would occasionally pop my head in to watch proudly as my parents voiced their mihi.

My mother, an Israeli immigrant, was fluent in te reo Māori after a few years of wānanga. My Māori dad was still on basic reo. Mum was a huge inspiration to my twin brother and I, and we would always take the chance to sing a waiata for her at the conclusion of her mihi.

When my brother and I were 9, our Māori-medium bilingual unit shut down, forcing us to move into a “mainstream” pakeha curriculum for the time being.

A year later, we packed up and moved into the city, where my brother and I found a whole new world. A Jewish intermediate school was our new life.

The school had a standard educational curriculum, with the addition of prayers in the morning and the occasional classes about Jewish bibilical history or learning the Hebrew language.

I always knew household Hebrew (the language of the Jewish people) and the general festivals and holidays, but it was only when we warmed up to these new hallways and classrooms that we realized Judaism spanned further than just our family.

Soon enough, RNZ was interviewing my twin brother and I, along with another Māori-Jewish boy the year below us, about our upbringing and “unique cultural background”.

We claimed ourselves as the “HeBro’s”.

This was the moment when I started caring about who I was.

I WAS A HALF-CASTE. A NATIVE IMMIGRANT. A MĀORI-JEW.

As I reflect now, my identity is politicised. It lingers in the struggles of land conflict, indigeneity, repression to oppression, and the condemnation of the colonist and conqueror.

My whakapapa bears not one, but two different histories of oppression and racism. Living life as a humble tug-of-war rope. Constantly being pulled between two different worlds.

I have the gift of belonging to two rich, cultural spaces, but the curse of not feeling whole in either one. But I must focus on it as a gift. An ability to fight even harder against cultural bias.

I have learned the closeness of these two worlds. The synagogue and the Marae, the connection to the whenua and ancestors, and the vital part food plays in bringing together whānau and community.

IMMIGRANT

It’s 2024 now, I’m 20-years-old, and the Israel Palestine war has resurfaced in mainstream media for the world to watch from behind their screens.

But it has plagued my life since I was born, after plaguing my mother's who left her country after her government tried to force a gun into her hands to maintain the occupation and violence.

But it hasn’t plagued the lives of many Westerners who fight for Israel or fight for Palestine when it is convenient for them.

For me, the switch is always on. I am unavoidably bound to the issue.

Growing up, I’d always dreamed of one day being old enough to vote for the Māori Party. Last October, I was finally able to.

Only a couple weeks later, Māori Party co-leader Debbie Ngawera-Packer started a campaign to expel the Israeli Ambassador from Aotearoa and, in turn, his daughter my friend of three years and their family.

A couple weeks later, on November 8th, my synagogue was vandalised. People started fires on the fences and spray painted “Free Palestine” all over them. This misplaced means of protest terrified my peaceful community.

This series of events poured fuel on the embers of my internal conflict. It sent the Māori and the Jewish in me squabbling irrationally.

When I was born, Dame Te Atairangikaahu was the Māori Queen. She had a meaningful relationship with the Jewish community of Aotearoa, frequently inviting Israeli ambassadors to Marae Turangawaewae, the official residence of the Kīngitanga.

There are many leaders from my Iwi, Ngāti Whātua, and others who speak against Ngawera’s actions. These leaders fight against the occupation of Palestine by Israel’s far-right government, while also supporting the Jewish people of Aotearoa and denouncing anti-semitism.

Throughout 2022, I spent some of my time volunteering in the Middle East. Teaching Israeli and Arab kids English, looking after the children of Ukranian refugees while they scrambled for new lives, and speaking to Israelis and Arabs about their upbringings and struggles.

If there is one thing I learned on that journey, it was that we don’t deserve to hate someone until we understand them.

Both my Māori and Jewish communities talk frequently of the need for more tolerance, more desire for co-existence, and more understanding and kōrero with other perspectives. My mother is one of the thousands of immigrants in Aotearoa who left their country due to the lack of these things.

In the polarised world of today, we must understand and learn about the nuanced views of immigrants in Aotearoa, rather than blindly associating them with rigid ideologies.

GOT A CONFESSION, A TAKE,NAUGHTY OR A SEXY STORY?

in my defence, is a not old (neither young though) handsome man. When I was slaving away, there was this bad pandemic of salmonella that spread through the farm and we had to vaccinate like a billion sheep.

It was hot as fuck, so I took off my pants and wore just a T-shirt and the overalls. I remember wearing, for some obscure reason, the sexiest thong. Being more of a city girl, my PPE rarely made sense. On that warm, busy afternoon nobody else was around but us. I wore the vaccine backpack, and I was about to jab hard, when the farmer stopped me and said he wanted to give me a demonstration on how to do it properly. Fair enough.

the neck, I proceeded to demonstrate to him that I got it… Bare in mind, around us there were crazy anxious sheep that kept moving around trying to avoid getting jabbed. So, when I bent over and tried to hit the poor thing, they all reconfigured their position, pushing me hard — at this point bent over — against him. Pretty much my butt pressed against his crotch. I was so embarrassed that I mumbled an apology (like it was my fault) and removed myself quickly. He played it cool like nothing had happened. Just that made me so horny that once alone I went to the bathroom and tried to climax (unsuccessfully).

I wished now that my reflex would have been to turn back and lower my overalls. I still replay that moment in my head sometimes and like to add a different end to it.

RADIO CONTROL 99.4FM IS A STUDENT RADIO NETWORK STATION BASED ON THE MASSEY UNIVERSITY MANAWATŪ CAMPUS. THE STATION BRINGS YOU THE LATEST AND GREATEST IN LOCAL MUSIC AND ALTERNATIVE TUNES FROM AROUND THE WORLD ONLINE AND ON THE RADIO, HOSTED BY STUDENTS AND COMMUNITY MUSOS.

HOT TUNES

Tāmaki Makaurau

Tāmaki Makaurau

01. Carb on Carb –I Know The End 2

Maeve – Bound 03. Persimmon – True Crime

ABG x Impress – AABG Gim Press

G.L.N.C – 6

Te KuraHuia –PRETTY GAL CLUB

Khaki Department –Boogie Boarding

Rust Angel – Cinder Rat

Q. FERGUS, MY FLATMATE KEEPS MASTURBATING EVERY NIGHT AND THE NAUGHTY IN ME RECKONS I SHOULD JOIN. BUT IS IT A BAD IDEA?!

First of all, how loud does your flatmate masturbate for you to hear it! And secondly, how can I achieve this? I’d love for the sexy sheep in the paddock over to hear me masturbating and jump the fence to join in. Your flatmate must be beating his meat very passionately for you to hear it. I approve.

There is a very particular way you would have to go about this so you don’t end up with a flatmate moving out and never speaking to you again.

This one time I could hear my farmer's border collie getting off in her doghouse. She wasn’t subtle about it because she kept howling every time she edged closer and closer to climaxing. All the noise turned me on, but I couldn’t just barge on into her dog cubby. My solution was to wait patiently for an invite. I walked back and forth, back and forth, back and forth by her door until eventually she came out and invited me inside... eagerly.

So perhaps you could spend a lot of time in your flat hallway to remind your flattie that you're an option over their hand or vibrator or dildo. If they never invite you in, well, you’ve got your answer. But if they do... well you can live out my favourite trope paddockmates to fuck buddies.

A. FERGUS THE RAM IS MASSEY UNIVERSITY'S LONG-TIME MASCOT. HE IS ALSO A SEX GOD, ALPHA RAM AND HORNED UP FUCKBOY. GOT A QUESTION FOR FERGUS? GO TO MASSIVEMAGAZINE.ORG.NZ

The other option is that you can follow their lead and start also masturbating loudly. If they start to hang around your door, or hang out in the lounge watching Bridgerton with you even when it's past their bedtime then making a move will likely be embraced with lots of wet crevices.

In my case, I’ve never been turned down by anyone, so the friendly wet crevice of a neighbour is nothing new. Happy fucking everyone!

ARIES TAURUS GEMINI

Well done, Aries! You’ve made it to the final stretch of the semester. Just need to survive a little longer to make it to the break. Keep an eye out for burnout, it hits you fast and you don’t do well with the recovery.

This is going to be a week of high energy, Libra! Prepare for lots of twists and turns, but make sure you don’t get overwhelmed and pulled under. The results won’t be pretty.

This week is the perfect time to get back into the active lifestyle. You might be scared shitless of the people at the gym, but it will all be worth it in the end. Even if your ass will hurt for days after.

Your curiosity is getting you in trouble, Gemini. Some people don’t want to tell you about their biggest trauma. Start letting people come to you with their troubles instead of prying.

You’ve had a bad luck streak recently, but this week, things are looking up! To keep it that way, avoid ordering food. There’s only so many times you can make new email accounts to get deals before people

Your friend feels like you always want to talk about yourself when they’re trying to vent to you. Stop jumping in whenever they take a breath and let them get their troubles off their chest.

CANCER VIRGO

You’re going to run

You love life, but there is a Debby downer hanging around you. Cut them off so you can keep being your fun-loving self.

and you’ll stop feeling so

AQUARIUS

The vending machines will look like a tempting meal substitute during late nights, but save yourself the disappointment. The vending machine will take your money and keep the food. Your

Your head has been in the clouds too much. Use that earth sign grounded nature and hold on tight. You can’t keep avoiding your problems by daydreaming –

You’re feeling unstoppable this week, so take that confidence and channel it into something you love! Try something new – something you would usually never try. Your self-doubt is getting in

DITCH IT!

ACROSS

4. Currency in the Netherlands (4)

6. Most common language used in The Philippines (7)

7. Rare lights seen in the sky recently (6)

9. Wellington newspaper (3,4)

12. What country is Tennis from? (6)

14. Where you pack belongings (7)

15. Changing place (6)

16. Author of The Sun is Also a Star (6,4)

17. Spanish word for soup (4)

18. Musical about Dominion Republic immigrants (2,3,7)

19. The Philippines President (6)

20. The island whose flag bears three legs (6)

21. The language of Jewish people (6)

DOWN

1. US Airline (6,8)

2. Island in Auckland area (7) 3. Last week's Massive issue theme (4,2,7) 5. Property consisting of land or buildings (4,6) 8. Palmerston North’s original name (8) 10. Main street in Auckland (5,6) 11. World’s most valuable currency (7,5) 13. Vietnamese food (3)

10 YEAR

IMMIGRANT & REFUGEE

EDITOR IN CHIEF

SAMMY CARTER

SHE/HER

GUEST EDITOR

JAS SABRINE THEY/THEM

HEAD OF DESIGN BELLA MARESCA

THEY/THEM

CONTRIBUTORS

QUYNH ANH DO (SHE/HER)

YESENIA PINEDA (SHE/THEY)

AR-EM BAÑAS (THEY/THEM)

NOAM MĀNUKA LAZARUS (HE/HIM)

CAITLIN BINGHAM (SHE/HER)

CENTREFOLD ART BY AR-EM BAÑAS