Wed 15 Jun 2016 In: Our Communities View at Wayback View at NDHA
I’ve been in the privileged position of teaching someone to drive over the last few months. Between the hill starts and parallel parking we get to chat about our days, our lives and the world. The person who’s braved my instruction works with LGBTIQ young people on a daily basis in paid and unpaid roles, and has been instrumental in building support networks in Wellington and beyond. Minister Nikki Kaye with LGBTI youth changemakers Qmunity Youth Gisborne- Matthew Te Whata Mc Clutchie, Darcy Spraggs, Charly Walsh, Daniel Henry, Hunaara Papuni, Teresa Wells One of the main reasons they are learning to drive is to help with this work. To pick up a young person from the Hutt who is unsafe at home, homeless or suicidal, or to drive people to support groups and events that they couldn’t get to otherwise. Sometimes our chats in the car require us to pull over. Stories from the week since our last lesson are gut-wrenching and the tears are flowing for both of us. It’s not safe to keep driving so we stop and talk. The stories are tragic and the numbers of people involved stunning for me who lives in a very middle-class white cis-queer world with a home, job and supportive friends and family. The numbers of young people who have killed themselves that my learner driver friend has coped with would easily equate to the tragedy of those killed in the Orlando nightclub. It’s not a competition, it’s reality. We have our own Orlando in New Zealand, just not in one tragic incident. It’s spread out across our communities, people we can name, and those we can’t because they never had a chance to be part of our communities. Our own rainbow groups are struggling to cope with the fall-out of a ‘phobic society. They are underfunded and unfunded. While it’s totally right for us to want to reach out with love and generosity to support the victims and families in Orlando, perhaps we could also use this as an opportunity to “Think Globally and Act Locally”. Would the New Zealand dollars that we’d send to the USA, go further in our own communities? Let’s strike a balance that recognises the constant claw for resources to combat hatred on our own shores and yet pays tribute to the victims in Orlando. This week my friend sits her first driving test. I hope she passes but if she doesn’t, no worries, we’ll just keep going till she does. It’s worth it and the least I can do. If you’d like to donate directly to Orlando, here’s a link, https://www.gofundme.com/PulseVictimsFund. They are doing well, last I looked almost $4 million raised. To honour that it was people of colour who were mainly killed at the nightclub contributions could be made to groups like BOX Oceania in Wellington as one of the main groups supporting QTIPOC. If you’d like to donate locally as a tribute can I suggest contacting Rainbow Youth, InsideOut, School’s Out and other groups in Wellington under the OuterSpaces umbrella, or any of the LGBTIQ groups in your community… please feel free to share links in the comment section. Jac Lynch - 15th June 2016