"Our Fono was a great opportunity for people for all the Pacific cultures to come together," says Pacific peoples' health representative Fuimaono Karl Pulotu-Endemann. "Usually during health discussions I see a row of white faces, with very few darker faces... but it was great to have us all together this weekend, meeting old and new friends." Even before the onset of HIV in New Zealand, Samoan-born Karl was a key figure in health initiatives for citizens of the Pacific Islands. Later he became the first Pacific Islander on the NZ AIDS Foundation Board, and was a founding member of the Pacific Islands AIDS Trust. Now a DHB and ALAC director, he was an influential delegate at last weekend's third biannual Love Life Fono at Auckland's Te Mahurehure Marae, organised by the NZ AIDS Foundation to bring together leaders and youth from sexual minority communities across the Pacific. Fuimaono Karl Pulotu-Endemann Karl came to New Zealand in the 1960's at the tender age of nine. He remembers that even then he was clear about who he was as a Fa'afafine. "But arriving in New Zealand was an enormous shock," he tells GayNZ.com. "Racism and homophobia were new to me, I hadn't experienced them before." The church was still at the height of its power in Aotearoa then, but likewise in Samoa, where missionaries had brought the Bible's teachings with them and make life complicated for the Island's 'third sex' citizens. "A law was passed in 1961 to forbid Fa'afafine from wearing dresses - one that I knew was jailed for six months," Karl recalls. The church is still an area of concern for Fa'afafine, he explains. "Recently there's been a new wave of moral rights, and some of our churches are acting more like they are in the Mid-West of America - like Brian Tamaki. The church is very important to us, but the Fa'afafine existed in Samoa well before the missionaries came - and no church is going to get rid of us!" ACTION PLANNING Karl's been to all three Love Life Fono's, and says they have "matured" along the way. "People have learned to work well with each other, and focus on what needs to be done in our communities. Of course, it's all about HIV/AIDS prevention with men who have sex with men, but in the context of the Pacific, taking into account our broader context of our Church's role, youth and our democracy. "Another factor in working with Pacific people is that our cultural identity is the most important quality we have," he observes. "And our sexuality comes secondary to that. It's different to a Pakeha way of thinking - as they are the dominant culture, a young Pakeha person might put their sexuality first before their cultural identity." Karl enjoyed the Fono's workshops which featured a 'buddy' system of pairings, on topics including career opportunities, the benefits of quitting smoking, transgender lives, internet safety for youth and other health issues. "I met many younger Fa'afafine and we shared ideas," he says. "We were thinking about the future - what will our lives be like in five years? At the end of the day I don't want young people to go through the same discrimination and stigma that I faced. "Things are improving as we all become more aware, but we must remain diligent as things can change again overnight. We just need to make sure that their lives aren't as dangerous as ours were." On the topic of HIV/AIDS, Karl thinks the major concern for the Pacific is tourism, since the numbers being infected with HIV is small at the moment. "We seem to be doing the right thing for now," he explains. "But you can never rest on your laurels, or you get that complacency that New Zealand and Australia have, and the infection rates then go up." Karl's now planning to keep in touch with the people he met at the Fono and is already looking forward to next one, planned to coincide with the 2011 Outgames in Wellington. "The Fono was a good venue for us to network and find out about our communities in Samoa, Tonga, Niue and other centres," Karl concludes. "So I commend the NZ AIDS Foundation for that. "Same-sex-attracted people in the Pacific face a lot of challenges, but we are very resilient and can just get on with things. I think we can overcome them what life throws at us, if we work together." Matt Akersten - 3rd November 2009