Me Tū Kotahi Tātou: Stronger Together Communities For Public Health

Aotearoa Stronger Together will proceed with planned socially-distanced gatherings at 2 pm this Saturday 5th March. Communities such as unions, sports teams, faith groups, and whānau are invited to organise their own similar outdoor gatherings so that we stand as one, simultaneously but safely distanced, wherever we all are across Wellington and Aotearoa. The message of all these gatherings is:

“Tū wehewehe, kia tū kaha ai. Mā tātou katoa te oranga o te hāpori e whakatairangi. Kia mahea te pōhēhē, te kaikiritanga, me te mauāhara. Poipoia ngā hunga māuiui, ngā tamariki, ngā kaumātua hoki. Kia hui tahi tātou hei te Rāhoroi, 2 karaka, heoi anō, kia mau tonu i te tikanga o te tū tīrara. E ora ai te iwi, me mahi tahi.”

“Stand spread out, in order to stand strong. We collectively will uplift the wellbeing of the community. Clear away misunderstanding, racism and hatred. Protect the sick, children and elders. Let's gather next Saturday at 2 pm, while maintaining the tikanga of social distancing. For the collective to survive, we should work together.”

All gatherings will be a show of support for a collective response to COVID that cares for everyone, particularly those most at risk. People should only attend if they are well, have a vaccine pass, and are wearing a mask. All gatherings will be peaceful, welcoming, and respectful events which demonstrate the depth of community commitment to public health and against disinformation.

“In normal times, we would rally and march to stand up for our public health workers and against the kinds of hateful messages and disinformation we have recently seen,” says spokesperson Serah Allison.

“We want to keep our communities safe. So we are asking people to gather in a socially distanced way. We do not want gatherings that risk exposure to COVID-19. Therefore we are building a measured mass response: distanced, but united across the city and country.”

“This Saturday, the 5th of March, join with your family, faith group, union, political group , or neighbours to show that we are stronger together. If we all gather at 2 pm, at our various locations across Wellington and around the country, we can show strength in numbers without compromising our health and safety. Then, send an image of your gathering to our email address - aotearoastrongertogether@protonmail.com - and share your gathering on social media with the hashtag #StrongerTogether. Show that we support health care and health care workers, and that we want everyone to have access to the resources they need to be safe during the pandemic.”

For more details about how to be involved, see Aotearoa Stronger Together on Facebook, and visit aotearoatogether.org

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