Jacinda Ardern, the prime minister of New Zealand, has formally apologised for police crackdowns in the 1970s that targeted the country’s Pacific communities.
Ardern on Sunday told a tearful crowd gathered at the Auckland town hall that her government was offering a formal and unreserved apology for the infamous “Dawn Raids”, during which police – often accompanied by dogs – raided homes to find overstayers who were then convicted and deported.
At the time of the raids, many people from the Pacific islands – including Samoa, Tonga and Fiji – had come to New Zealand on temporary visas to help fill a need for workers in the country’s factories and fields.
While the raids took place almost 50 years ago, Ardern said their legacy continued.
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