Whānau of child allegedly assaulted in park 'overwhelmed' with support at community hui & More Trending News

The mom of a toddler who was allegedly assaulted by a person in a Hastings park mentioned her whānau has been overwhelmed with support after dozens of folks gathered for a hui to debate alcohol, medication, gangs, and violence.

Aotea Brown’s 3-year-old son was damage in an altercation which allegedly concerned a Mongrel Mob member and different adults at Cornwall Park on June 1.

A 26-year-old man was arrested the next day and charged with frequent assault and assault of a child.

Brown mentioned her son not had any bodily accidents from the incident, nevertheless it had “stuck in his memory like glue”.

“He always says ‘Mummy, he made me bleed.’”

READ MORE:
* Thousands join hui after child injured in alleged assault at Hawke’s Bay park
* Man arrested after assault of man and child in Hastings park
* Young child injured in alleged assault at Hastings playground

His drawback with bed-wetting had worsened because the incident, Brown mentioned.

“I’m hoping that people hearing about our experience and seeing it, that they think of their kids, and it stops them from wanting to do that stuff.”

Brown mentioned she didn’t blame the gang for the selections of a person.

“The decisions you make, no matter how long ago it was, will always catch up to you and won’t just impact you, but your family too,” she mentioned. “A lot of gang members I know love their kids more than I have ever seen. They look after their families.”

When addressing the gang of about 100 folks at the community hui on Monday at Anderson Park in Napier, Brown held up the bloodied shirt her son had worn on the day.

“What would you do if this was your baby’s blood?” she mentioned. “I know many people will be thinking an eye for an eye because that’s my mindset too. But one thing I’ve learned is that you can’t fix pain by adding more of it into the equation.”

Brown urged folks to talk up in the event that they witnessed one thing unsuitable.

“Don’t ever feel weak or like a snitch for speaking up, because sometimes that’s the bravest thing you can do. If we want to change we have to start with ourselves first.”

Organiser of the hui and the child’s nanny, Cherie Kurarangi, additionally created an off-the-cuff on-line survey about household violence. She mentioned the response to each had been “massive”.

“I feel like we made a real difference today, we really did.”

Of the practically 5200 individuals who took half in the survey, greater than 840 reported witnessing violence in public or household areas.

“These kinds of things are all around us, so they have become somewhat normalised. I really feel as a community we need to stop that normalisation and get back to what should be normal which is looking after each other,” Kurarangi mentioned.

The principal points of concern raised in the survey have been household hurt, adopted by gangs, and medicines and alcohol in parks and community areas.

Representatives from each Black Power and Mongrel Mob attended the hui.

Other audio system at the occasion included former Hawke’s Bay Regional Prison director Peter Grant, Hastings councillors Henare O’Keefe and Bayden Barber, and Mongrel Mob Notorious member Andre Skudder.

During his speech Skudder, a gang member of greater than 30 years, mentioned he felt the burden of accountability for his previous actions and hoped he may forestall others from making the identical errors.

“When I hear about violence, whether domestic or faction related, occurring in public places, I cringe with the weight of responsibility felt in my heart, because I have often behaved in similar ways in the past,” he mentioned.

“Because of my toxic state of mind at the time I was indeed an unnecessary danger to society.”

Skudder mentioned he had “paid dearly” for the errors in his life, together with 20 years in jail and an extra decade of strict parole situations.

“But worst of all, the loss of my children and family. I do not stand here preaching from a higher place, rather I am a sad example of the consequences and ramifications of one’s wrongful decisions in life.

“I truly believe that to make a difference and improve safety for our children and families in our communities – can only come if we change our whakaaro, our ways of thinking, and our perceptions of what is right and wrong, and to do this we need to do it together, as one, in unity, for the same cause and outcome.”

Police attended the hui and supplied reassurance and recommendation to the community, a spokesperson mentioned.

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