Ravindran (Raveen) Annamalai is running for Council as an independent candidate from the Takapu Northern Ward in Wellington. He has been involved with Multicultural Wellington, and has established a federation of Tamil associations to promote the Tamil culture and language. He prioritises the Maori-Tamil partnership.
Annamalai spoke to Indian Weekender about his vision and goals. Extracts :
Q. You started the Aotearoa New Zealand Federation of Tamil Sanghams two years ago. Tell me more about it.
A. The purpose of setting up the Aotearoa New Zealand Federation of Tamil Sanghams is to bring all the Tamil associations in NZ together to promote the Tamil language, culture and tradition.
Q. How do you propose to do that?
A. We have (Tamil) language schools in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Taranaki, Dunedin, the list goes on. We have eight members comprising the Tamil associations from all over New Zealand. Through that collaboration we aim to build a strong identity for the people of the Tamil community in NZ, by promoting the Tamil language, art and culture. Our primary focus is to standardise the Tamil language and to take it through to the mainstream by working closely with the Ministry of Education. We aim to establish a curriculum activity in the schools, so that there can be a Private Owned Language (POL) on a weekly basis that is managed and supported by the individual associations throughout the country.
Q. Engagement with Maori is a big part of your agenda.
A. Maori-Tamil hui is one of the projects that we have undertaken. We had the first hui in Rotorua. Six more hui are in the pipeline. The next one is going to be in Auckland, followed by Christchurch, Waikato, Wellington and Dunedin. We are working with Maori authorities and are in discussions with many Maori organisations. The good news is that our first Te Reo Maori language class is going to start in Wellington, which will be championed by our local Tamil sangam in Wellington , and will be open to the general public. We are collaborating with the Te Reo Maori Language Commission. It will be held at the Newlands Community Centre. We are working on the dates.
Q. You are running as an independent candidate for Council from Takapu northern ward. What motivated you?
A. This is the first time I’m running for an election. The motivation came from the community which is supporting me to take up the leadership role as a Councillor and play a pivotal role for (the welfare of) the people. At the end of the day, it’s people, people and people, as the beautiful Maori saying goes.
I’m not promising big things for the northern ward, except to restore the connection with the people, build a harmonious relationship and execute all the projects that are required for the northern ward. For example, better streaming facilities, better dog parks and much more. I will work very closely with the community boards.
Q. What is the biggest failure of the Wellington City Council, in your view?
A. I don’t want to look at the failures. The failure is, of course, the great loss of mana. At the moment, there is no mana at the Wellington City Council. There is a lack of unity and a lack of understanding between the councillors, which is affecting the governance and the decision making. But I want to focus on my strengths, rather than the failures of others. My intention is to carry out the proposals and changes that people want in the northern ward. I want to look at the (rising) cost of living, the housing crisis that Wellingtonians are suffering, especially in the northern ward area, as well as health and safety issues (we have ram raids, car burglaries).
Q. What are your plans to promote a more diverse and multicultural Wellington?
A. I’ve been affiliated with the Multicultural Council since my arrival in this country 15 years ago. I’ve been the vice-president as well as president of the Multicultural Council. During this nine-year period , I’ve done a lot of work in terms of creating a strategic plan for Multicultural New Zealand. I was instrumental in launching major multicultural festivals and events in collaboration with Wellington City Council.
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