Abstract
Recently, I re-read Freire’s (1972) Pedagogy of the oppressed and found his emphasis on love inspiring. I was left wondering why this is not often quoted regarding Freire. As an educator (University of Otago), regulator (SWRB), whānau worker and supervisor (NGO staff), I believe my work here in Aotearoa New Zealand is about creating contexts within which it is easier to love. I view love broadly as a set of attitudes, actions and thoughts. It produces a professional set of skills that is a personal journey of completion. I am not patient, tolerant or fair all the time, but I should at least try to be. Perhaps love in the context of professional relationships within the social work process is at the heart of a 21st century emancipation and liberation of Māori and other oppressed groups in Aotearoa. Freire understood that treating people as ‘fully human’ in the social work process was in itself an act of love, otherwise it would be dehumanising.In this article I will be discussing:conscientisation, colonisation, dehumanisation, historical trauma and intergenerational trauma;Freire’s (1972) notion of a ‘culture of silence’;identity;transformative relationships;love in social work;Freire’s virtues and qualities for social workers; andfully human practice.
Highlights
I re-read Freire’s (1972) Pedagogy of the oppressed and found his emphasis on love inspiring
I was, and am, a post-structural social worker who believe[d] we could change the world with Māori and other oppressed groups in our society
While the trauma that has resulted from the processes and actions associated with the colonisation of Māori people in Aotearoa New Zealand continues to be unaddressed, trauma will be transmitted from generation to generation, resulting in a contemporary lifetime trauma, discrimination, chronic stress and in some cases family violence (Pihama et al, 2015, 2016,)
Summary
From these pages I hope at least the following will endure: my trust in people, and my faith in men and in the creation of a world in which it will be easier to love (Freire, 1972, p. 19). While the trauma that has resulted from the processes and actions associated with the colonisation of Māori people in Aotearoa New Zealand continues to be unaddressed, trauma will be transmitted from generation to generation, resulting in a contemporary lifetime trauma, discrimination, chronic stress and in some cases family violence (Pihama et al, 2015, 2016,). In this sense perhaps Māori are better able to resist rather than be resilient. The worst part of being ‘othered’ (Said 1978) is if we believe it and internalise and buy into the inevitability that has apparently been set out before us
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