A true Cook Islands woman Thu 5 Sep On behalf of his family, former Cook Islands teacher and principal David Lewis submitted the following tribute to his late wife Terupe Poata Patiare Temarii Kelly-Lewis, who passed away in hospital in Brunei Darussalam on August 30. Obituaries and tributes are usually reserved for celebrities and public figures. Terupe Kelly-Lewis was neither of these but her life and that of thousands of Cook Islands women deserves to be celebrated and publicised. Terupe Kelly-Lewis was first and foremost a Cook Islands woman. She was a daughter of Atiu, as was her mother and all before her. Her spirit was born in Bora Bora and inspired by Mama Miri. Life as a Cook Islander, like mother and father, sisters and brothers and so many others from Polynesia, meant giving up her home and all that it meant in terms of identity, security and personal meaning. It meant going wherever duty, responsibility and material survival for her family dictated. Her father followed that path and left Rarotonga at a time when the warring great powers of the world provided employment in the form of phosphate mining to meet their people’s needs. He left for Makatea, to be joined, after Albert Henry and the Auckland Labour Union had demanded proper contract conditions, by his wife and their eldest children. There they remained with their growing family of children, including Terupe. When the war ended and the victors celebrated, their contract with the phosphate company eventually ended, as did the island of Makatea. Like many others, their future was again decided by economic imperatives. Some of their fellow workers left for New Zealand and began the next great exodus of Cook Islanders to that country. Terupe’s family were split between those who remained at home and those who stayed in Tahiti. Both sides lifted themselves to great heights. In Rarotonga, one became the first woman MP and another Minister of the Crown. In Tahiti, a brother became Vice President, another national cultural leader. Others, however, and mostly the women, had to make their own way and try to ensure that their children could somehow succeed. One such woman was Terupe Kelly. An under-achieving life back home was not for her. She insisted that her husband and children succeed in the same manner as the highest achievers in her family. For nearly 25 years, she built a home and family structure far away in Asia which provided precisely education for her children, housing back home and a new international career for her husband at the highest level. Everything she aimed for was achieved under her direction. She became one of the most respected expatriate women ever in her new country. Her story is not unusual. It is the story of many an exiled Cook Islands wife. Her dream was to return home one day and rejoice in her home and family. She was unable to fulfil that final wish. Her life ended last Saturday after four terrible years of ever-increasing pain from ovarian cancer. She was mourned by a whole National Ministry where her husband worked. She was honoured and praised. At her passing moment, dozens arrived to respect her as an admired representative of Polynesia and the Cook Islands. She was no celebrity. Her life was never public. She was far more significant. She was an Atiuan woman in exile, one of so many who bring honour to her family and people. With the help of HRH the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Brunei Darussalam, her husband and son will return her with honour to her home in the Cook Islands. cinews.co.ck Ka oi te po! Ka oi te ao! Ka oi te ra! With humble respect to Rongomatane Ariki and the leaders of Enua Manu. cinews.co
Posted on: Tue, 17 Sep 2013 06:13:18 +0000
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