This long weekend marks a year since New Zealand’s convoy to Parliament commenced, demanding an end to the government mandates.
Despite the pouring rain, Kiwis came out in their thousands, to line over-bridges, motorways and streets across our nation. From Bluff to Cape Reinga and everywhere in between, they came to stand, to wave and to cheer on, the endless lines of vehicles journeying to Wellington.
VFF teams paused their lives to focus wholeheartedly on feeding, watering, sheltering, and supporting tired and hungry travellers.
New Zealanders from all walks of life came together in ways many had never experienced.
We connected over a common cause: to stand up to tyranny, to say NO to medical segregation and extreme government overreach.
On over-bridges up and down the country Kiwis stood united to support the Convoy and to say an emphatic NO to mandates and a two tier society.
Our VFF pop-up teams swung into action, with thousands of members waving distinctive flags and signs, illustrating a powerful and iconic record of the event in countless photographs and videos that flooded social media platforms.
The turn out to support the convoy was unprecedented. People of all ages, from all ethnicities and from all walks of life. They had simply had enough.
They came to call out the breaches of our basic fundamental human rights, to stand against the mandates, to speak out peacefully loud and clear for a free New Zealand. They came because they believed the Kiwi spirit was worth fighting for and that there was no place for a two-tiered society on these shores.
And so they drove and they slept in cars and in fields and they went without life’s comforts to stand up for their values, principles, and beliefs.
Over the next few weeks…
…We will reflect more on the events that followed the convoy, the occupation of Parliament grounds, and the violent eviction of protesters.
Meanwhile, our team has created something special to acknowledge the impact that state-sanctioned mandates and the resulting medical apartheid had on so many New Zealanders.
‘An Exhibition to Remember’…
… commemorates the protest and the end of the Traffic Light System by shining a spotlight on our community members’ heart-wrenching words and stories and featuring incredible photography from Jess and Paul at Liberty Bites.
The exhibition is an emotional acknowledgment for those who experienced becoming outcasts in our own country and a reminder that we must never forget or allow such a thing to happen again.
For those swept along with the government narrative and media hype, it is a crucial insight into the often invisible pain and suffering of their ‘lesser’ friends, family, workmates, and fellow New Zealanders. Those considered second class citizens in Jacinda’s system.
An Exhibition to Remember
Our Christchurch groups have been the first to experience our prototype exhibition boards with people who stopped to read the public displays being moved, shocked and often tearful.
Over the next couple of weeks, we will print more sets of An Exhibition to Remember for delivery to groups in our main centres around the country.
If you believe there is value in touching the hearts of Kiwis, and you’d like to help us get this influential experience in front of the eyes of as many people as possible, you can help make that happen by making a contribution to the project. Every little bit helps, and we couldn’t do any of this without your support.