A
Hidden Economy explores
Māori participation in the private military, suggesting that the extent of
involvement presents a challenge to stereotypical views which primarily consign
the Māori economy to the farming, fishing and forestry industries.
Dr
Bargh believes the relatively high proportion of Māori entering private
military organisations is partly a reflection of a large percentage of Māori in
the New Zealand Defence Force, although many may not have initially been aware
of the private sector possibilities.
“People
hear a lot about how much money individuals can get paid in the private
military sector, and some join for that reason,” says Dr Bargh. “But, for Māori
in the industry, there are all kinds of contributions and connections they make
back to the Māori economy.”
“It’s
interesting to note that Māori in the private military are not seen as a
warrior people with skills predominately suited for frontline activities, as is
often the perception in New Zealand,” says Dr Bargh. “They are commonly
referred to as Kiwis and very often picked for management positions.
The
book is the end result of what started out as simple curiosity about this
traditionally closed world.
“In
the course of my day-to-day research, I kept hearing about Māori who were
travelling to and from places like Iraq or Afghanistan in a capacity outside of
a typical nation-based defence force,” says Dr Bargh.
“I
became very curious about all this activity, but because of the highly
specialised and secretive nature of the work, I was a little nervous about
exploring things further.This world is not particularly well documented for a
reason. People don’t tend to just voluntarily come forward.”
Undeterred,
Dr Bargh started making enquiries to see if anyone was open to discussing their
experience and was amazed by the positive response.
“In
many respects I put this down to something very unique to the principles of
Kaupapa Māori. The way the network developed from my initial enquiries meant
the trust was already firmly in place by the time I reached the key individuals.
“Because
of this, the participants tended to speak very openly and frankly about their
work in these organisations. This was great for the book, but it also meant I
had a tremendous responsibility to them as individuals.”
A
Hidden Economy (NZ$45.00) is
published by Huia Publishers and will be officially launched at Vic Books
on the University’s Kelburn campus on Wednesday 18 November at 6pm.
The
book launch is open to the public. For catering purposes, those wishing to
attend are asked to email Terese Mcleod at terese.mcleod@vuw.ac.nz
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