Tame Iti Reflects on Tūhoe Raids, 18 Years On
Today marks 18 years since the Tūhoe raids. Tame Iti, one of the main suspects, says the experience left deep psychological scars that will never fade.
On October 15, 2007, armed police conducted raids in Te Urewera and other parts of Aotearoa, targeting alleged paramilitary training camps involving Tūhoe activists.
“It’s Not a Movie Its Real.”
Tame Iti says he didn’t feel fear in the moment – his concern was for his whānau. He recalls the event:
“When you go through that whole probably about two or three minutes, it’s pretty freaky… ‘Resident at two, ba, ba ba street come out with your hands up in the air’… that’s my place. That’s me… they would have woken the whole neighbors up in the whole neighborhood, which it did, yeah, and then you come, then you walk through in the dark…”
Tame Iti is an artist and activist who was at the centre of the raids.
Author’s summary: Tame Iti reflects on Tūhoe raids 18 years later.