Nga tangata, nga tangata, nga tangata.
The Maori answer to the question: ''What is the most important thing in the world?'' is ''Nga tangata'', which means ''the people''.
Here at St Columbans, Lower Hutt, we value the people who form our weekday Eucharistic community. One of our beloved members was Dioniza Choros, known as Iza, who died on the 12th of October at the age of 92.
Dioniza Choros (Iza) - 1 March 1928 - 12 October 2020
Iza had a remarkable life. She was born in Eastern Poland, now Ukraine, in 1928. On the 17th of September 1939, while Poland was reeling under the might of the German invasion from the west, Russia invaded from the east. When they reached the village where Iza's family lived, they immediately raided her house and took away her father. They heard the gunshot that killed him.
Then, Iza, aged 11, was deported to a labour camp in Siberia, along with her mother, four sisters and thousands of other Poles. She survived the years interment there and was then taken to Persia, now Iran. Two weeks after arriving there, her weakened mother died.
In 1944, they were taken by ship to India, then South Africa and finally to New Zealand on a US troop ship, which was carrying New Zealand soldiers home. From Wellington, the Polish children were taken to Pahiatua, where a former internment camp was turned into ''little Poland'' for them. So began a new life for Iza, a life which ended a week ago.
The horrors of war can cause some people to lose their faith in God. In the case of Iza, she turned to God in the midst of incredible suffering and loss, and her faith never wavered, as we were priveleged to witness as she walked each morning to Mass with us.
May she rest in peace
By Father Don Hornsey - Lower Hutt