Tevita Hafoka, Salt Lake City, UT: an interview by Savani Aupiu, 17 November 2008: Pacific Islanders Oral History Project, U-1959

Transcript (23 pages) of an interview by Savani Aupiu with Tevita Hafoka on 17 November 2008. Part of the Pacific Islanders Oral History Project, Everett Cooley Collection tape no. U-1959

Tevita Hafoka (b. 1965) was raised by his aunt and uncle in Tonga. He grew up all over Tonga. When he was a teenager his family moved to Hawaii to take advantage of better opportunities there. Tevita describes what it was like to arrive in Hawaii. He lived in Maui because his brother-in-law had a business there. Tevita then moved to Texas to live with his sister. A job opportunity came up in San Diego and he took it. He moved to San Diego on his own. His wife and six kids moved to Burley, Idaho to live with their grandparents. Tevita wanted to live with his family again and his family wanted to live in Burley so he looked for jobs there. He couldn´t find jobs there so he started looking in Utah. He found a job and moved his family to Herriman, Utah. Tevita now lives in Orem, Utah and works in American Fork, Utah. Tevita describes his family life and talks about growing up with his aunt and uncle rather than his mother and father. He grew up with a lot of cousins around. Tevita considered his cousins his siblings. He worked instead of going to high school. He did yard work and worked in restaurants. Eventually he studied to become an electrician and has worked as an electrician ever since. Tevita talks about school. He ran away from one school because he experienced so much physical abuse. He discusses his difficulty learning English as a second language. He has struggled with it his whole life. He discusses the aspects of Tongan culture that he remembers growing up with. Respect was the most important thing. Tevita talks about the importance of respecting women and respecting elders. He talks about his religious background. His aunt raised them in the Tongan Free Church but she also had Mormon missionaries over for meals often. Tevita eventually decided to get baptized to please his aunt. He went to both the Mormon and Free Tongan churches but he became more and more active in the Mormon church as he started to attend church functions. Tevita discusses the importance of the Mormon church in his life now. Project: Pacific Islanders. Interviewer: Savani Aupiu