Fergus (1965) (New Zealand, Switzerland)

Something that reminds you of living, being at peace, feeling happy:

Happy?! Ah, that’s easy. The sea. It reminds me of my childhood… and I love the sea, I love sailing, I love fish, I love to eat fish…the sound of the sea. The beach… Away from the city. Not that I live in the city.

Does it remind you of home?

..No.. I like the coastline of San Sebastian, I like Normandie, Sweden, Finland, Norway. All the seas!

What’s your first memory as a child?

My first memory?! That’s gonna be quite easy…I’ve gotta think about this though… My first memory as a child, my first real memory…? It’s quite funny, Kate… I think I drunk my Nanna’s nail polish remover and they had to take me to hospital and get my stomach pumped out. They even took me in an ambulance, I think. I remember the house we were living in, it was.. I must have been three or four. ‘Cause it was a hard memory. I had to stay in the hospital, I remember it distinctly… It was fucking horrible!

What pictures or thoughts come to mind when I say these following words?

Protest/to protest: Martin Luther King. Especially at these times! God, everyone’s fucking protesting… I was listening to a song before. A “U2” song, “Pride in the Name of Love”… and it’s all about Martin Luther King. And protest, it’s usually about people that are…in the minority. I’ve never had to protest because I’ve never had to want for anything. I protest with your mother all the time but that’s a different story!

So you said you never had to protest because of what or why?

Because I’m white. I’m privileged. And I had a good upbringing. And I lived in a good country in the beginning of my life. 

Power: Power? Power! Assholes. Yeah, people who have power are usually assholes. 

Society: Society? … It’s pretty fucked. Society, it’s not gonna miss me if I’m not here. Society doesn’t… I’m kinda quoting Eddie Vedder here… but Society doesn’t care about anything anymore. There’s nothing really called Society in life. The closest thing we have to Society I actually think is Switzerland. Switzerland kinda has not a bad Society… but the country where I come from, definitely the country my father comes from, Society is pretty fucked.

What’s the biggest difference in Switzerland and New Zealand, right now?

…Just perhaps the way the countries are run…Switzerland kind of runs because people run it themselves and a country like New Zealand runs because people seem to want someone or something to tell them what to do because they don’t know what to do themselves. It’s a big difference… New Zealand and Britain are very similar… These countries seem to need people to tell them what to do. Italy is another country that needs someone to tell them what to do… In Switzerland we don’t need to be told what to do because we kinda know what to do.

Is it because of the histories of the countries?

Definitely. Because of the political structure of the country…It’s different.. You’ve heard me rant at the table before, Kate.

How do you see the world in 50 years? (realistically)

In 50 years time for sure I’ll be dead. You hopefully will still be alive. And trying to run this mess that we have left you with. I think more people are gonna die because governments from different countries aren’t working together. They’re not coordinating themselves, they’re not actually doing what’s say a country like Switzerland does with its cantons. If you just imagine there’s 26 countries in the world. If we only talk to one another and said what’s the best for those countries and what’s the best for that country and this country. And we worked towards that goal everything would be fine but that’s not how it’s working at the moment. People are dying big time. Big Time in America both americas, in the north and the south. They are dying. Ok? And this is normally not  normal. Well there are some third world countries in South America, but this is normally not what happens in these American countries. Normally people die in places like Africa. Africa’s not having much happening at the moment in contrast to America with the corona virus if you think about it. So it’s all happening here in the western World. And we’re shooting ourselves in the foot because we’re not understanding what we should do… Hopefully more people are gonna die from the pandemic. And there will be no tourism with any luck, that would be good. And we wouldn’t be using chemicals to farm because we couldn’t produce them anymore because the factories are all fucked. Just imagine… 

What does “being” human mean?

Human? …Am I suppose to think about this? …Being Human… God, can’t think about that too much… It’s funny you’re interviewing me at these times. It’s very weird… Umm… It’s a good question. I would say surviving and having fun. Humans like to have fun. Everyone’s searching for some kind of, you know… They all want the best iPhone. And somehow we all have to survive, don’t we? 

What do you believe in?

What do I believe in?! Wow… Well that’s a ridiculous question! What the fuck do I believe in?! Can’t you ask me what I don’t believe in? But… well here goes a great one, it’s kinda quoting a song, but you know… Fuck all! But, “I believe in the air that I breathe” (The Hollies) and uh…I’m being funny…no I’m being funny. What DO I believe in? Usually myself.

Anything to add?

It will be funny playing that back in twenty years.