Organisers of the Fa’afaletui o le Aganuu, a
two day community consultation to discuss
Samoan culture and tradition, yesterday
(March 25, 2009) announced the change in
dates to accommodate participants travelling
from outside of Auckland. Instead of the
event running on the 7th and 9th of April,
it will now be staged on the 7th and 8th of
April back-to-back days to help those taking
annual leave to attend.
According to Mr. Pa’u Fereti Puni of the
organising committee, “The respond is
overwhelming with interest as far as Samoans
in the military in Iraq, Samoans working in
UK, Dubai and especially Samoans living in
Australia. It has certainly touched a nerve
with so much demand to understand Samoan
culture.”
The Fa'afaletui o le Aganuu to be held in
Auckland is an initiative of the Faleula o
Samoa, a committee of Samoan senior matai
formed under the Samoa Ministry of Women,
Community & Social Development. One of the
key tasks being undertaken by the Faleula o
Samoa is to address the excessive spending
at Fa'alavelave, a real issue that impacts
on the social welfare and wellbeing of
Samoans everywhere.
Mr Puni said, “Culture is such a sensitive
topic especially when it comes to Samoans.
The difference in interpretation and
application of culture is forever contested.
Some proud Samoans especially abroad have
disconnected themselves from their families
because of the 'Fa’alavelave' word.
“The forum comes at the best of time with
the economic recession affecting everyone
and calls for Fa’alavelave to be done in
moderation.”
Some of the feedbacks have pointed the
finger to the role of the church saying it
is unfair to storm only the culture which
has been our pride, and will forever make us
unique, and hiding the impact of church
obligations. The difficulty for many is
distinguishing between giving to the matai
and to the family, and donating to
supporting the faifeau and the church.
One feedback had raised an interesting
question, why Samoans use the work
‘fa’alavelave’ which means a burden to
describe family gatherings such as wedding
and title bestowments which are supposedly
happy occasions. Maybe its time to change
the word ‘fa’alavelave’ or its use.
There is a huge interest from New Zealand
born Samoans who have requested if there is
an opportunity for the Fa’afaletui o le
Aganuu to be delivered in English. The two
half day event is the first time the Faleula
o Samoa has taken their message outside of
Samoa since its inception six years ago.
An official send off by the Samoa Government
is set for Friday 3rd April for the twenty
eight member delegation. On arrival in
Auckland, the group will be officially
welcomed with a tradition ‘ava’ ceremony by
the Samoan Advisory Council and the Samoan
community.
This is an opportunity not to be missed by
those who are keen to learn and understand
the Samoa culture.
A limited number of information pack
containing the official program with course
notes and four Faleula o Samoa DVDs is now
on sale at $60 presold and $80 per pack
available at the venue bending availability
of stock. To order your pack, see
attachment.
For more information contact Pa'u Fereti
Puni on mobile: (021) 618-042 or email:
[email protected].
Photo Caption: Faleula O Samoa delegation.
(Photo:
Australian Rugby Union)
SAMOA: Samoa takes training to the streets
Source:
Adelaide Now
Samoa wasted little time finding its rhythm in
preparation for the International Rugby Sevens
Adelaide this weekend.
Just an hour after arriving in South Australia
for the sixth leg of the IRB Sevens World Series
starting on Friday night at Adelaide, the
Samoans headed out to Victoria Square for a
light workout among the swarms of homeward-bound
office workers.
Samoa was on the same flight into Adelaide as
Australia, who is in the same pool as the
Pacific Island nation, and Fiji.
The three countries travelled from Hong Kong
where Fiji claimed the biggest prize of the
series with a hard-fought victory over South
Africa in the final.
Samoa was a beaten semi-finalist while Australia
failed to progress beyond the quarter-finals. It
will begin its campaign with a Pool A match
against Portugal from 7:40pm on Friday.
While the Cook Islands arrived in Adelaide on
Sunday, the remaining 15 teams flew in yesterday
to prepare for the opening pool matches on
Friday night. Pool matches will also be played
on Saturday with the finals on Sunday.
International Rugby Sevens Adelaide 2009
Pools and Tournament Schedule:
Jerome Grey wowed the Samoan Brisbanites at the
home of the Queensland Lions Soccer Club last
Friday. Hordes of die hard fans turned up to
listen to the golden voice that breathed life to
the stirring ‘We Are Samoa’ and left wanting.
The air was electrified. Jerome was magnificent.
The fans were nostalgic. Singing along to their
favorite Jerome songs they were tickled with his
jokes and enchanted with his flair to entertain.
The majority had only heard his music on CDs or
tapes. Cries of more more were chanted and
questions of when is the next show were asked.
The young and not so young audience was also
captivated by enchanting Brisbane songstresses
Tagi Lale; Uo Ala’alatoa Brown and the ever
mesmerizing Viole Asi Vagana. Simply Savai’I
charmed with their dance music.
The emcee Joyita Stanley-Slade had a full rein
of the evening. Rev. Tino Scanlan opened the
Show with a prayer & guest speaker Tauiliili
Peseta Ata Malifa was the historian of the nite
with tales from Jerome’s salad years. Miss Samoa
Australia Miss Mamele Aloali’I performed the
opening Siva Samoa.
According to Taulapapa Lemalu Slade of ‘Ailao
Manu Asc’: “The show was a huge success. As is
norm with all such projects we were skeptical at
first. Can we do it? Brisbane has a vast
geographical area - questions such as where to
hold it - would the northsiders come if we hold
it in south etc. It was an enormous gamble
driven very much by our own passion and love of
Jerome’s music. We are very grateful to the
support from the local Samoan business
community. Particularly the Samoan radio 4eb;
Louis Auto Repairs; Enchiro’s Freight
Forwarding; Matauina’s Takeaway; WKK & Niko
Burgess Polynesian Town to name a few.”
The Jerome Grey Show in Brisbane was coordinated
by ‘Ailao Manu Asc’ in affiliation with La’u
Samoa Society Sydney. Jerome was accompanied to
Brisbane by musicians Ala’alatoa Emani; Ben
Va’ai; Andrew Ala’alatoa and Avon from Sydney.
Jerome and his wife Emily left Brisbane on
Sunday for Melbourne. After Melbourne they
return to Sydney for a second show.
Joe Keil’s TV3 Apia was instrumental in key
starting the Jerome Grey’s Australia tour and
the Australian Samoans are ever so grateful.
A monument will be raised in Kalaupapa in memory
of 8,000 people who were sent into forced
isolation because they contracted leprosy.
The Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009,
signed yesterday (March 30, 2009) by President
Barack Obama, included a bill allowing the
monument in the remote Molokai peninsula, which
is now a national historic park administered by
the National Park Service.
"We will now be able to recognise Hansen's
disease patients of Kalaupapa for the way they
led dignified, inspirational lives under
extremely challenging circumstances," said U.S.
Rep. Mazie Hirono, who introduced the Kalaupapa
Memorial Act.
The monument will be funded by a private
organisation, Ka Ohana o Kalaupapa.
Most of the 8,000 people forced into isolation
at Kalaupapa lie in unmarked graves, but a law
signed yesterday by President Barack Obama will
allow them to be remembered publicly.
An organisation of former leprosy patients,
their families and supporters had pressed for
the legislation to create a monument to the
people who were quarantined over a 103-year
period that ended in 1969.
A nonprofit organisation, Ka Ohana o Kalaupapa,
must come up with funding under the Kalaupapa
Memorial Act, which did not appropriate federal
money for the project.
"I'm not here as a number, I'm a person," said
Clarence "Boogie" Kahilihiwa, 67, one of about
20 former patients who still live in the remote
Molokai peninsula. "I want my name on it."
Valerie Monson, secretary of Ka Ohana o
Kalaupapa, said the monument was one of the
priorities of the organization when it was
formed in 2003. "It is to recognize the great
sacrifices that everyone who was sent here made,
and their contributions to society and to their
families."
Monson said passage of the bill "is timely
because of the upcoming canonization of Father
Damien." The missionary priest, who died in 1889
of leprosy after serving in Kalaupapa for 16
years, will be declared a saint in an October
ceremony at the Vatican. "The monument will make
sure that everyone will be remembered, not just
Father Damien. The people of Kalawao were
inspired by Damien, and I think Damien was
inspired by the people of Kalawao," she said.
To curb an epidemic of the disease, King
Kamehameha IV in 1866 ordered victims be
transported to the eastern, windward side of the
peninsula, called Kalawao. As the population
grew, the kingdom of Hawaii extended the
settlement to the leeward end of the
5-square-mile peninsula. The quarantine
continued until 1969, although drugs that arrest
the disease were developed in the 1940s.
Ka Ohana o Kalaupapa researchers Anwei Skinsnes
Law and Bernard Law are searching the State
Archives and have recorded the first 5,000 names
of people sent between 1866 and 1896. The
project will eventually list the names on a Web
site.
Monson said the 1,300 graves that do have
identifiable headstones are mostly of people who
died since 1930. About 90 percent of those who
died in Kalaupapa were of Hawaiian ancestry.
The National Park Service has administered the
Kalaupapa peninsula as a national historic park
since 1980. The state Department of Health
staffs a small hospital and provides nursing
care for the aging population of patients, and
shares administrative functions in the
settlement, which has a population of less than
100 people.
Obama invited U.S. Rep. Mazie Hirono and U.S.
Sen. Daniel Akaka to witness his signing of the
Omnibus Public Land Management Act. Hirono
introduced the monument bill, and Akaka took a
companion version to the Senate.
Akaka said the monument will honour the
patients' resolve and help bring closure to
their descendants.
"It will keep the memory of this tragic chapter
of Hawaii's history alive for future generations
to learn from," he said.
Photo Captions:
Photo 1 -
The settlement at Kalaupapa on Molokai is seen
in 1877.
Photo 2 -
The state Department of Health, which helps
administers the leprosy settlement, posted this
sign at the top of the trail leading down to
Kalaupapa in 1973.
Photo 3 -
President Barack Obama signing the Omnibus
Public Lands Management Act of 2009 in the
East Room of the White House in Washington.
(Photo:
Wayne Martin, Times Newspapers)
TONGA: Reclaiming a sense of pride for the
Tongan community in NZ
Source:
Times Online
Reclaiming a sense of pride for the Tongan
community living in New Zealand was the
motivation for Polyfest speech winner Sisifa
Ma’asi.
In her newly accomplished Tongan tongue, Sisifa
delivered her six-minute speech with such
accuracy that it brought tears to the audience’s
eyes.
“All my family and friends came to support me,
mum loved it so much she cried,” she says.
The Year 12 student from Sancta Maria College
says when she first discussed with her family
she was going to enter the Polyfest speech
competition they thought she was joking. “Mum
and dad didn’t believe me. They were shocked
when I went through with it.”
The focus of her speech was the importance of
statistical information in understanding the
economic status of Tongan communities in New
Zealand.
The 16-year-old says that she researched her
topic very extensively and discovered some
interesting facts.
“There are actually 50,478 Tongan people living
in New Zealand according to the last census,”
says Sisifa. “Tongan people make up 21 per cent
of New Zealanders who are unemployed.”
She says education is the key to helping Tongans
to overcome their economic struggles.
“There are certain cultural barriers where they
find it hard to let go of their cultural
beliefs. Some of these things are holding them
back from moving up.”
Living in Tonga on an exchange for a year in
2006, she learned a lot about her culture and
the language.
She says the difficulty is when Tongan migrants
move to New Zealand they find it hard to get to
grips with Kiwi culture.
But she says there has been a change over the
past decade with the patterns of Tongans.
“Recent studies have shown children and adults
have decided to further their studies and to
enter the workforce,” says Sisifa, and it’s a
big shift from the traditional single income
family.
This year was the first time Sancta Maria
College has entered the Polyfest, which is now
in its 33rd year.
Principal Paul Daley says he was proud of his
pupil’s achievements.
“I sat and listened to her speech and couldn’t
understand a thing,” says Mr Daley.
“The result is fantastic. She entered on her own
initiative and has made the school proud.”
In 2008, the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional
Environment Programme (SPREP) embarked on a
Pacific-wide campaign to mobilise the Pacific
community to actively save our reefs.
The Pacific Ocean is home to over 75 percent of
the world’s reefs now under threat. From 1968 to
2004, approximately 600 square miles of coral
reef have disappeared each year. Since 1995 the
rate of disappearance has doubled.
More than 80 percent of Pacific islanders live
in or near coastal areas and draw from the coral
reef for their livelihood. The coral reef
supports approximately 25 percent of all marine
life, including over 4,000 species of fish,
providing valuable spawning, nursery, refuge and
feeding areas for large varieties of organisms.
Coral Reefs also play vital roles as natural
breakwaters, minimising wave impacts during
storms and cyclones. Hence the motto for the
Year: “Strong reefs, strong islands.”
It was the second Pacific Year of the Reef. The
first took place a decade earlier in 1997 and
focused on raising awareness about the perils of
our dying coral reefs. Some 10 years on, in
2008, SPREP worked to mobilise people to do
something about the problem. The time for
talking had come and gone now there is a
pressing need for action.
SPREP’s Coral Reef Management Officer, Caroline
Vieux, led the campaign aimed at all of the
Pacific islands, which made 2008 a very busy
year for her. Although the year’s focus has come
and gone, Vieux says the time for action is not
over - the work has only begun.
“We don’t want to protect just coral reefs - we
need to encourage people to protect the
environment in general. If you take care of
land-based pollution it will have a positive
affect on the coral reef. It is more general
than just focusing on the environment, it’s also
the way we consume things, which have an effect
on the environment. Its not over for us.”
The Coral Reef Initiative in the Pacific
Programme (CRISP) supported the Pacific Year of
the Reef 2008 and allowed for activities under
the Coral Reef Initiative to be funded and
promoted as part of the special year.
Several of the major projects for 2008 included
a Governance project on Vanuatu, which
encouraged the sharing of data and stronger
collaboration of information between government
departments. This led to a discussion on the
creation of a transversal department so that
Ministries like Fisheries, Forestry, Environment
and Water would work together to share
information.
Another CRISP programme in 2008 was the release
of the Socio Economic Monitoring Pasifika
Guidelines, followed by training of 17 marine
conservationists from five Pacific islands
countries in the Republic of the Marshall
Islands on how to use these guidelines.
“We talk about monitoring fish, invertebrate and
corals in Marine Protected Areas (MPA) to see if
the Coral Reef is strengthened, but socio
economic monitoring is as important to see if
people are getting the benefits from these MPA’s.
This is a significant aspect because it’s no
good if you have plenty of fish but people who
are starving. That isn’t a successful MPA. We
are focusing on both the biological and socio
economic so that both nature and humans benefit
from MPA’s.”
In 2008, Pacific school children were given the
opportunity to actively work on projects that
will help strengthen the coral reef.
ChallengeCoralReef, a regional competition
designed for those aged between 13 - 18,
encouraged schools to submit action plans on how
they would work to conserve the coral reef.
SPREP received 20 action plans, of which 11 were
funded under the Pacific Year of the Reef.
A wide range of activities were submitted, some
included the creation of underwater paths, a
crown-of-thorns starfish removal project and a
project to motivate the better disposal of
waste, including the design of sign boards and
recycling bins.
“I was pleased because some people might think
the waste project is not directly related and
not important to coral reefs but it is important
because we need to start fighting the pollution
on the land as that eventually affects the coral
reef.”
Of the 11 submitted action plans, the Saint
Joseph Catholic Secondary School - Tenaru from
the Solomon Islands was declared the overall
winner of ChallengeCoralReef. The school devised
a programme of three community education visits,
shore clean ups, coral planting and a monitoring
visit over five months to help rehabilitate and
restore Visale Reef on Guadalcanal Island.
A teacher and student at the International Youth
Coastal Conference in Townville, Australia
announced the school results and presented
prizes to the winners.
“For me the enthusiasm of the schools alone
helped make this 2008 Pacific Year of the Reef a
success. We put money and effort into our young
generation and were really happy and pleased
with the action plans they submitted. This was a
major highlight for us, having our younger
generation work to save the Coral Reef. It was
the work and stronger awareness by our young
Pacific islanders which really helped make the
campaign successful.”
Vieux would like to acknowledge and thank the
Coral Reef Initiative in the Pacific Programme
(CRISP), Pacific islands countries, communities,
media organisations, schools and people that
actively took part in the 2008 Pacific Year of
the Reef. Strong reefs bring about strong
islands, but she appreciates that strong
partnerships also play an important role in
making this happen.
Photo 1 - Launch of the Pacific Reef in
Vanuatu. L - R Eric Clua (CRISP), Caroline Vieux,
Touasi Tiwok (Vanuatu Environment Unit) and
Jean-Francois Marini (French Embassy in Vanuatu).
Photo 2 -
Caroline Vieux in the middle with the Media in
Samoa, after a seminar on the Coral Reef with
them and journalism students of the National
University of Samoa.
Photo 3 -
Fishermen focus group discussion during field
work in Arno, Marshall Islands.
