NEWSPAGE 21 September
2009

(Photo: NZ Business Round Table)

NEW ZEALAND: Guidelines for teaching and learning Samoan

(Photos: Fatu Tauafiafi)

SAMOA: Catalysing Pacific International Cricket - Twenty/20
Source: Fatu Tauafiafi

The biggest cricket tournament in East-Asia Pacific kicked off in Samoa this Thursday (September 17, 2009) with a big bang. The first day’s play showcased through the Twenty/20 format the talent and wares of the region’s 112 premier men cricketers.

Papua New Guinea emphasized its regional dominance by defeating third ranked Japan and Cook Islands easily. While cricket powerhouse Fiji ‘s pre-tournament talk “they were here to win” was walked by Joji Bulabalavu in posting the highest individual score on day-1 via an imperious innings of 90 against Vanuatu.

Host country Samoa had an excellent day. They scored a thrilling win against Indonesia with only one over to spare but then fell tantalizing close to beating Fiji, losing only at the death. However, it was Samoan batsman Fa’asao Mulivai that provided the highlight scoring 50 runs off only 26 balls, and hitting six huge sixes in his innings. Samoa played above its weight finishing third with a superior run rate over the other countries.

The first day results table has Fiji and Papua New Guinea unbeaten heading for a top of the table clash in what is historically the first Twenty/20 tournament in the region.

In day-2 competition, Tonga provided an unexpected test for Papua New Guinea. The Tongans chasing a huge 181 to win made an excellent fist of it but eventually ran out of overs making a credible 150.

Sixth-ranked Samoa was again involved in a heart-stopping match against 4th ranked Vanuatu. Needing 118 runs to win, Samoa lost quick wickets in the final 4-overs. At the death, needing 4-runs with only four balls left, wicketkeeper, Totoa Sauniatu hit the second ball to the boundary cementing an all important win. On the sideline, spectator Paul Myers stated the win was also important for another reason. "I would say they had to win this game. With SamoaTel sponsoring Team Samoa and Vanuatu sponsored by Digicel, it was important to show who was the more powerful--I guess the result showed true today."

The finals matches are still in progress. In the Trophy match, Papua New Guinea has upped its play looking likely to set Fiji more than 200 runs to chase. Samoa plays Japan for 3rd and 4th place and scuttle the Japanese for 43 in the first innings. In the other matches, Cook Islands battles Vanuatu for 5th and 6th while Indonesia and Tonga play for 7th and 8th place.

Player highlights of the second day was a superb 103 not out by Fiji's star player, Josef Baba. He joins a truly exclusive club of only one in the Twenty/20s format. Only Chris Gayle of the West Indies has scored a century in the international game. Although the EAP Trophy tournament is not an ODI event, it is still a superb effort to bring up a ton at any level of the game.

On the other side of the coin, Japan's score of 20 all out on opening day (against PNG) beats the worst international mark set by Kenya of 67 against Ireland in 2008.

Overall the Twenty/20 format will add to the entertainment value of International cricket and as Manager for Cook Islands, Alister Stevic stated, "This will certainly bring more youngsters and grow our game. More interest means more people, hopefully funding and competition which will help us to reach our goal of making it to the Cricket World Cup in the future."

As for this historic tournament in Apia, Alister was simple and forthright, "We're here to win".

On Saturday, the 50-over competition starts and hinging at the end of the competition is an Associate Membership for Samoa, Indonesia, Tonga, Vanatu or Cook Islands. It promises to be an exciting 6-days of cricket left in the Samoa.

Photo Captions:

Photo 1 - Totoe Sauniatu congratulated by Sean Cotter shows off the winning bat.

Photo 2 - Josef Baba just after scoring his century is interviewed by Sean Mulcahy of ESPN.

Photo 3 - Tuilaepa S. Malielegaoi with Matt Weisheipt, and Brian Aldridge enjoys Samoa's win over Vanuatu.

Photo 4 - A rare sight, PNG batsman, Vani Vagi Morea loses his middle stump playing Tonga.
 

(Photo: Department of Home Affairs / AP)

AUSTRALIA: Boat arrivals of asylum seekers rising
Source: TIME

On the evening of April 15, a small wooden vessel was spotted making its way toward the northwest coast of Australia. By dawn, the Australian navy had intercepted the boat. As members of the HMAS Albany stepped on board, they noticed a strong smell of gasoline. Moments later, the craft exploded, leaving all of its human passengers — 47 Afghani asylum-seekers and two Indonesian crew members —stranded in the water. Five Afghanis died, and dozens, including four navy personnel and the crew, were injured in the blast.

Five months later, the cause of the explosion on Suspected Illegal Entry Vessel (SIEV) 36 — as the Australian government later named it —has not been determined. But The Australian has reported that the fuel was deliberately ignited by the Indonesian crew members, believed to be human smugglers, as an attempt to prevent authorities from turning the boat back to Indonesia. Afghan elder Hassan Gulam, who interviewed the refugees, recently told the press that it was an accident that occurred during refueling. Wherever the truth lies, the investigation became a political powder-keg when rumors started to circulate that the Australian Defense Force had footage of Australian navy personnel pushing traumatized refugees from clambering on board their ship. To fan the flames of the potential scandal, Northern Territory coroner Greg Cavanagh blocked the release of the videos and photos to the public until he completes the inquiry.

As Cavanagh's office untangles April's events, one thing is certain: The number of asylum seekers seeking to enter Australia by boat is on the rise. Nine months into 2009, there have already been 1239 recorded "irregular maritime arrivals" in Australia; in 2008, there were only 161 during the whole year. On September 11 and September 12, two boats carrying 148 asylum-seekers were discovered off the northwest coast of Australia. On September 16, another boat carrying 58 people was intercepted 265 miles (420 km) north of Broome in Western Australia. Just the day before, the Australian government announced that in co-operation with Indonesian authorities 1000 potential asylum-seekers were blocked from coming to Australia this year. Those caught were following a familiar passage: a flight to Indonesia, a payment of $10,000-$15,000 to a smuggler and a makeshift place on a fishing boat barely sturdy enough to make the journey.

Australia's stance on immigration has been riddled with controversy for almost a decade. After a flash flood of boat arrivals in 2001 — 43 boats full of 5,516 asylum seekers arrived that year — the conservative John Howard government established the grimly named "Pacific Solution," which diverted asylum seekers arriving to Australia by boat to remote detention centers scattered around the Pacific Ocean. Holding camps were set up on the small island nation of Nauru and Manus Island in Papua New Guinea, where would-be refugees were kept indefinitely while their applications were processed. Many were confined in the premises while construction was still being completed, much to the dismay of human-rights groups, and some legitimate refugees were stuck in the camps for more than three years.

Times have changed — mostly. Rudd abolished the globally condemned Pacific Solution when he came to power by a landslide in November 2007. But asylum seekers who arrive by boat — referred to in the Australian press as "boat people" — are still shuttled off to a remote island while their papers are processed. There are currently about 600 asylum seekers staying at the $350 million facility built for the purpose on the Australian-owned Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean, most of whom have come from conflict or post-conflict zones like Sri Lanka, Iraq and Afghanistan. Current policy, however, mandates that their applications be processed within a 90-day period, and those who are granted asylum can apply for permanent humanitarian visas — not the temporary visas that Howard's government granted. Rudd also eradicated the much-maligned "detention bill" that detainees were forced to pay off at the end of their stay. (At a daily fee of $109, some detainees incurred bills of over $100,000 in the previous centers.) The Australian reports that since the beginning of 2009, 516 people have been granted permanent visas in Australia. Twenty one have had their applications rejected and have been sent back to their home countries.

Australia's conservative opposition, the Liberal Party of Australia, blames this year's spike of boat arrivals — almost all with the help of human smugglers from Indonesia, Malaysia and other parts of Asia — on Rudd's new border policy. If nothing else, the Pacific Solution was at least an effective deterrent, they claim. In 2001, before Howard's program was implemented, there were 5,516 arrivals by boat; by 2002, there was just one. The numbers stayed below 60 until 2007, but have been increasing steadily ever since. "When you weaken laws for unauthorized arrivals, you are in fact creating a brilliant marketing scheme for people smugglers," says Sharman Stone, the immigration spokeswoman the Liberal Party of Australia. Stone says the Rudd government's "relaxed" approach to refugees has been a strong draw for the hundreds of desperate people who ride on rickety vessels towards Australian shores. Many boats don't make it: In 2001, the SIEV X sank near the Indonesian island of Java, taking 353 lives with it. "The way the policy is at the moment there is very little that can be done to deter those with the cash and the contacts."

David Manne, coordinator of the Australian-based Refugee and Immigration Legal Centre, doesn't believe Australia's shifting policies have any bearing on how many people show up in a given year. "Desperate people don't sit there in a tyrannical regime and study the fine points of our legal reforms," says Manne. "What they do is look for any way they can to get to a place of safety — to save their lives." Most of the Afghani refugees who arrive in Australia, for instance, are Hazaras, a large ethnic group that has been persistently persecuted by the Taliban.

The Rudd government is equally adamant that the increasing numbers of refugees reflect international trends, not lax policy. "Countries like the U.S., the U.K., Canada and Italy are all facing increased numbers of asylum-seekers, much more in the order of tens of thousands than those we are seeing," Immigration Minister Chris Evans told the Senate in Canberra on Sept. 14. The government is striving to curb human smugglers by improving ties with law-enforcement agencies and border guards in Asian transit countries. On Sept. 15, Evans also announced that Australia has pledged $15.5 million to the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime and the International Organization for Migration.

Stone says the immigrants who make the perilous journey and are granted asylum are swiftly filling up Australia's 13,500 yearly quota of asylum seekers, taking away places that could be allocated to refugees that apply through legal channels, such as such as those funded to come to Australia as pre-approved, documented refugees. But refugee advocates like Manne dispute this interpretation of what it means to grant asylum. "The government promotes this idea of a 'good' refugee and a 'bad' refugee, which is entirely wrong," Manne says. "Coming to Australia from a place of oppression isn't the same as standing in a queue at the supermarket and waiting for your turn. It's more like escaping a burning house. Sometimes you have to break a window and jump out."

Photo Caption: Two Australian naval boats approach a vessel believed to be carrying 72 asylum seekers on April 29, 2009, near Bathurst Island off the coast of Australia.
 

PAPUA NEW GUINEA: PNG journalists form professional association
Source: The National via Pacific Scoop

The media in Papua New Guinea has reached an “historical moment” when it witnessed the formation of a journalists’ association this month.

Known as the Papua New Guinea Professional Journalists Association (PNGPJA), it will primarily be voicing issues affecting and relating to the welfare of journalists.

Patron of the association is The National’s Momase regional editor Oseah Philemon and he announced the interim executives, describing the formation as an historical moment for the media in the country.

He said it had been a long road in trying to establish the body for certain reasons, including lack of resources.

The association now has an interim executive working body with the National Broadcasting Corporation’s (NBC) managing director Joseph Eleadona as interim president, Sunday Chronicle editor-in-chief Alphonse Bariasi (vice-president), University of Papua New Guinea journalism strand leader Leo Wafiwa (treasurer), FM 100 news editor
Belinda Kora (secretary).

The association was formed preceding talks during the Media Council of Papua New Guinea’s ethics workshop in Lae.

Bariasi made a call to all working journalists to support the association and work in partnership with the body, so that issues affecting or relating to them could be better addressed.

Media Council director Nimo Kama, who was also present during the announcement of the association, pledged the council’s support, highlighting that the council would not interfere with the association’s role.

Philemon said the interim executives would hold office for not more than one year with an election to be conducted early next year.

He said the association would drive, adhere and uphold the media code of ethics and would complement the Media Council’s duties in the country and also abroad.

The association will also work closely with the Independent Media Standards Committee (IMSC), which has recently been set up and organised.
 

(Photo: Pacific Break)

SOLOMON ISLANDS: Devande wins Pacific Break 2009 music contest
Source: Solomon Times

Solomon Islands band, Devande, consisting of some of the members of the now disbanded Onetox, has won the Pacific Break 2009 musical contest.

The band's winning entry is their optimistic song "Everything," a poignant reminder of the need to remain positive in the face of unrequited love. Devande emerged triumphant from a pool of more than 70 high quality entries.

The final result was an amazing mix of hip-hop, pop, traditional, contemporary, instrumental, metal, rock, gospel and island reggae.

As the winner of the competition, Devande' will perform in front of thousands at Fest'napuan, Vanuatu's annual music festival in November this year.

Radio Australia will live broadcast the event across the Pacific.

Spanning five time zones and more than 20 countries, Pacific Break was established to search for the best original unsigned musicians in the Pacific.

Radio Australia says Pacific Break has again established a strong case for the Pacific region as a contender for the greatest untapped resource in the musical world.
 

(Photos: J. Kneubuhl)

WORLDWIDE: ASCC students send American Samoa Flag to Afghanistan troops
Source: American Samoa Community College Press Release

Students in the College and Life Planning (CLP) classes taught by Mrs. Rosie Fualaau Tago Lancaster at the American Samoa Community College (ASCC) recently took part in a unique exchange project in support of US troops from American Samoa now deployed in Afghanistan. Thanks to Lancaster and the students in her two CLP sections, an American Samoa flag will soon fly in at least one, and possibly more than one location in the embattled Middle East nation.

In collaboration with her daughter Army 1LT Marlena Lancaster-Morgan, now stationed in Afghanistan, Lancaster and the students in her two CLP sections purchased an American Samoa flag and a banner expressing their well-wishes and support, then had photos taken of themselves displaying these items. The banner and flag have been sent by mail to Lancaster-Morgan, while the digital photos have already reached her over the internet. In turn, Lancaster-Morgan plans to gather as many of her fellow sons and daughters of American Samoa now in Afghanistan as possible for a photo displaying that same flag, which they will send back home.

Before joining the Army, Lancaster-Morgan attended Manulele Tausala Junior High, Tafuna High School, ASCC, and then completed her Bachelor of Science degree in Public Affairs at Central Missouri State University. She received her commission as a Second Lieutenant in May 2007 from former President George Bush during a special White House ceremony. Now airborne qualified, Lancaster-Morgan currently serves with the command group of the 82nd Airborne Division, Afghanistan, as the Chemical and Public Affairs Officer. She and her husband Captain Brad Morgan came to American Samoa this past June for a short visit before their recent deployment to Afghanistan. While home, Lancaster-Morgan visited her mother’s CLP summer class as a guest speaker, and gave a power point presentation based on her first deployment in 2008.

“Marlena came up with the idea of me sending an American Samoa flag for several reasons,” said the First Lieutenant’s proud mother. “First, as a gesture of morale support, because she knows the sons and daughters of American Samoa deployed to Afghanistan will beam with pride when they see their own flag flown there. Also, she wants to remind the youth of American Samoa of what they can achieve. Marlena came through the local public school system and ASCC, and if she can have a successful military career, so can they.”

“While she never disclosed the exact location for security reasons, Marlena told me about a site in within her deployment area where the Russians abandoned quite a number of MIG fighter jets while retreating from the country back in the 1970s,” explained Lancaster. “Apparently, this site has proven a popular background for American soldiers to take photos, and Marlena plans to use this backdrop for her photo of the American Samoa flag.” After taking the photos, Lancaster-Morgan hopes to share the flag with American Samoans in other divisions in the country.

Before joining the ASCC staff, the senior Lancaster also enjoyed a successful military career. “I came home after serving 23 years on active duty for retirement in July 1997, and I’ve worked at ASCC ever since September of that year,” she recalled. “First I worked as Registrar, and now my job is Veterans Affairs & Student Employment Coordinator. I also started teaching College and Life Planning classes this past summer. From my long association with ASCC, I know that our young people are very smart and talented. We need to pay attention to their needs and do everything within our power to help our young people in pursuing their dreams. Invest in our children, so that they can invest in American Samoa. The survival of American Samoa depends on the next generation.”

Photo Captions: ASCC students in the College & LIfe Planning course taught by Rosie Fualaau Tago Lancaster (left) have sent the banner pictured here to troops from American Samoa now deployed in Afghanistan, along with an American Samoa flag. The deployed troops plan to send back a photograph of themselves with the same flag.