NEWSPAGE 12 October
2009

(Photo: Department of Corrections)

NEW ZEALAND: League team supporting tsunami-affected prisoners

(Photos: Samoa International Cricket Association)

SAMOA: Samoa starts U-19 World Cup campaign
Source: Samoa International Cricket Association Press Release

Samoan cricket is not wasting time to reach its World cup aspirations. To make it to the top end of cricket’s global mountain the vision is crystal clear at ground zero. “Yes, it’s quite simple really. The key to Samoa’s cricket aspiration, of making an international impact and sustaining it when we get there, is the Under-19 level. That’s the Association’s goal and the time to act is now” says Mr Matt Walter, Acting General Manager for Samoan Cricket.

Cricket’s International governing body, the ICC, recently released the latest rankings and confirm Samoa jumping 30-plus places up the world ladder and becoming the East Asia Pacific’s No.1 Affiliate member. The milestone started in 2001 was reached in September 2009.

“We have made giant progress as witnessed in the EAP Trophy last month and now it’s a matter of riding that momentum to new levels. That means we need to focus and develop our U-19 age-group so we maximise our chances of qualifying for the next Under-19 World Cup. That pathway is the launching pad to feed younger and, by then, internationally experienced players to the Samoan national side which during those times, everything going well, keeps on climbing up the world ladder.”

The first step starts 31st October 2009.

According to Mr Walter, a 5-week Under-19 tournament is scheduled to start on 31 October with the final played on 18 November 2009.

“We’re aiming to have six teams involved. Each of these teams will be coached by a current or past Samoan International. It’s a great avenue to bring international players with upcoming and new players allowing transfer of knowledge and etiquette at this crucial junction”, says Mr Walter.

“It will be a great occasion and I encourage parents, families and communities to come down and be part of what will be an excellent family affair. Cricket is a game to be enjoyed by the whole family and village. While players are playing, supporters can have a lot of fun with some of the activities we have in mind at the grounds. From what we’re starting at Tuanaimato on 31 October, I’m very confident that come 2012, Samoa would have had an excellent chance to add its name to the Under-19 nations playing at the World Cup.”

The Under-19 Cricket World Cup is a major sporting event involving 16 teams. Qualifying is extremely competitive with only six available places for 90 countries to fighting for. Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu U-19s show their standings by taking 2 of the 6-available places. They join USA, Afghanistan, Ireland, Canada, and Hong Kong. The championship takes place throughout New Zealand venues starting 16 - 20 January 2010.

Teams qualified for 2010 Under-19 Cricket World Cup:

Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka, West Indies, Zimbabwe. United States, Afghanistan, Ireland, Papua New Guinea, Canada, Hong Kong


COACH PROFILE

Name: Uala Taitoe Kaisala
Club: Wanderers
Village: Vailele
Samoa International: 2001-

He is selected by the ICC amongst the 12 best cricketers in the East Asia Pacific (EAP) region for Twenty/20. His boundary with 2-balls remaining against Japan clinched Samoa as the 3rd place best Twenty/20 cricket team in the region.

Hailing from the village of Vailele, Uala is totally committed to helping Samoa cricket climb further up the world rankings. “I want to be a professional cricketer but with our ranking as it is, I will probably not be able to get a contract. But I know that perhaps in 5-years time, Samoa will be right up there. And when that happens, then opportunities will open up for our young players coming through.

“I mean Ross Taylor is reaping the rewards from the NZ cricket system that’s been in place for decades, Samoa can do it too. I guess I’m a bit like our Manu Samoa players of 1991 who gave Samoa a huge boost up the ladder but didn’t reap the monetary rewards our young ones are getting now. I mean Census Johnston, Seilala Mapusua, the Tuilagi brothers, David Lemi, Eliota Sapolu are the ones good enough to get contracts as a result. So for me that’s probably my reality as well I’m totally committed to that role- for the benefit of our future cricketing generation.”

Uala has been selected as one of the six coaches for the upcoming Under-19 national tournament starting on 31 October 2009.

“I have learned a lot from representing Samoa since 2001, and that knowledge is there to be passed onto and inspire our young cricketers coming through. This particular age group is so important to building depth for our national team. Already we see the benefits of the Under-15 tour to Indonesia earlier this year with some of those boys gaining experience and knowledge we see in their play today. We can now work to lift them up to the next level both technically and mentally.”

Uala picked up an interest in cricket while working for Ajax Products in Auckland in 1998. His friend John started him with indoor cricket and being naturally good at sports, he was eventually lured to the outside game and was good enough to represent Avondale. He was talented that he was able to open the batting, keep wickets as well as open the bowling. “It was pretty difficult to open the bowling and do wicket-keeping. In the end I enjoyed wicket-keeping and that’s one of my main roles now in the national teams.”

Returning to Samoa in 2001, Uala saw Seb Kolhlase on TV asking for people interested in cricket to come down and see him. “The following morning I went and saw Seb. The next thing you know, I was selected into the Samoa team that went to the EAP Cup in New Zealand. I and Geoff Clarke were the babies in that tour party.” The rest is now history and in his prime, there is more to come from this fun-loving son of Samoa, who is acknowledged by the ICC as the best opening batsman in the EAP region for 2009.

His favourite memory though harks back to the 2001 tour. “That’s the first and last time we saw Skippy drunk. He was so happy when we beat Tonga that he ended up ‘Table-dancing’ while all the other 7-teams watching and clapping him on”.

The 2001 tour party were: Jack Kuresa (Aust), Peter ‘Skippy’ Poulos, Sinaumea Laumea (Akld), Bob Barlow, Lemalu Upumoni, Viliane Elisala, Pale Tasala, Rapi Ieremia, Eddie Annandale, Gary Tuiletufuga, Uala Taitoe, Geoffery Clarke, Seb Kolhlase (coach).

The Cricket Under-19 clinics will start in earnest from 14 October. The national Under-19 tournament is scheduled for 5-weeks starting on 31 October with the final on 18 November, 2009.

Photo Captions:

Photo 1 - SICA Acting General Manager, Matt Walter.

Photo 2 - Best Players for Twenty/20 in EAP region;
Standing: Davies Teinake, Willie Gavera, Pipi Raho, Josefa Baba, Assadollah Vala, Uala Kaisala, Chris Amini (captain)
Front: Edy Mansale, Sione Holi, Iniasi Cakacaka, Faasao Mulivai, Damian Smith.

(Photo: J. Kneubuhl)

AMERICAN SAMOA: ASCC Samoan Studies Institute opens media collection to public
Source: American Samoa Community College Press Release

Visitors to the American Samoa Community College (ASCC) website will find a new option sure to attract interest among both the academic community as well as the general public. The Samoan Studies Institute (SSI) has published its Media Directory on the College’s site, and now offers copies of the many programs produced at ASCC for purchase or loan. Having documented Samoan cultural events on video for more than 10 years, the SSI has more than 600 hours of edited and unedited footage which it wishes to make available to students, researchers, archivists, and anyone with an interest.

SSI Director Okenaisa Fauolo-Manila traces the beginning of the College’s video collection back to 1998, when the Samoan cultural studies division at ASCC was known as SAMPAC (Samoan-Pacific Studies Program), and under the leadership of Pulefaasisina Palauni Tuiasosopo. “A grant from the National Park Service Cultural Resource Training Initiative fund enabled Pulefaasisina and his staff to begin making videos of cultural events,” said Fauolo-Manila, “and they basically never stopped. Over the past eleven years, the College’s media collection has grown to include raw footage of over 500 events on digital video. From this footage has come more than 100 finished programs, but due to the lengthy process it takes to produce work of broadcast quality, much of the collected footage still remains unedited.”

By browsing the SSI Media Directory, viewers will find a wealth of programs covering topics related to Samoan and Pacific history, culture, environment, health, politics, and social issues. The directory consists of two main sections, one listing final edited video programs and the other listing unedited raw footage. Much of the video material focuses on oral history and ethnography of American Samoa and Samoa, but also includes substantial documentation of ASCC programs and activities, documentaries about other Pacific islands and cultures from Polynesia, Melanesia and Micronesia, and stories from and about Samoan diaspora. SSI or SAMPAC produced most of the finished programs “in-house”, and some in collaboration with other ASCC divisions such as Community & Natural Resources Division or the Art Department, or in partnership with KVZK-TV. Some material was acquired or donated from other organizations, such as Pacific Islanders in Communications, a consortium of The Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

Finished programs can be viewed on the SSI premises, borrowed for a refundable fee, or purchased. At this time, unedited footage from the media collection can only be viewed on the SSI premises by prior arrangement. “We want to retain control over what form our unedited footage takes before it goes out to the public,” said Fauolo-Manila. “However, for the purposes of study or research, we will allow for the footage to be watched here at our facility.” Anyone interested can make arrangements to watch unedited footage by contacting the SSI in advance.

ASCC President Dr. Seth Galea’i expressed his commendation to the SSI staff, and reflected, “Part of the ASCC mission is to promote an awareness of Samoa and the Pacific. SSI fulfils this through the various academic programs and outreach activities it offers. One component activity of SSI is the production, collection and archival of audio-visual media that may be used as a resource for teaching, research, and public appreciation. This is only the beginning, and as Samoan Studies Institute research and production develops, we will continue to update this valuable resource for students, researchers, educators and the community at large to learn about the cultural values and knowledge, ways of life, customs, social structures, histories, and environments of Samoa and the Pacific.”

The SSI has two full time videographers on its staff, Micah Van Der Ryn and Lavinia Sefuiva, now familiar faces at ASCC cultural events as they continue to add to the media collection. The SSI Media Directory can be viewed on the ASCC website at www.amsamoa.edu. To contact the SSI, call ASCC at (684) 699-9155 and ask for the Samoan Studies Institute.

Photo Caption: Samoan Studies Institute (SSI) members.

COOK ISLANDS: New tsunami alert plan to be fast tracked
Source: Cook Islands News

The national emergency management council will meet again in two weeks to discuss what is still a draft standard operating procedure (SOP) for tsunami.

Prime minister Jim Marurai recently chaired a meeting of the council members and other stakeholders to go over last week’s response to a tsun- ami warning.

Police and Emergency Management Cook Islands (EMCI) gave verbal reports of what had happened from the time they received the tsunami warning until the time it was cancelled.

Police Commissioner Maara Tetava told the council meeting that he hoped the outcome of the meeting would be beneficial to all and not a finger-pointing exercise.

As the nation’s ‘disaster controller’ Tetava believes the fault in the response lies with him.

“Things just happened very quickly at the time,” he said.

Now he and key agencies like EMCI have been tasked with preparing a final SOP for tsunami threats so that everyone knows who is in charge of the national response and evacuation and which stakeholders will rely on them for up-to-the-minute information.

Tetava says some loopholes were found in the way the tsunami warning was initially handled.

At 8.04am last Tuesday the Meteorological Service received the first regional bulletin on the tsunami, but it wasn’t until 40 minutes later that police received it via fax.

It was 9.05am when the second bulletin was received by the weather station and it took almost 20 minutes for police to receive it from them.

“We made contact with Pukapuka, Palmerston and Penrhyn first. That gave us the confidence to say nothing would hit us. We made repeated calls to these islands and I believed at the time it gave us a true indicator of the effects it would have on Rarotonga.”

It was then that Tetava met with Met Service director Arona Ngari and EMCI director Charles Carlson and jointly decided there was no threat to Rarotonga.

But all was not well when Tetava received a call about the Avatiu and Avarua ports draining out as he was heading to the radio station.

Tetava deployed all his officers and got confirmation of the tsunami waves.

“We had already decided that the best course of action was to carry on, business as usual and to put this message out through the media. Not long after there was a stand-down of the warning.”

Tetava now regrets not contacting media sooner about the tsunami threat.

“The briefing with the media was delayed because I didn’t want to say something and have it be wrong afterwards.”

Tetava admits an evacuation of people away from the shoreline to higher ground could have been carried out.

“A national warning system needs to be in place.”

Stakeholders such as the ministry of health, the ministry of education, airport authority and the ministry of infrastructure and planning all expressed the need for them to be alerted to tsunami warnings in future.

EMCI director Charles Carlson reported that he had received a text message and the first tsunami bulletin from the Met Service at 8.16am. Carlson tried to find more information saying he didn’t realise the extent of the tsunami damage in Samoa until he got hold of his counterpart there.

He then informed Tetava that the situation was serious.

“My role is to advise the PM in case he needs to declare a state of emergency. We had no strategy in place for action, so I didn’t call the PM.”

Carlson admits that a lack of information going to the public did cause a lot of panic in the community.

“The big question is how to contact people. Do we do it on radio? Not everyone has one or will be listening to one. It would be ideal to activate a warning siren.”
 

(Photo: Fiji Ministry of Information)

FIJI: Ratu Mara - an iconic figure in Pacific leadership
Source: Fiji Times

Tuimacilai: A Life of Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara was four years in the making.

It is the first major biography of Fiji's late president and prime minister, who was the dominant political figure in the period leading to Independence and in the first decades of nationhood.

It was said of Ratu Sir Kamisese that he bestrode Fiji's political stage like a colossus.

To some his height and quick temper meant he was "the towering inferno"; others gave him god-like status.

His achievements were numerous. But most of all he was known for his advocacy of multi-racial co-operation, through a philosophy of dialogue and consensus he called the Pacific Way.

Tuimacilai is the latest book by the historian and author Dr Deryck Scarr.

It is printed and published as a joint venture between the Fijians Trust Fund and the Australian company Crawford House Publishing.

It will be launched in Suva on Fiji Day, Saturday October 10th, by Ratu Sir Kamisese's close friend Grand Chief Sir Michael Somare, Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea.

Sir Robert Sanders, for many years secretary to Ratu Sir Kamisese and cabinet, knew the late leader better than most.

He describes Tuimacilai as a monumental work adding, "I would certainly call it definitive."

"To those of us who knew him the whole account rings true even without all the evidence so studiously gathered, interpreted and synthesized," says Sir Robert.

He compliments Dr Scarr for making sure Ratu Sir Kamisese's "very considerable achievements are fully recognised."

Here are some brief extracts and summaries from Tuimacilai, the first public disclosures of the contents of the biography:

"..he was forever navigating between discordant interests and aspirations in his re-emerging nation until the year 2000 when he became overwhelmed at the end of a very long walk along a political tightrope".

Dr Scarr saw Ratu Sir Kamisese as odd man out among the chiefs of his era. He had attended four universities, reading medicine, history, economics, political science and colonial administration. By conversion he was a Roman Catholic among Methodists. "Above all," writes Dr Scarr, "he was recognised as likely to see much more moral force in Indian political claims than most other Fijians were likely to do."

Psychology of a community: "As he remembered and as was often remembered of him too, he had actually taken full note of Indian aspirations throughout his time in district administration. 'In many instances I felt that their main problem was a psychological one,' he recalled in 1972, as prime minister with an election coming up. 'They felt that in spite of the role they played in the development of this country, they were not recognised as any more than itinerant immigrants who could possibly be sent away again. Having this understanding of the Indians, whenever I have the opportunity to serve them, I make sure that I serve them as fairly and honestly as I serve any other citizens in Fiji.' "In his diaries, though, his concern for his own people predominates, Ratu Mara wanted rapid results for Fijians in industrial as well as agricultural development."

Quoting from a letter by Ratu Sir Kamisese to his mentor and relative, Ratu Sir Lala Sukuna: "By the way, there will be no peace of mind if we keep on underlining the differences between Indians and Fijians. Neither race seeing anything in common. One thinking the other privileged."

Quoting G K Roth, author of The Fijian Way of Life: "Ratu Mara is an outstandingly able and intelligent young chief holding some remarkably unorthodox views on the Fijian social system and administration."

On the role of chiefs: "As a high chief from an established dynasty, and so the living representative of a creator god, his ascribed function was to serve as a central co-ordinating agency and in his formative years it was generally axiomatic that chiefs would or should lead in modern politics too."

Impatience: "Behind their hands, the young Fijians of his think tank said that it was doubly fortunate that he had never gone on to be a surgeon, because so impatient a man would hardly have waited for an unpunctual anaesthetist before making the first incision."

As a child at Levuka: "Ratu Mara was photographed there at about eight years old - a bare-foot boy in shorts and shirt, handsome, solemn, reserved, wary and not altogether happy, or perhaps merely shy."

Ratu Sir Kamisese on race and racialism: 'Race is a fact of life as language is a fact of life and these facts will have to be reconciled with progress. .. racialism is an evil, but also a reality"... "racialism is a cancer, a malignant growth; you cannot confine it to one race only."

Recollections from Oxford University: "My memories of him are vivid", wrote his modern history tutor, Mr A F (Pat) Thompson, nearly 60 years after taking him on. "Invariably dignified, his presence greatly reinforced by his youthful stature. Economical with words, but something of a wit when he uttered. Quietly competent, not a natural third by any means. In the late '40s, when there were schools lunches as well as dinners, I remember him striding round the quad after one lunch, completely under control after putting away phenomenal quantities of drinks. He was a truly heroic drinker in a very booze-ridden period."

Being hungry at Oxford: "In secluded gardens behind the college, he went scrumping (pinching) pears with Ratu Penaia because, big men that they were, they were so hungry for so much of the time."

A favourite Biblical text: "Have I not commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage: Be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord Thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest."

Quoting Dr Peter France on Ratu Sir Kamisese as a good listener: "He would ask questions and then subsidiary questions and you would find yourself talking to him for half an hour and only on leaving him realise that you hadn't the faintest idea of what his thoughts were on whatever you'd been discussing."

Socialising with Pat and So Raddock: "In houses like the Raddock's ... he was free to relax, joke, pour the wine, wrangle with Pat about cricket and poke fun generally."

Complaining when Adi Lady Lala Mara took her time when the couple were ready to go out: 'Clean people don't need to bathe,' he might comment when his wife lingered in her bath and they were going to be late for some cocktail party."

Photo Caption: Ratu Mara: "Every policy he formulated, every position he adopted, either domestically or internationally, was predicated on what he believed was good for, and in the interest of, the people of Fiji."
 

(Photo: Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme)

WORLDWIDE: New Director starts at SPREP
Source: Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme Press Release

The new Director of the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) began his term today, welcomed back into the organisation for which he has worked before.

Mr. David Sheppard has over 30 years experience in the conservation and environment field at the national, regional and international levels. This extensive experience involves working with more than 50 countries on a range of aspects relating to protected areas, conservation and natural resource management.

His wealth of experience includes having worked at SPREP during the 1980’s on a number of short term training and capacity building activities as well as helping to organise the 1985 South Pacific Regional Protected Areas Conference in Apia.

Mr. Sheppard was also the Team Leader for SPREP’s innovative Regional Environment Management Project from 1990 to 1993, which resulted in the development and implementation of National Environmental Strategies in a number of Pacific countries.

“It’s great to be back at SPREP,” said the new SPREP Director.

“When I was last here it was a very small organisation. SPREP has now grown into a much larger entity with a wider scope and I think that’s positive because it reflects the interest of the Pacific Islands countries in protecting and enhancing their environment while recognising that environment protection cannot be separated from the livelihoods of people.”

Prior to beginning his term at the helm of SPREP, Mr. Sheppard was the Head of IUCN’s Programme on Protected Areas with responsibility for directing the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Global Programme on Protected Areas based in Switzerland. When with IUCN he also provided leadership and direction for the World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA) - the world’s leading network of protected area specialists.

He looks forward to working with the Pacific island countries and territories to strengthen the environmental efforts from SPREP in the region.

“I’d like SPREP to be seen as the leading and clearly effective body for protecting the environment and thus enhancing livelihoods of people. I very much see SPREP working in partnership with other key bodies and I see its fundamental role in life is to make sure it is delivering outcomes that are useful for the countries of the Pacific.”

“We have to make sure we are listening to the needs of our Pacific island Members and that we are responding effectively.”

Mr. Sheppard’s start with SPREP comes during a touching moment for the Pacific islands, in the wake of the tsunami tragedy which has struck member countries American Samoa, Tonga and Samoa.

The Secretariat headquarters is based in Samoa and several members of the staff have been directly affected by the tragedy. During the welcoming of Mr. Sheppard and his family, the organisation paid tribute to those affected by observing a minute of silence in remembrance.

“We’re deeply saddened and my family and I offer our condolences to all of the victims in Samoa as well as in American Samoa and Tonga. We offer in particular, our sincere condolences to those who have lost loved ones during this time.”

“I think as far as SPREP is concerned we’ll look at whatever we can do that’s practical and useful to support the families and government of Samoa at this difficult time.”

Photo Caption: Mr. David Sheppard addressing SPREP staff during a welcoming morning tea.