Party people

Last Friday I celebrated my birthday. Given that I'm only in Sydney for just a few days, I wanted to really make the best of the night and have as good a view of the city as I could muster. To that end I booked some tables at the Glenmore hotel in the Rocks. The view from the rooftop bar is spectacular:



We had a fantastic night. I had friends I've known for 25 years meet friends I've known for 25 weeks:



There was birthday cake:



There was an abundance of Davids:



And there were manskirts:



It was definitely the best birthday I've celebrated in a while. A big thank you to everyone who made it.

Sojourn in Sydney

I've managed to whisk myself away to Sydney for a few days in order to celebrate my birthday. It's fun and funny coming back to my home town after six months away. It's much noisier, smellier, busier and cramped than I remember it. I keep wondering why people don't smile at each other on the street or wave at each other as they drive down the road. Still, I know the place like the back of my hand and have enjoyed visiting favourite haunts, catching up with friends and family and eating fantastic food.

The picture shows the view of the city skyline from Balmain East, where I used to live until moving to Samoa. Sydney is, without a doubt, a beautiful harbour city.

Land rights and the World Bank

The allegations made by the SDUP and the Samoa Party last week about the HRPP Government signing a secret deal with the World Bank over land registration seem to have hit a raw nerve. Yesterday Prime Minister Tuilaepa ordered the Attorney-General's office to begin legal proceedings against the party leaders who authorised the joint statement.

In justifying his order, Tuilaepa said the statement was grossly defamatory. "In my opinion as leader of the country, they have gone overboard the decency level of political campaigning," he said. "My decision is to protect the electoral system in the future...You can't just make misleading statements about these things and expect to get away with it. What these people have done is that they have overstepped the mark." So it would seem that Tuilaepa is acting on behalf of the Government of Samoa. But on what grounds could the Government take these individuals to court?

On the basis of Tuilaepa's comments, the court action will probably be based on a claim of defamation. Yet, SDUP deputy leader Asiata Saleimoa Va'ai (himself a lawyer) says, "There is no such thing as defaming a government...Only a person may be defamed." If this is true (I have absolutely no idea) then Tuilaepa can really only claim personal defamation. The consequence of which would mean that it would be wrong for him to use Government resources to make his case in court. Until the details of the case are known, which I'm sure will only emerge after the election, little more can be said.

All of this talk however, dances around the real issue. Is there an existing agreement with the World Bank through its International Development Agency and what are the details of such an agreement? Does the HRPP intend to change land registration legislation to make the registration of customary land conform with the Torrens system used for freehold land? Tuilaepa has, as yet, failed to answer these questions properly. The SDUP and the Samoa Party have also failed to really provide the kind of proof that would make their allegations iron-clad. Whatever the outcome of the election on Friday, this story is far from finished.

Samoan Politics

The candidates are in high campaign mode, the party policies have all been announced, and it's just a couple of days until Samoans choose their government for the next five years. So what does the political landscape of Samoa look like? Who is likely to govern the country?

For the last 23 years Samoa has been ruled by the Human Rights Political Party (HRPP). They appear very firmly entrenched and have broad support across the country. Led by Prime Minister Tuilaepa Aiono Sailele Malielegaoi, the party has several prominent community and business leaders as members.

The major planks in the HRPP election platform are economic growth and infrastructure development. Tuilaepa, and the Deputy PM and Finance Minister Misa Telefoni, regularly point to the sustained economic growth Samoa has enjoyed over the last few years. Further, with the help of considerable overseas aid there has been a huge push recently in infrastructure development projects. The latest cab off the ranks is the redevelopment of the Savalalo/Sogi wharf and the fish markets next to it. The times they are a changin' in Samoa, and the HRPP has positioned itself as the driver behind the wheel.

Is this enough to get the HRPP over the line? Many suspect it is, but there is a growing sense of tiredness at the continued rule of the HRPP. Le Mamea R Mualia, head of the main opposition party the Samoa Democratic United Party (SDUP), has been polling very well over the last couple of months. He has consistently polled ahead of Tuilaepa as preferred leader and the SDUP has enjoyed several poll "wins" ahead of the HRPP.

The SDUP has focused on three main areas for its campaign: health, education and governance. If elected, the SDUP would conduct a review of teachers' pay and make a strong push to provide free and compulsory primary education. This has been received quite well but it is perhaps the issue of health that resonates strongest with the Samoan people, thanks to the bitter pill of an eleven week strike by Samoa's doctors late last year.

Two major problems plague the public health system of Samoa. First, the overall cost of the public health system and how that cost should be met continues to vex government. With newer, far more expensive facilities (such as the recent kidney dialysis unit) becoming available this issue becomes ever more important. Second, as the doctors' strike illustrated, the present nominal level of payment for health services staff is a significant disincentive for health care professionals. Doctors have started to move into private health and others have moved overseas to advance their profession. Samoa cannot afford this kind of skills drain.

A more immediate challenge for the present Minister for Health is election rival Su'a Rimoni Ah Chong. Su'a, head of the Samoa Party (SP), is perhaps the most outspoken of all the party leaders. Whilst the SP and the SDUP share their concern about governance, it is Su'a who has really championed this issue ahead of all others.

Su'a is well qualified to campaign on this issue, as he was formerly the Samoa Controller and Chief Auditor. In this role, Su'a issued a report in the mid nineties that implicated a number of cabinet ministers and senior government officials for fraud and other misdemeanors. The report led to his dismissal and amendment of the Samoan Constitution.

Su'a wants to see independence brought back to many government portfolios, most notably the oversight agencies of the Audit, Electoral Commissioner and the Attorney General offices. A significant reduction in government wastage features strongly in the SP manifesto as well.

Are these issues really the ones foremost in the minds of most Samoan voters? The issues of health and education most certainly hold the interest of the voting public but other issues such as land ownership are also extremely important. There are currently two large land title claims before court and allegations made by the SDUP and SP last week have put the HRPP under scrutiny. The allegations hold that the HRPP reached an agreement with the World Bank to reform the ownership of customary land (which represents 80% of all land in Samoa) to facilitate easier commercial development. How well this sits with villages remains to be seen. My suspicion is not very well.

In spite of these concerns, it would seem that the HRPP are going to win the election. Most of the people I have spoken with about the election seem pretty convinced of that. By themselves, neither the SDUP nor the SP would ever have the numbers to form a majority government, and with the HRPP fielding twice as many candidates as the SDUP (which has fielded more than the SP), the numbers do seem to stack up in the HRPP’s favour.

Still, the SDUP in particular have done well to present themselves as a credible alternative government. They have argued their platform consistently, clearly and early. It’s a lesson the Australian opposition parties could do well to learn from.

Crab for dinner

A few weeks back I chanced upon a man selling freshly caught crabs on the side of the road. Seeing crabs this size is a bit of a rare thing, so I did what any sensible person would do and bought two of them immediately.

I invited a few friends over and we had a great meal. Rice, steamed chinese greens and chilli crab. And the requisite cold Vailima of course. Very nice indeed!

Sadly I haven't seen anyone selling crabs since. There aren't too much shellfish and crustaceans available in Samoa and I'm not too keen on getting up at 5am to head to the fish market to really see what's available on a regular basis. So for now I shall just have to hope that luck is with me whenever I walk down the road.

The power of village politics

I wrote recently about the nature of village politics and how there is a strong community based approach to the management of all village affairs. I mentioned that given the nature of the system, there would be little room for oportunistic individual behaviour. Just this weekend we've seen an interesting example of this at work.

Samoans head to the ballot boxes at the end of the month. The election itself warrants at the very least a post of its own, so for now I'll supply only the barest of detail (sorry). Parliament has 42 seats, 40 of which represent village constituencies. Each constituency is typically comprised of several (say two or three) villages and most constituencies have a single sitting parliamentary member.

One such constituency is that of Faleata East. It is comprised of the villages of Lepea and Vaimoso. Prior to the 2001 elections, the villages came to an agreement stating that they would take turns fielding candidates to represent their constituency. Under this agreement, Faumuina Anapapa of Lepea, was elected unopposed. Anapapa was appointed to a new post in 2002, leaving his parliamentary spot vacant. Once again honouring the agreement, Vaimoso village did not field a candidate and Lepea's Lepou Petelo II replaced Anapapa.

By virtue of the standing agreement between the villages, Vaimoso expected to field its own candidate without opposition from Lepea. Both Vaimoso and Lepea residents were shocked to learn that Lepou has registered as a candidate for the upcoming elections.

According to news reports over the weekend and in Monday's Observer newspaper, the Lepea village council (their fono ale nu'u) acted swiftly to punish Lepou for his actions. Lepou and his family were told, in no uncertain terms, that they were to be banished from the village. They were to have until 4pm Monday to comply by the order.

Tuesday's Observer provided the next chapter of the story. The Land & Titles Court, responsible for mediating issues of customary land and matai title ownership amongst other things, ruled that there was nothing in Samoan legislation that specifically denied Lepou the right to stand as a candidate. This in itself was not particularly surprising I suppose. However, Lepea's response was to _decide_ to allow the Land & Titles Court ruling to stand strikes me as a fine indicator of the power (if not always absolute) at the village level.

Some colleagues at work have told me that in similar situations in the past, where a family has been banished only for the decision to be overruled, it has not been uncommon for that family's house to be burnt down and for the family to be otherwise ostracised from the community anyway. I doubt strongly that something like this might happen in the case of Lepou; the real test will be which way the members of Lepea vote come election day.

"If it's bad...it must be good!"

So reads the slogan for Bad Billy's, one of the premier bars/clubs in Apia. It's not as upmarket as Paddles but it consistently draws bigger crowds and plays pretty much exactly the same music (mind you, so does every other bar in Apia). It's definitely my favourite place to head to for a night out, as I'm guaranteed to either have company in the form of other volunteers who I go with, or work colleagues and other locals that I inevitably bump into whilst there. They also serve good cold beer.

One of the best things about Billy's is the sign above the entrance that outlines the conditions of entry that patrons must abide by. Most of the rules (see the picture) are ones we're used to seeing in Australia but I can't ever recall a bar or club explicitly denying anyone who is, or aims to be, "too cheeky".

Palusami

The Samoan dish most popular amongst all the volunteers is easily palusami. Along with taro, palusami is a staple dish, always prepared in an umu oven. The good news for us palagis however, is that you certainly don't need an umu oven to prepare your own.

To make palusami all you need are (relatively young) taro leaves and coconut cream. If you wish, you can add some onion and some varieties see small pieces of chicken or fish added too. Preparing your taro leaves is important. The thicker part of the stem running down the leaf needs to be trimmed back, and it's important to break off the tip of each leaf as you construct your palusami. Not doing so will make for a bitter taste (or so every single Samoan I've asked says).

Once you've prepared your taro leaves making the palusami is easy. Lay one big leaf flat in your hand and rip up another into three or four small pieces and place them on top of the leaf. Make a small pocket of the leaf and place some diced onion in and then pour coconut cream in. Fold the leaf over to enclose the pocket and then wrap the leaf with aluminium foil.

Place the palusami in a small baking tray and cook in a conventional oven for about 45-60 minutes at 200° C. Simply unwrap the foil and carefully lift the palusami onto your plate. Yum!

Pictured here is a photo from the night a few of us made our palusami. Along with the palusami we cooked a couple of red snapper caught that morning (simply salted and dusted with flour) and some taro, carrot and breadfruit tempura. Served with some cold Vailima (the local beer) it made for a perfect pseudo-Samoan dinner.

More Manono

Here are two more photos from Manono. The boat pictured here is Leota's, berthed at the end of the concrete ramp that leads directly up to his house. The other photo was taken at one of the other three villages on Manono, where a group of young kids were playing by the water's edge.

Village life

Whilst staying on Manono I had the opportunity to learn a little about the nature of village politics and the role that matai play in the management of family and village affairs. Leota (pictured here) is a matai (chief) of his village and also the head of his aiga (extended family). He was more than happy to explain his responsibilities to both his family and his village and village politics more generally.

Leota was absent from his house for most of Saturday as he was busy attending his village's monthly fono ale nu'u (literally "meeting for the village"). Once a month the villagers meets to discuss (at length) any and all issues until a satisfactory outcome is reached. The nature of the discussion during these meetings is to avoid direct confrontation. Typically everyone will talk around an issue until a consensus or majority view is reached.

After the fono ale nu'u finished, Leota and all the other matai held another meeting to elect a new head matai for the village. The previous chief matai passed away in February and it was time to appoint someone in the position. Leota spoke only a little of the nature of the role but made it clear that the head matai effectively held the power of veto for any issue discussed during a fono ale nu'u. It would seem that this power is rarely used; any head matai who decides against the majority view too many times may well find themselves stripped of their position.

The head matai represents only one aspect of the village’s power structure, a largely intra-village focused one. The pulenu'u is a matai who has been selected to represent the village in all broader affairs, typically regional and national government driven. The best analogy we have in Australia is that of the town mayor. The head matai is normally not elected as the pulenu’u.

The fono ale nu’u exists to provide an arena for everyone to raise their concerns and discuss village business but specific village responsibilities fall upon a number of different committees. In this way the business of managing the village is shared amongst all of its inhabitants. The women’s committee, known as the aualuma, typically discuss beautification projects for the village and fundraising activities. Married and unmarried women over the age of 21 (or younger but out of school) attend these meetings. The aumaga or taulealea is the young men’s committee, where all untitled men over the age of 21 are typically responsible for managing the village’s plantations and other labour intensive tasks (fishing, grass cutting, etc., preparing umu). I’ve already mentioned the matai-only meetings that take place.

The hierarchy within villages would appear quite established. Leota certainly gave the impression that such is the case. However, as most of the village’s business is determined through consultation and communally reached decisions, there seems little opportunity for strongly individualistic behaviour. The pulenu’u or head matai for example, are going to find it difficult to exploit their positions for personal gain.

There would seem little to indicate that this manner of managing village business is going to change much in Samoa for a while. It is really only in Apia that there is a weakening of these structures. The main reason for this would be that many of people here only live in Apia because of work obligations. Even so, many return home to their own villages over the weekend, where their social and community responsibilities still lie.

Manono

The Apolima Strait between the two large islands of Savaii and 'Upolu is home to the small islands of Manono and Apolima. Apolima is quite difficult to reach. Manono however, is much easier to reach and well worth visiting. It is, by choice of its residents, a very traditional island. Dogs are not allowed on the island nor are any vehicles (there aren't any roads anyway). It is the third largest island in Samoa yet only 3 sq km in size, with four villages and a population between 1000-2000.

There are two places open to visitors who wish to stay on Manono, one on the east coast, the other on the west. I just spent two nights staying at the latter, with Leota, his wife Sau and his several children (including young Aneti, pictured here "fishing" with his older brother Mose).

There's not a great deal one can do whilst on Manono except relax. Walking around the perimeter of the island takes somewhere between one and two hours. There are a couple of sites of interest, most notable of which (at least in theory) is the ancient star mound that is found on the top of Mt. Tulimanuiva. Sadly, the reward for making it to the top of the mountain is the sight of a mobile phone tower stretching some 50 metres into the sky. What remains of the 12-pointed star mound itself is obscured by vines and other foliage.

According to Leota, the family that owns the customary land on which the mountain lies made a deal with a telecommunications company to have a mobile phone tower installed. I got the impression that they did this without any broader consultation on Manono, nor indeed within their own village. It was only after the tower itself was installed that the rest of the island was able to bring a stop to things. Yet the tower remains.

The only upside of there being a huge tower on top of Manono is that climbing it affords you a spectacular 360° view. The other picture is the view from the tower back towards the side of the coast near where I stayed (the white specks are a couple of seabirds). Manono is completely surrounded by reefs so the water all around it is a magnificent cyan colour.

Thug Jewellery

One of the petrol stations in town (on the road leading up to the hospital) leases sections of its fencing for advertising. Alongside advertisements for rental phones and dtp and printing services, there's this advert for Thug Jewellery. Samoans _love_ to bling up their cars (UV lights, spinning hub caps, etc.) but it's good to see someone catering to more personal needs. If you need dog tags, you need Thug Jewellery.

"Just let your soul glow"

When little mullets in Samoa grow up, this is what they look like. Beautiful isn't it? This guy wandered into work last week and the temptation to surreptitiously photograph him was too strong to resist.

His name's Mika. He's a Tokelaun man.

We recently celebrated a birthday. Mika, pictured here, was in a particularly festive mood. The mood lasted, in spite of the smell of burning hair that eventually dominated the air around him.

He's currently in Tokelau with the UNDP as an observer of the referendum on independence from New Zealand. Just think, Tokelau can become the world's newest, and smallest, nation. It could also become one of the shortest lived, with predictions of rising sea levels giving nations like Tokelau, Niue and Kiribati something in the order of 50 - 100 years left.

Still, any opportunity for a people to democratically choose (or not, as the case may be) self governance is a good one. So let's celebrate, like Mika, whilst we can.

Update: The results are in. A narrow majority of the 600 or so registered Tokelaun voters have decided that it is better for Tokelau to remain a New Zealand territory.

Sunny days are here again

Finally, after three weeks, the clouds have lifted, the rain has stopped and the sun has shown its face. It's great. Tropical cyclone Vaianu, it would seem, has taken all the bad weather with it to Tonga. (Thanks Tonga, for taking one for the team.) Now I have just one wish:

I want the rain back.

Don't get me wrong. I'm glad our mud pit of a driveway is starting to dry out. I'm glad we're now able to contemplate going swimming and snorkeling again. I'm glad that it's now possible for our washing to dry properly. The problem is, I can't do any washing.

Since Friday our water supply has dried up. First the water turned a deep brown. Then it became a trickle. And now we have none. We've broken out our bottled water supply, but it's amazing how quickly you can go through it if you're not careful. "If it's yellow let it mellow, if it's brown flush it down." is our house mantra. We're becoming very frugal with the use of our pots and pans, cups and plates. We enjoyed a communal dessert out of one of our pots last night so there'd be less to wash up afterwards.

Last night I showered in the rain, and we put our bottles and buckets out to collect as much as possible. Sadly the rain only lasted some ten minutes or so, but it wasn't heavy enough, or long enough, for us to collect much water. At least I stopped smelling unfortunate.

So yes, give me rain. Give me a huge downpour. Let our drive way turn back into a mud pit. Just send me the rain.

But I'm prepared to settle for running water.

"They're more real than real women"

In Tonga they're known as fakaleiti, in French Polynesia they're referred to as rae rae and in Samoa they're called fa'afafine. In Western terms we'd say they're transgendered. Men who live and dress as women.

A whole swath of books, papers, etc., have been written about fa'afafine and their role in traditional and contemporary Samoan society. I suggest you look up Margaret Mead, Derek Freedman or Jeannette Mageo if you really want to learn a lot about them. I'll just focus on the fun stuff.

Late last year Hotel Kitano held the a fa'afafine beauty pageant. Ten contestants, four rounds and Blondie, the best fa'afafine performer in Samoa, holding court between rounds. It was a hoot. The title of the post comes from the evening's MC, who himself was once a fa'afafine (this is kind of weird apparently; not many people elect to stop living as fa'afafine).

There were swimsuits (lots of tape!) and there was "talent", the most notable of which would be the contestant who combined her love of classical music with her love of the "show queen" by dancing around the stage to Ravel waving a conductor's baton madly through the air.

The evening gown round was very special, with sequins in abundance, although there were one or two elegant gowns on display. The weirdest round was the interview round:

"What do you think about AIDS?"
"AIDS?"
(long pause)
"Just dooooooooooo it!!!!"

I've posted two photos from the evening. One is of a few of the contestants in the pageant's evening gown round. The second is a great shot I nabbed during one of Blondie's numbers ("It Must Be Him").

Wetter & wilder in downtown Apia

It's been almost two weeks since the rain started and it shows no sign of stopping any time soon. Whereas last week the road outside work flooded and necessitated some careful navigation to make it to the office, today it's work that has flooded. Thankfully we're on the second floor of the building, so the impact is very minor, but it is a decent measure of how much more water there is this time than last.

The street has turned into a small waterway; it's almost like a Polynesian Venice without any of the good stuff like gondolas. Men and women alike are hiking their skirts up around the tops of their thighs as they make their way down the street. As the occasional car or bus slowly creeps down the street, people scurry to the sides of the street to avoid being swamped by the waves that follow.

Mind you, this doesn't always guarantee safety, as the cars themselves are frequently forced to cling to the sides of the roads. All the rain has led to the appearance of countless potholes all over town. Resealing the roads has had little effect in dealing with the problem.

Looking at the satellite image is a Groundhog Day-esque experience. Sure the clouds change colours a little bit and give the impression that they've moved around a bit, but really at the end of the day it's the same large blob of dense cloud over the small outline of Samoa. I'm starting to forget what the sun looks like. I'm assured by my Samoan colleagues that this amount of bad weather, over such a long period, is very unusual, even for the wet season. A neighbour's water gauge shows 1400mm of rain has fallen since the beginning of the calendar year, with 600mm falling in the last six days alone.

When the sun does finally show its face again there'll be much celebration. I'll be able to sleep on a bed that isn't damp with all the moisture in the air. I'll be able to wear clothes that don't smell mouldy. I'll be able to come and go from my home without having to navigate a bog. Wash myself in water that isn't brown. You know, the little things in life.

The problem with planes today

Today's Samoa Observer reports on Vaimauga West MP, Patu Ativalu, who asked the hard questions in Parliament yesterday. As the Minister responsible for the Airport Authority was speaking about recent developments at the airport, Patu interrupted with a question: can the seats on the planes be made bigger?

"They should make the seats bigger because I'm not the only big person here," he said. "Most Samoans are big people."

Every time Patu travels, he said, he always look out for a row of seats where there is only one person. Why?

"You see, flying should be a comfortable experience otherwise if you get squeezed in between two people, you end up farting on the seat."

The angry ghosts of Savaii

Two weeks ago Samoa celebrated the opening of its newest international harbour port at Salelologa on Savaii. The Prime Minister and members of Cabinet amongst others gathered to watch the MV Southern Cross weigh anchor at the new wharf.

Things didn't quite go to plan.

About 100 metres short of the wharf the ship ground to a halt. According to the Samoa Ports Authority, a small sandbank had caused the ship to run aground. According to candidate for the coming elections, Tuilagi Vavae Simi Jr. Fruean, the real reason was something far more interesting. From today's (2nd Feb) edition of the Samoa Observer:

"The real reason why the ship was stuck was not because of a sandbank...The ghosts of Savaii stopped it," Tuilagi told the Samoa Observer. "I spoke with these ghosts and they told me what they wanted to do," he said.

"One of them wanted to pick up the ship and throw it on the tree tops. The other wanted to snap it in half and throw it back to the ocean. But they decided against it in the end. So they just decided to stop the ship from berthing."

Apparently, the ghosts were angry "because they did not want Government to fool their people again. They knew that what the Government was trying to do was to win votes for the election and they did not want the Savaii people to be fooled." It would seem that the ghosts of Savaii as unhappy about the current Government as Tuilagi.

I asked a couple of colleagues at work about this story, and about Samoans' belief in ghosts and ghost stories in general. Apparently many villages have tapu - rules dictating conduct in places of importance, places generally considered to be overseen by their ancestors' ghosts. To breach the tapu was the incur the anger of the ghosts.

I was told a story of four young women who went swimming in a local pool governed by tapu. They infringed upon the rules in some way; perhaps by not wearing their hair up whilst swimming in the pool or making too much noise and generally showing disrespect. All four women suffered some form of mental breakdown over the following days. Whilst three recovered, one apparently still suffers mental illness.

Whether or not you believe in ghosts and the stories they appear in, the story in today's newspaper highlights two things. First, respect for their ancestors is fundamental to the Samoan people. Second, Tuilagi is a shrewd man, hoping to improve his chances of election in March.

Wet & wild in downtown Apia

Oh yeah, it's definitely wet season. Now into our fifth or sixth day of constant rain, with increasing winds, the Samoa Meteorology Bureau have just issued a Gale Watch advisory. In short, there'll be more rain for a few more days to come at the very least.

Apia harbour has turned ugly, with choppy brown water crashing against the sea wall. Our home now looks like it's situated in the middle of an enormous puddle of mud. Thanks to the lack of drainage on Apia's roads, large areas of town have suffered varying degrees of flooding. Getting to work this morning was a little tricky, as the entire road just outside the office was flooded (see the picture). Thankfully, much of the water has drained away during the day, but there's little doubt we'll see more of the same as the weather isn't going to change any time soon.