[LINK] "Tales of Two Samoas"

[rfmcdonald]

Andre Vittchek's "Tale of Two Samoas", hosted at Foreign Policy in Focus, paints a very unflattering picture of life in the Samoan archipelago. Homeland of the Polynesian Samoans, Samoa divided between an independent Samoa (formerly Western Samoa) with close New Zealand links and the dependent American territory of American Samoa. Like other Polynesian states, both Samoas have very heavy emigration in the second half of the 20th century, with Samoans heading in very large numbers to New Zealand and to American Samoa, Samoans leaving American Samoa in turn for the United States, and Samoan communities growing up elsewhere throughout the Pacific Rim. This ermigration is driven partly by economic factors--both Samoas are quite poor. In Vittchek's reading, motives for emigration extend well beyond the economic.

Samoans leave for more than just economic reasons. Samoa is a feudal and extremely oppressive society, a combination of imported democratic principles and the tribal rule of the so-called matai (chiefs). Ordinary citizens are controlled by the chiefs, the family, and religious institutions including the Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses. The suicide rate is very high in both Samoas as is the rate of sexual abuse, domestic violence, and violent crime in general.

Boredom is another factor behind emigration. The entire country of Samoa boasts only one bookstore, which is really a bible shop rather than a bookseller. There is only one cinema. Samoa may be a paradise for a few, mainly retired, foreigners who call it home. But despite the bombardment from the government of nationalist and often xenophobic slogans, Samoa is hardly a paradise for the great majority of its citizens. Fa’a Samoa--the Samoan Way--justifies all manner of ills and inequities.

[. . .]

In the 21st century, American Samoa is a very sad place. Two tuna canneries harbor Asian ships and hundreds of illegal workers. Local youth hang out aimlessly around a capital city that increasingly resembles a U.S. ghetto. There are abandoned and burned-down buildings. Graffiti is ubiquitous. Everything is in a state of general disrepair. City residents are moving out to the suburbs. The only hotel in town recently shut down one of its wings.

American Samoa is also awash in yellow ribbons, as well as bumper stickers that read "Support Our Troops in Iraq." On one of the most picturesque parts of the island, an enormous banner proclaims: "May Peace Be With Our Samoan Soldiers in Iraq. God Bless You All." U.S. flags are everywhere.

American Samoans are dying in disproportionate numbers in Iraq and Afghanistan. It is difficult to compile exact figures, but at least 15 American Samoans have died in Iraq. The death toll is tremendous, considering that the territory is the size of a small American city. Many American Samoan soldiers have come back with devastating war injuries. Post-traumatic stress disorder also plagues the returnees. Behind its barbed wire, the United States Reserve Te’o Soldiers Support Center offers a telephone number for the suicide hotline. It is posted near the entrance door, together with other emergency numbers.

[. . .]

An old lady on remote Aunu’u Island told me: "Many people want to serve in the U.S. navy or army. They want to make money but they also want to join the army to escape boredom--to experience adventure that they are being promised. Many people are very poor, working for three dollars an hour. We have over 400 inhabitants here on the island, but every week someone leaves for the United States. To some it doesn’t matter what they are going to do on the mainland: whether they wash dishes or go to the military barracks."