Changes To American Samoa

Two Years Have Brought Many Changes To American Samoa

From Edward Johnson in Pago Pago

Since the frenzied construction of buildings about two years ago to house the delegates to the Fifth South Pacific Conference, building work in American Samoa has shown little change of pace, and all the indications are that the next three years will be equally busy.

Meanwhile, the people of Samoa are changing radically in their dress, customs and outlook, and the future seems much brighter for them than it has ever been.

The quickened pace and the chang ing ways are largely due to American Samoa’s dynamic, hard-working Governor H. Rex Lee, who thinks nothing of having half a dozen con ferences on Sundays as well as week days, and who averages four trips to the US and a couple elsewhere every year.

April 17 this year will be a day for Governor Lee to remember, for on that day many important people will come to American Samoa for the opening of two fine new terminal buildings at Tafuna Jet Airfield, and the dedication of the South Pacific’s first television studio.

The VlP’s will include the US Secretary of the Interior, Mr. Stewart Udall, and the Governor of Hawaii, Mr. John Burns.

The new terminal buildings are unique in design, with a sheltered corridor between them.

At the back of the corridor is a Samoan fale where people may wait to greet incoming passengers.

The new buildings house rest rooms, storerooms, a restaurant, and offices for the major airline agencies using Tafuna.

Nearby is a building for plane maintenance.

TV Studio In February workmen were still busy on the TV studio at Utulei, which will house equipment worth nearly $500,000.

Meanwhile backbreaking work continued on the rigging of a cable from Leloaloa to Mount Alava where

another TV building and tower will go up.

Later, a heavier cable will run from Mt. Alava across the Bay (Pago Pago Harbour) to provide an aerial tramway for tourists.

TV education is scheduled to start in September, six months later than was originally expected.

Other projects currently in progress or recently completed are: — • An addition to the telephone exchange building in the Bay area to enable 200 more telephones to be put into use. • The construction of 26 houses for Federal Aviation Agency and Weather Bureau personnel. These houses will bring the number of houses at Tafuna to at least 120. • The enlargement of the main power system. • The sealing of the road through Leone and the jet airport, and the paving of the easterly road from the Catholic Church at Lepua through Fagaitua village. • The completion of the first major village schools at Nua-Seetaga, Aoa, Lauli’i, Vatia and Il'i’ili, each with quarters for a US teaching couple.

All these projects, which have been looked on as urgent, have held up the erection of a new hospital and a new Customs warehouse; and before long a start will be made with the construction of a new hotel at Goat Island.

Slow and Costly Progress on some of the projects has sometimes been slow and costly due to equipment delays, or lack of a vital part for heavy equipment.

Also, the Samoan is not noted for his industry—he will work, but at his

own pace—and there has been a lack of skilled labour.

US employees have therefore been brought in—sometimes on loan from Pearl Harbour Navy Yard.

Another thing that has slowed down some of Governor Lee’s projects is the Samoan outlook on land ownership.

Warnings from Navy days and the land scandals in Hawaii, where vast tracts went over to white men, have made the Samoans cautious, and they think long and hard before letting any land go.

Over half of the 20 projected village schools have been held up because of unavailability of land;

and work has also been delayed occasionally on the widening and sealing of the main road because of reluctance of the reigning chief to give up roadside land for public use.

Changing Rapidly

Except on the question of land, the people of Samoa, particularly the young ones, are changing rapidly.

The change is due to a large extent to the increase in the number of Caucasian employees allowed in government positions.

In 1962 the allowance was about 50. Now it is 130, and as over two-thirds of the newcomers are married and have children, hordes

of American children have arrived including many of high school age.

These children have quickly blend ed with the Samoan youth; and the addition of 40 Stateside teachers, generally in their twenties and early thirties, has helped accelerate the change.

Samoan fathers and mothers may shake their heads at the noticeable difference in Tusi and Tina, but as it does not yet seem to be for the worse, they are accepting it.

Their children now study more, use more English and want Euro pean clothes.

High school graduates do not find it hard to win scholarships with a reasonable amount of serious study, and these are much sought after.

Unfortunately, scholarships or not, many students emigrate to the US after graduation.

Merchants Changing

Meanwhile, American Samoa’s merchants also seem to be changing their ways. B. F. Kneubuhl’s Inc., recently initiated a serve-yourself store with considerable success.

They also have refrigeration space for rent in a large new building near Satala in the Bay area.

They have a new source of busi ness in cars, which they are import ing, To early February, they had sold 60 Datsun automobiles from Japan at from $1,500 to $l,BOO each.

With the advent of many new small stores, competition in business is keener.

One business that has grown from a small shop and is now rivalling the leading merchants is Nia-Marie, a family run store, located handily to the bus area where homeward-bound islanders go nightly for transporta tion to their villages.

A newly erected Coca-Cola plant at Tafuna is dominating the soft drink trade.

Another business, the Walker- Moody (Samoan Construction Com pany) has been most successful in manufacturing and selling cement bricks for housing. It can also build houses at a reasonable figure.

Both Van Camp and Star Kist continue with fish production and have a 100 fishing ships operating for them. Meanwhile, the Copra Processing Plant is installing its plant for operation near the canneries.

All in all, things in American Samoa are looking up, and if the Goverment continues to be headed by Governor Lee, there will probably be more changes for the Samoans and even brighter years ahead.