Drink and Fa'a Samoa

Fa'a Samoa

Centuries-old Samoan custom and modern United States justice confronted each other in the High Court in Pago Pago towards the end of June. It was a kind of legalistic tug-of-war and the prize —a man’s freedom. The man, an Australian navyman, went to gaol.

But there was give and take with honour satisfied on both sides.

Only the man, and a woman, lost in the end and, because of Fa’a Samoa (in the Samoan way), he is due out of gaol in August. He could have been inside for five years.

It all happened this way.

The Royal Australian Navy destroyer Queenborough sailed into Pago harbour on June 21 for a routine goodwill visit during a training cruise. There were official visits, the traditional cocktail party on board for the local VIPs, and shore leave for the ship’s com pany.

Franz Habenschuss, young, thin, tattooed, a career sailor with three years of faultless service and a wife and infant son in Australia, went ashore in the first group.

After a few beers in a local bar, he and four other ratings set off to see more of the island of Tutuila than the bars of the Pago Bay area. Franz drove a rented car towards the western side of the island. They stopped in villages and watched games of cricket. And they drank more beer at village stores. That night the car, with Franz at the wheel, knocked down and killed Mrs.

Fa’afouina Faimalie Moeivanu, who was walking along the road in the village of Futiga.

There were stories that Franz and a shipmate were beaten by villagers. The local police took over and Franz was locked up.

The following afternoon he pleaded guilty in the High Court to a charge of driving while drunk and causing the woman’s death.

The court adjourned.

It was then that Fa’a Samoa took over. Commander Donald Weil, the destroyer captain, and some of his officers went to Futiga along with High Chief Sonoma Unutoa, deputy secretary of the Office for Samoan Affairs. With them they carried $250, collected by Queenborough’s crew for the Moeivanu family, plus a pile of traditional, line mats, one of the basic symbols of Samoan ceremonial.

The money and the mats were presented and Chief Unutoa voiced the apologies of Commander Weil and the ship’s company on Franz’ behalf. Futiga High Chief Ulufale and other village leaders re sponded. Custom, Samoan custom, which has settled disputes for centures, was satisfied. Franz was forgiven. The matter was closed.

It was— Fa’a Samoa. But there was still American legal justice to satisfy. The High Court resumed the following morning and the Samoan judges heard about the ceremony; were satisfied that Fa’a Samoa had been followed and voted for a lengthy sentence which would be immediately sus-

pended, allowing Franz to rejoin the Queenborough.

Then American justice spoke through Associate Justice Goss, who probably feared the setting of a precedent which would ignore the constitution and leave similar cases to be settled in the same way. He overruled the Samoan judges, and imposed a sentence of 200 days subject to parole, which could mean Franz’ release in 64 days.

Public Defender Morrow ap pealed for clemency to Governor John M. Haydon, asking for the commutation of the sentence to one day in gaol. The governor reluctantly declined to upset the court’s sentence because of the seriousness of the charge and the growing number of deaths on Samoa highways.

The Queenborough sailed and Franz went to gaol. But, once again, Fa’a Samoa prevailed. The gaol warden, Chief Fele Fa’asua malie, who was a relative of the dead woman, had heard that during the anxious hours of the hearing, Franz couldn’t eat. Chief Fele took him to a hotel, bought him a meal and tried to persuade him to eat.

Dr. Andrew Eklund, chief surgeon at the Lyndon B. Johnson Tropical Medical Center in Pago, ran the rule over Franz, pro nounced him fit and then rallied the local Australian community who promised to visit Franz regularly with gifts of special food, smokes and books. The gaol authorities, bending over back wards to help, are currently allow ing Franz to leave gaol for visits to local homes.