Outliving

Western Samoa

Outliving the crisis

AFAMASAGA Toleafoa arrived in Auckland to be Western Samoa’s Consul-General at the same time as David Lange’s Labour Government took up residence on the Treasury Ben ches in Wellington in mid 1984. In the five years since, Afamasaga’s been nominal head of Auckland’s Samoan community and frequently acted as spokesman and advocate for Pacific Islanders living in the world’s largest Polynesian city. Up to 90,000 Pacific Islanders now live in the Auckland met ropolis, the largest group being Sa moans. Afamasaga’s outlasted the former Prime Minister and several Immigration Ministers. During those five years, there ’ve been numerous crises: the visa-free fiasco and one of its outcomes, the Otara machete murder; the crackdown on Paci fic Island overstayers; this year’s threat to Samoa’s quota. Afamasaga has waded into all these fights and, in addition, taken on New Zealand’s mass media for

mindlessly regurgitating politicians’ anti

islander tirades. Pacific Island Monthly’s Karen Mangnall spoke to Afamasaga in Auckland: In your five years here, what are some of the major changes you’ve noticed in the relationship between the Samoan community and other New Zealanders?

Certainly the community has got a lit tle bit bigger and it’s got a higher pro file. The main reason is there are now a lot of young people who have grown up here in New Zealand, have been through the New Zealand school system, and who are now beginning to do a lot of very useful things. We find a lot more people in the various professions. We’ve got lawyers, doctors, school teachers and all these things are creating a change. We’ve got a lot more Samoans in influential positions as far as our community goes.

There are a lot more young people in university and it just keeps feeding into those kinds of achievements.

Sports has also been a big part of our community here. If you look at rugby, there are a number of very high-profile young Samoan men doing very well in the country’s national code. That’s obviously very pleasing, not only to New Zealand as a whole but it gives our com munity a great source of pride. The same goes for all the other codes too, for rugby league. We’ve also got people like Rita Fatialofa (double New Zealand rep in netball and softball). You will find some other quite prominent names there.

Do you think most New Zealanders share

your view of Samoan achievements?

I believe New Zealanders do have that view of the Samoan community. I’ve just been in Dunedin and we were talking about how Dunedin was getting warmer and somebody said well, we might see a few more Islanders down here. I said yes, it’s probably going to do your rugby a great deal of good. It was a joke but they did see a certain element of truth. I mix quite widely through my job and also through my children and their ten nis and there are areas where you don’t see a Pacific Islander at all. People there have a very positive view of Pacific Islan ders or Samoans irrespective of the less positive things that have been written and said in the news media.

Do you think New Zealanders know very much about Samoans themselves?

I’m always amazed at how little people know. I think they’ve got an idea of cer tain things: we do go to church, by and

large we’re hard working because they

see us out in factories, we’re keen on educating our children. But as to fully understanding what actually goes on, I believe they don’t, I think many people would like to know but it’s not always easy. The easiest way is to know some one, make friends and then be invited to their home and social or family things. I believe there isn’t enough of that. Some times I feel like telling my New Zealand friends that they, being the hosts, should make the first move. After all they’re more comfortable here and the Pacific Islanders probably feel a bit reserved

and shy.

With the Samoan community making in creasing strides and becoming more visible, is this going to bring increased racial fric tion? 1 don’t believe so. In a city like Auck land where most of the mixing takes place, it’s a big city and I get the im pression that people are more concerned with getting on with their lives rather than with race. As Auckland becomes more cosmopolitan, a more multiracial and multi-ethnic society, people will forget about the race of the other person more and more and they’ll get on with being an Aucklander. If anything the race tensions along those lines will de crease in future.

The big racial issue which will domin ate is how to resolve differences over the Treaty of Waitangi between the tangata whenua (the Maori) and the rest of New Zealand. This has caused some friction and will probably continue to do so rather than race issues per se.

In tough economic times, immigrant com munities are often used as scapegoats. Do you think the Samoan community will suf fer such attention in future?

New Zealand has been through an economic crunch, incredible economic change. We’ve seen people lose their jobs

by the thousands, our own community has been hard hit. Fortunately, we’ve managed because people have turned to the inbuilt support system within the community. There has been a practice of using the new Pacific Island migrants as scapegoats but I believe the worst of that is behind us.

Do you see dangers to Western Samoa with the trend in New Zealand’s immigration policy away from access for Pacific Islan ders in favour of Europeans?

Well, one has to look at whafs hap pening at the moment and wonder just where New Zealand’s immigration poli cies will move in the future. The Minis ter of Immigration is talking about

bringing skilled people from Europe.

That’s all well and good if that’s what the economy needs. One would hope that this will not correspond to a reduc tion in access for people from the Paci fic, and certainly from Western Samoa.

The Western Samoan government has made it clear its immigration quota is an integral part of our relationship with New Zealand and any changes to the quota would mean substantial changes to that relationship. And I’m sure that’s the view of Samoans here to.

New Zealand must also bear in mind its position as a major Polynesian nation and that many Pacific nations look upon New Zealand as a main partner in the

region.

We’ve talked about the achievements of the Samoan community here but what things worry you when you look at the Samoan community’s development here?

There are aspects which do worry us and there are aspects of our community here we’d like to see changed. The over stayers issue is a big irritant in relations between Samoa and New Zealand and it doesn’t do our community here any good at all with that kind of image. So whatever actions are taken to control this problem will be fully supported by the Samoan community and government.

The economic situation is a worry. A lot of Samoan parents are succeeding in pushing their children through the school system here but we also know there are many who are falling by the wayside. They would be a worry because they will be the problem of the future. If

they’re poorly educated, if they lose

touch with their Samoan roots they’re likely to be very difficult to deal with.

We don’t know exactly how many young people are in that category, but my feel ing is it’s not a big number. There’s enough strength in the Samoan com munity to deal with these problems.

I’m concerned that South Auckland doesn’t become a ghetto. Otara has the potential to turn into some kind of Polynesian or Pacific Island ghetto. I’m sure it’s not too late for a lot of change there. □