The Church in Samoa

Excerpts from 'The Naked Journalist'

[Disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are those of Cherelle Savaliolefilemu Jackson, and does not reflect the opinions of her family, friends or colleagues. One Denomination is the subject of these observations, knowledge and experience of the said denomination has lead the writer to conclude the beliefs below, that being said, I do acknowledge that their are righteous and honest Pastors in this Church, but that does not erase what the Church as a whole has done to its people.]

A Pastor drove by in a sweet four door Toyota Hilux, and as he passed byhis wife sitting proudly on the passenger seat, one could almost see sweat dripping off the car. Sweat of the congregation, sweat of the little man, the oldlady and the little children.

Samoa is paradise, for two weeks, and then you see the cracks in the otherwise perfect fibres of a self deceptive society.

Faifeaus in Samoa are not servants of God, they do not take care of their sheep, they do not feed, comfort or save their sheep, rather they lead them into bankruptcy, poverty, fear, and eternal damnation if they do not contribute more than they, their daughters, sons in Samoa, New Zealand and Australia's entire paychecks and more.

God in Samoa punishes those who drink alcohol, wear short skirts, talks loudly infront of the Pastors house. God punishes those who disagree with the Pastor, who say things about his wife, he punishes those who buy their family a decent meal instead of giving it to the alofa of the faifeau, God punishes those who do not come to both services on Sundays, God (faifeau) sees all
and knows all and will make sure the whole congregation is aware of who is not honouring the word of the Lord.

Young Children are taught to be afraid of the Lord and his mighty wrath, the emphasis is never placed on loving, embracing or worshipping the Almighty. Pastors preach the woes of sinning and guilt but do not praise the power of forgiveness and repentance.

A big and expensive Church is sign of peoples faith in God.

A refurbished Church is a sign of renewed faith in God.

A big and expensive house for the faifeau is a sign of peoples (village) support for Gods word.

A run down Church reflects poorly on the village and their faith in God.

A fat faifeau, his wife and his children spell a generous, giving and faithful village, never mind that the rest of the village barely eating each night.

It's ok to build a 6 million tala building for the Church Ministers to meet once a year while the students of this Church still pay their school fees from pre-school until high school. Its ok that millions are funnelled into the Church to educate its Ministers while not a single scholarship or tala is paid towards studies of a student member of the Church.

Fear of the Lord is the begining of Church contributions.

What are your thoughts on this, more to come......

Warnings about increasing Crime in Samoa

By Cherelle S Jackson

Three Countries are warning their visitors to be careful when travelling to Samoa due to the increase in Crime. In their monthly releases the Police make no mention of Crime levels in Samoa although there is an interest in from the media for this information.

The US Embassy warns below
CRIME: Overall, Samoa is considered a low threat environment. Nevertheless, visitors should remain aware of their surroundings, lock their doors at night, and not leave their belongings unattended. Although violent crimes involving foreign visitors are rare, incidents of petty theft/robberies of personal effects are fairly common.
SAFETY AND SECURITY: In Apia and many villages, stray dogs wander the streets. Visitors should not approach or feed them; they can become aggressive in the presence of food or if they feel threatened.
Although there have been no major accidents involving the ferry service linking Upolu and Savai’i, vessels are sometimes overloaded. One of the ferries, a multi-deck automobile ferry, sometimes transports passengers on its automobile deck. Americans who choose to use this ferry are encouraged not to remain in the automobile deck during the crossing and to ride only in the passenger compartment in order to avoid injury from shifting vehicles.
http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1009.html

The Australian Embassy states:
CRIME - Petty crime, particularly theft, is prevalent in Samoa. Burglaries, sometimes accompanied by violence, are becoming an increasing problem. There has also been an increase in drug-related serious crime, including violent assaults and shootings.
http://www.smartraveller.gov.au/zw-cgi/view/Advice/Samoa

And UK residents are warned below:
CRIME Overall crime in Samoa is low, though there are incidents of petty theft and robberies of personal effects.
TRAVEL No roadside assistance is available. Most major roads are tar-sealed, but secondary roads are predominantly dirt and gravel, and may be overgrown. A four-wheel drive vehicle is recommended for travel on these roads. Travelers should be aware that vehicle safety regulations are rarely enforced, and traffic violations occur routinely. Night driving on unlit rural roads can be dangerous and should be avoided if possible. Roads in Samoa often traverse small streams. Drivers are urged to exercise extreme caution when fording these streams, which can become swollen and dangerous with little warning. Vehicles should never enter a stream if the roadbed is not visible or if the water's depth exceeds the vehicle's clearance. Tourist facilities are accessible by bus, taxi, and car and are within walking distance of access roads.
http://www.thehtd.org/travel/destination.asp?DocID=155

I dropped into the heart of Chinatown

Well thats what happened, it was a cheap hotel, nice location and the receptionist sounded nice on the phone. I had a feeling when the girl answered with a thin Asian accent, hhmmm, could it be. Suspicions were confirmed two hours later when the shuttle pulled up infront of the hotel, and the first two people I saw were Asian. The receptionist was Asian, after checking in and having much needed sleep for three hours, I ventured out into the streets and low and behold it was China Town indeed :) Well of course I am being insensitive when I say Chinatown, what I really mean to say is Asia Town. The odd palagi you see on the street is either a spouse, a tourism worker, or shall we say, a partner of a suspiciously mail-order related relationship. Am I being presumptious? Well maybe, but thats just based on what I see. Theres a conclusion that one may draw when seeing a pretty young Asian girl with an older, not so pretty palagi man, unless of course its opposites attracting :) in the physical sense at least.
So where am I, well, in Auckland, about four blocks from the center of the city, you know its like this all over the world, at least from my experience, it taks only a few steps to move from the center of the buzz into something almost calm and serene. Take New York for instance, it wasnt two steps, it was an hour drive and I found myself in the country side, complete with woods, isolation and silence. In Vienna, its literally steps away, just take a few steps away from Karlsplatz and you find yourself infront of a majestic castle, with grounds the size of Manono and Apolima put together, but you are away from the city, no more noise, congestion just pure serenity.
Yesterday I did not see one single Samoan on Queen Street, is it because it was Sunday? Or, as my sister pointed out before, Samoans confine in Manukau City Mall and Dressmart? I discovered this the last time I came, which was good in a way. You see one of the joys of travelling for me, is anonymity, in the sense I dont know anyone, no one knows me, which means I can pretty much go anywhere, do anything and be free. Like yesterday, I woke up and walked out of the hotel, never mind I didnt brush my hair, never mind that I was still pretty much in my PJs, but who cares, everyone is a stranger, no judgement, like I said, freedom. But Auckland is not the best place for this, well because there are Samoans, and lots of them, and one of them would know your brothers, girlfriends sister who went to uni with them or somthing. All tangled up and somehow it makes sense in the end. Well I shall end this account here, I do have some things to do before leaving.

cheers

Laughing before the storm

This is my favourite photo of Jody, Doris and myself, it is natural and non-pretentious.

Life in Savaii goes on

Recently Savaii has been nothing but a tearful, mourning and sad place to be, since the death of my dear grandmother, Faleasiu Liki Tiatia. Never before had I known the true meaning of sorrow until that day.