Manu'a's Off-Island Connection

Letter To Editor

June 22, 2009

Letter written by Carlos Sanchez

Minimum Wage Barrier

An open letter to Congressman Faleomavaega and the people of American Samoa:

Before the announcement by COS of their departure from the territory, I sent numerous letters to the editor about the impact of the minimum wage increases including the possible closure of the canneries. Furthermore, about a year and a half ago, in a meeting of the Chamber of Commerce, I made comments in detail of how the canneries left California when the minimum wages reached $5.25 and how the same happened in Puerto Rico when their wages also reached $5.25. Now with the new world economy, the wage proximity to the $5.00 level did it here for American Samoa. During the last two months or so, a group of people have been working aggressively to try and attract investors that are and have been in this industry to come and fill the void after COSI leaves. What do we find? The minimum wages barrier. Everyone is concerned that with the actual minimum wages along with the escalating clause attached to the labor laws and other factors such as the electricity rates (this factor can be solved locally), it is impossible to compete with the new generation of canneries located in Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam and other low-labor cost countries. The major stonewall that we find is the continuous insistence of Congressman Eni that the minimum wages is not the major factor of COS leaving; and he is the only one in the whole world that is knowledgeable of this industry that keeps assuring everyone that the minimum wages is the least factor which caused the departure of COS from American Samoa. I have been talking to people from Europe, Latin America and Asia about establishing themselves here in American Samoa, and it is a laughing matter in this industry every time Faleomavaega says that the increase of minimum wages is not the key factor for the departure of COS from American Samoa. Why aren t there any fish cleaning/ canning facilities in New York which is better living than in Vietnam or in Indonesia? Because, the minimum wage is high there. Why don t they have tuna cleaning fish facilities in Los Angeles or Las Vegas where there is a large labor pool available? Because the minimum wages are high. Why did these canneries come here in the first place? For many factors - the low wages was one of them. Why are they cleaning fish in Latin America, Majuro, Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, etc..? Is it for the high wages? Definitely NOT! It is unbelievable that Eni is still spinning in that subject.

As humans, we all make mistakes, and the Congressman made a big mistake when he said that corporate greed was the problem not the minimum wage. Well Congressman, now you know it and I know that you know the truth. You made a mistake, recognize it, and fix it instead of going around and blaming others for what is happening and making a fool of yourself assuring people what everybody knows is not the truth.

I am begging the canneries to recognize publicly what is already known in the industry about the impact of the minimum wage and its role on their decision to leave American Samoa. To the canneries, you have been here for decades, you have helped and sustained American Samoa s economy, and allowed all of us to have a good standard of living. We thank you! You have been part of this unique community, but at the same time, this has been a good business for you. Together, we can still solve this wage problem. It will be a disservice to condemn more than 70,000 people to suffer the consequences of a bad decision made by U.S. Congress without their knowledge of America Samoa s unique situation and non-guidance by American Samoa s Congressman that talks about corporate greed instead of emphasizing the contributions of the canneries to American Samoa, and what your departure will do to the economy of American Samoa. The Congressman s greed of power penalized us. Please Starkist and Chicken of the Sea-Samoa Packing, help us by spelling out the truth.

Congressman, you did it, you fix it. This is the last opportunity you have, not to go into your retirement with the legacy of pushing the canneries out of American Samoa. Your hard-nose approach on defending a mistake you made, is impeding the efforts to convince the U.S. Congress to change or backof on a mistake that they made. We are asking you to come and join our team of pre-occupied business people to solve this problem and go to the Congress and back-up petitions of not only stopping the minimum wage increases but doing something to give the canneries special classification to stay here. People in American Samoa are waking up and more and more I hear I don t believe in this Congressman anymore and they still have not felt the full impact of the departure of the canneries. If this happens, you won t hear complaints, you will hear screams asking you why did you do it? . You did it you fix it. We will help you. One of the canneries is still here, lets keep it and allow enough room for other people to come and take over the other cannery. Are you planning to live here after your tenure in Washington or are you planning to stay in the mainland US? If the plants leave, I hope that you will come here and suffer with us. If you are really serious about cooperation, PLEASE call the Governor and our local leaders. The Governor has made great efforts and has a project with good possibilities, but it is much easier to achieve with your help in Congress. Talk is cheap now it is time to act.

A comment about your Solo-Genesis comparison

Click here to read what the writer refers to.

Interesting and quite an impressive comparison on the Genesis biblical narrative and Solo o le Va. I, myself, am quite impressed on the similarity of the Genesis story and the Solo o le Va. They seem to have be written or comprised by someone (or a group) who knew both accounts – Genesis and the Samoan myth. Please allow me to share my comments with your posting.

There are parallels and symbolisms involved in the hermeneutics of ancient stories or myths. The major question to ask yourself when dealing with these ancient stories/myths, how were they preserved throughout the course of history? These stories were transmitted verbally from generation to generation (nothing was written until later on) – and in the process of transmission, the story spontaneously changes in regards to "methods of discourse" and “wordings of metaphor.” Nevertheless, the essence and meaning of the story remains intact. In other words, the foundational elements of "meaning" has not change but the medium in which meaning is covey has changed from time to time - depending on whose transmitting and passing the story.

Personal encounter with the "meaning" of these ancient stories comes through one's experience with the symbols and language of faith intrinsically embedded within the stories/myths. C.S. Song, a great Third-World theologian (Professor at Graduate Theological Union, Berkley, CA), says this: "symbolism is the language of faith," meaning that stories portrays symbols or things that moves one's heart to see the truth beyond its horizon of ordinary experience and understanding. The words and symbols employed in these stories discloses what the author(s) have in mind for their primitive communities. I believe they were not so concern about the future rather their immediate contexts. Nevertheless, the message and truth presented in these stories continues to influence future generations and perhaps our time and space. This is where we are having problems today-the appropriate hermeneutics (fair interpretation) of the message.

Here is a simple typology of the Samoan worldview that has shaped Samoan (if not human life) existence over the years. Everything earthly has its heavenly counterpart, and everything heavenly has its earthly counterpart. Every event is thus a combination of both dimensions of reality. If war begins on earth, then there must be, at the same time, war in heaven between the angels of the nations in the heavenly council. What Tagaloa (the Samoan god) initiated in heaven are mirrored on the islands that he created—the Samoan islands. This is a symbolic way of saying that every material reality has a spiritual dimension, and every spiritual reality has a physical consequences.

We've learned from the Samoan stories of the god Tagaloa who intervenes with human affairs on earth (islands); learned that Tagaloa visited human in the world and converse with them. For example, the myth about Tagaloa (divine) who drinks ava with Pava (a mere man). Pava's son was troublesome and disturbed the ava – Tagaloa was disappointed and knocked him dead. Tagaloa felt compassion over his friend's son and pour a libation over his dead body, fortunately, he came back to life. This myth represents a Samoan worldview of human life in the past—especially, the relationship between the deities and humans. These worldviews controls the philosophy of life and daily affairs of the Samoans in the past.

Keep in mind that understanding worldviews is key to breaking free from the ways the powers control people's minds. The Germans had the word Weltanschauung ("view of the world"), but that referred more to one’s personal philosophy of life. A worldview, by contrast, dictates the way whole societies see the world. It provides a picture of the nature of things: where is heaven, where is earth, what is visible and invisible, what is real and unreal. Worldviews are the bare-bones structures with which we think. They are the foundation of the house of our minds on which were erect symbols, myths, and systems of thought. Through the lens of our worldview we make sense of our experiences.

Going back to what I've said earlier: how were these stories preserved? Grammatically, nothing was written like what we have today; every words or events were recorded and preserved psychologically in the minds (psyche) of those who have inquired and acquired them. Samoans did not know how to write their stories in the past until later on in history. Yet every events and occasions of the past were kept intact in the power of "memory" - in the form of solo (recitation). Now, your comparison of the Genesis account with the Solo o le Va is quite possible. But the question remains, were the Samoans influence from the biblical account of Genesis? When was this Solo o le Va existed? And where was it originated? No one possess the true answer to this question. Until we find out when was it comprised, we will never know precisely whether the author (or authors) was influenced from the Genesis's account.

One thing to remember, Christianity did not become part of the Samoan faith until 1830 (Sapapalii, Savaii, John Williams and Barth). There are other traditions which claimed that Christianity existed on other parts of the Samoan islands before 1830—for example, the Manuan claimed that they received the gospel before the missionaries, Williams and Barth, set foot on the Samoan soil. But this tradition has no record on file in the London Missionary Society (LMS) archives; that makes even more problematic. Well, enough of that.

This is my presupposition of the comparison between the Genesis account and Solo o le Va. Samoa long ago preserves their stories and significant events of history in their minds—and relying on their memory to recite events of history when needed. To do this, they generate symbols and language to represent the true essence of their stories. These symbols and languages (in the form of art: poetry, music, or visual)—culturally and religiously constructed—opens up the levels of reality which otherwise are hidden and cannot be grasped in any other way. Now, think about how the Samoans create their stories—in the form of solo (poetry); how they create their entertainments—in the form of music; and how they create rituals and practices of faith—in the form of visual illustrations. To sum up my presupposition, the Solo o le Va is in the form of poetry which is an original style of Samoan recording. It is the only way the Samoan used to help them record and preserve important events and practices of their past to convey their faith to our time and space. Before the missionaries arrived in Samoa, the stories of the Solo o le Va was already part of the Samoan collections. The biblical account of Genesis was inserted into poetry to make it look more authentic and to provide a Christian perspective in fine-tuning of a proper message fitting for better life in Samoa and eternal.

Moreli Niuatoa