Ewww worst piece of baldhead palagi kaka I’ve read in a while. , obviously he didn’t eat enough taro and palusami, or drink enough Valima whilst in Samoa and this clown gives security advice and wants to polices us natives in the pacific. 45% of Samoans live in poverty.
Go figure.Found this article in a nominally right wing pakeha view of the Pacific, blog.
Samoa a vulnerable Paradise.
Eric is a member of AIPIO (Australian Institute of Professional Intelligence Officers) and is currently studying for his Post Graduate Diploma in Policing, Intelligence and Counter Terrorism. Eric can be contacted at intellisec(@)hushmail dot com.
http://pacificempire.org.nz/?p=247
http://www.aipio.asn.au/about.html
Introduction
Samoa, like most other countries in the South Pacific region, will not face security issues posed by the militaries of neighbouring countries. Instead, the threats Samoa will face will come from various other aspects of security such as local and organized crime, especially in the areas of off shore banking and possible money laundering and drugs, illegal economies such as counterfeit goods and corruption within government among others.
In terms of drug trafficking there have been a number of drug seizures. Several were made on the ferry that runs between Samoa and American Samoa. There have also been recent arrests made in relation to methamphetamine (Samoa Observer, 2005).
There has also been an increase in the number of people using marijuana. I have witnessed the dealing in marijuana being conducted quite openly at the markets and was approached by a dealer on my first day living in Samoa.
Samoa is also very vulnerable to natural disasters and climate change. Samoa has endured two devastating cyclones in 1990 and 1991 respectively. These caused widespread devastation and a total of 32 people were killed, 16 in each cyclone.
This paper however will focus on Samoa’s economic vulnerability and Samoa’s vulnerability to pandemics such as Bird Flu, both of which are equally devastating to a small developing nation such as Samoa.
Having lived and worked in Samoa these subjects as well as the country are close to my heart and I have witnessed some of these vulnerabilities first hand.
Overview
At the outbreak of World War I, Samoa was a German protectorate occupied by New Zealand. New Zealand continued to administer Samoa as a mandate until 1962 when Samoa became the first Polynesian nation to re-establish its independence in the 21st Century.
Samoa was known formerly known as Western Samoa but dropped Western from its name in 1997.
Samoa is part of Oceania and is located in the South Pacific Ocean about half way between New Zealand and Hawaii. Samoa lies at the heart of Polynesia.
Ethnically Samoa comprises 92.6% Samoan, 7% Euronesians (people of Polynesian and European decent) and Europeans 0.4% (CIA World Fact Book, 2005). These figures however do not seem to take into account the number of Asians, particularly Japanese and Chinese that call Samoa home. This link with Japan and China will be important later on in this paper and so I wanted to highlight this fact.
Samoa has no military force of its own; it has arrangements with New Zealand under the 1962 Treaty of Friendship, which would require New Zealand to consider any military assistance requested by Samoa.
Samoa comprises two major islands and several smaller ones. Apia the capital is located on Upolu, while Savai’i is the third biggest island in Polynesia and also the more traditional of the two main islands.
A tribal system is still in place and the family unit or Aiga is represented by a Matai or chief who sit on a village fono (council) to enforce rules within the villages.
Samoa is headed by a Prime Minister, currently Tuila’epa Sailele Malielegaoi.
Economic Perspective
Samoa has a market based economy and is heavily reliant on development aid, family remittances from relatives living overseas, agriculture and fishing.
Agriculture accounts for about two thirds of the work force, it accounts for 90% of exports, such as coconut cream, coconut oil and copra. Samoa’s main natural resources are hardwood forests, fish (especially tuna) and hydropower (CIA World Fact Book, 2005).
There is a small manufacturing sector which mainly focuses around the agricultural industry. The largest manufacturing business produces electrical harnesses for the automotive industry in Australia. This plant employs approximately 3,000 people, a significant amount given the population of Samoa which at last census was about 199,000 people (Samoa - Country Reports on Human Rights Practices; US Department of State, 2003).
There is also a large number of Samoan’s living overseas, Australia, New Zealand, Hawaii and California would account for the most significant populations.
In terms of economic vulnerability one only needs to look at Samoa’s major industries, for example fishing and logging of hardwood. Neither of these are sustainable on a large scale over the long term.
Over fishing is a great concern and there has been a decline in fish stocks, especially tuna. In terms of the scale of the tuna industry in Samoa, it is not as large as the industry in American Samoa, which has several major canneries located in and around it’s capital - Pago Pago.
The majority of fishing is rather for subsistence, with catches being sold on the local market, although some are sold on the overseas market, such as Japan. A 10 kilo Yellow Fin Tuna sells at the local market for about $30.00WS (approximately $15.00 Australian).
Over fishing in Samoan waters and surrounding areas is a great concern, this would devastate the industry and the livelihood of many thousands of people, not just in Samoa and American Samoa but other island countries, such as Tonga which also has a great many people working in the tuna industry in Pago Pago.
The local fishermen are already experiencing a decline in tuna numbers, some days there are no tuna at the local markets.
This industry is also prone to environmental factors such as cyclones with even bad storms affecting the fishing industry. If there is a bad storm or cyclone the fishing boats may not be able to go out for days on end. This has a flow on effect across not just Samoa’s economy but other countries that are linked to the tuna industry in Samoa.
As with the fishing industry, logging of Samoa’s hardwood is not sustainable over the long term. The native Ifilele trees are already becoming rare when once they were abundant. While working as a Resort Manager in Savai’i we commissioned an artist to carve a sculpture for the restaurant. We invited him to the resort as we wanted the work to reflect our resorts setting. We had a number of Ifilele tree’s on the resort property. As it turned out the artist had never seen an Ifilele tree in his life. I was both surprised and sad as the Ifilele tree features heavily in Samoan culture.
If we look at bigger countries that have logging industries and the issues with sustainability they have it does not bode well for a small country like Samoa.
The tourism industry is a burgeoning sector within Samoa. With airlines now offering direct flights and money being spent on advertising there will be an increase in the numbers of tourists traveling to Samoa.
However there are several factors which could have a negative impact on the tourism sector.
Firstly, skilled labour to both manage and staff resorts for example, is very hard to come by locally. A lot of Samoa’s skilled labour leaves Samoa to work over seas such as in New Zealand and Australia as they are able to earn a higher wage. This means foreign skilled workers must be imported to fill these positions. It also means most of these foreign workers will be seeking higher salaries than that of local workers. Again, this situation is not sustainable.
The minimum hourly rate in Samoa is $1.70WS ($0.85 Australian). This low hourly rate of pay leads to other problems such as petty crimes. The theft of food and other small items is fairly prevalent, this is something I have witnessed first hand while running the resort and talking with other local business owners.
Secondly, factors outside of Samoa can impact the tourism industry in a negative fashion.
The age of terrorism and high oil prices affects the numbers that may travel overseas due to the high cost of air travel, which in turn will affect Samoa’s economy.
These are factors which could also increase the cost of living in countries where Samoan’s live and as a result this would affect the amount of money they would normally send home for relatives. As mentioned before, remittances from family members living overseas is a major part of Samoa’s economy.
In any country where there is a low income issue various types of crimes appear. These range from petty theft as mentioned previously, through to high level corruption.
There have been multi-million dollar passport scams uncovered in Samoa (Security in Oceania in the 21st Century, 2005, Asia Pacific Centre for Security Studies). The investigations went nowhere as it is seen as disrespectful to persons of high rank, for example Matai and government officials, to be accused of criminal acts.
Again, countries, especially developing nations are open to corruption and manipulation not just from within but from other countries and their governments.
Japan for example donated all the ferries that are currently used throughout Samoa. It is not known what Samoa gave to Japan, if anything, but fishing rights would top that list in my eyes. For example, in 2005 Japan awarded millions of Yen in “grant aid” to several countries, including Samoa, in an attempt to buy votes at the International Whaling Commission (McNeil, 2006). So, it would not be the first time something like this occurred.
This could have a very significant impact on fish stocks in Samoa’s territorial waters. That is having large industrialized nation fishing on a large scale in its territorial waters.
After the Tiananmen Square Massacre in Beijing, the Samoan Prime Minister was the first politician to visit China. In return, China built the new Samoa Government Building.
China is now one of the top three donors of aid to the region; it offers aid with no strings attached, or so it seems, unlike Australia and others which ask for good governance of the country. This is seen as China planting the seeds to exert greater influence in the region (Windybank, 2005).
One could argue that this is a war of influence rather than an armed conflict with the prize being greater influence when it come to natural resources.
This type of activity leads to countries or governments at least of developing nations, such as Samoa, being placed in a compromised position, both politically and economically.
Economic Perspective
Samoa has a market based economy and is heavily reliant on development aid, family remittances from relatives living overseas, agriculture and fishing.
Agriculture accounts for about two thirds of the work force, it accounts for 90% of exports, such as coconut cream, coconut oil and copra. Samoa’s main natural resources are hardwood forests, fish (especially tuna) and hydropower (CIA World Fact Book, 2005).
There is a small manufacturing sector which mainly focuses around the agricultural industry. The largest manufacturing business produces electrical harnesses for the automotive industry in Australia. This plant employs approximately 3,000 people, a significant amount given the population of Samoa which at last census was about 199,000 people (Samoa - Country Reports on Human Rights Practices; US Department of State, 2003).
There is also a large number of Samoan’s living overseas, Australia, New Zealand, Hawaii and California would account for the most significant populations.
In terms of economic vulnerability one only needs to look at Samo
a’s major industries, for example fishing and logging of hardwood. Neither of these are sustainable on a large scale over the long term.
Over fishing is a great concern and there has been a decline in fish stocks, especially tuna. In terms of the scale of the tuna industry in Samoa, it is not as large as the industry in American Samoa, which has several major canneries located in and around it’s capital - Pago Pago.
The majority of fishing is rather for subsistence, with catches being sold on the local market, although some are sold on the overseas market, such as Japan. A 10 kilo Yellow Fin Tuna sells at the local market for about $30.00WS (approximately $15.00 Australian).
Over fishing in Samoan waters and surrounding areas is a great concern, this would devastate the industry and the livelihood of many thousands of people, not just in Samoa and American Samoa but other island countries, such as Tonga which also has a great many people working in the tuna industry in Pago Pago.
The local fishermen are already experiencing a decline in tuna numbers, some days there are no tuna at the local markets.
This industry is also prone to environmental factors such as cyclones with even bad storms affecting the fishing industry. If there is a bad storm or cyclone the fishing boats may not be able to go out for days on end. This has a flow on effect across not just Samoa’s economy but other countries that are linked to the tuna industry in Samoa.
As with the fishing industry, logging of Samoa’s hardwood is not sustainable over the long term. The native Ifilele trees are already becoming rare when once they were abundant. While working as a Resort Manager in Savai’i we commissioned an artist to carve a sculpture for the restaurant. We invited him to the resort as we wanted the work to reflect our resorts setting. We had a number of Ifilele tree’s on the resort property. As it turned out the artist had never seen an Ifilele tree in his life. I was both surprised and sad as the Ifilele tree features heavily in Samoan culture.
If we look at bigger countries that have logging industries and the issues with sustainability they have it does not bode well for a small country like Samoa.
The tourism industry is a burgeoning sector within Samoa. With airlines now offering direct flights and money being spent on advertising there will be an increase in the numbers of tourists traveling to Samoa.
However there are several factors which could have a negative impact on the tourism sector.
Firstly, skilled labour to both manage and staff resorts for example, is very hard to come by locally. A lot of Samoa’s skilled labour leaves Samoa to work over seas such as in New Zealand and Australia as they are able to earn a higher wage. This means foreign skilled workers must be imported to fill these positions. It also means most of these foreign workers will be seeking higher salaries than that of local workers. Again, this situation is not sustainable.
The minimum hourly rate in Samoa is $1.70WS ($0.85 Australian). This low hourly rate of pay leads to other problems such as petty crimes. The theft of food and other small items is fairly prevalent, this is something I have witnessed first hand while running the resort and talking with other local business owners.
Secondly, factors outside of Samoa can impact the tourism industry in a negative fashion.
The age of terrorism and high oil prices affects the numbers that may travel overseas due to the high cost of air travel, which in turn will affect Samoa’s economy.
These are factors which could also increase the cost of living in countries where Samoan’s live and as a result this would affect the amount of money they would normally send home for relatives. As mentioned before, remittances from family members living overseas is a major part of Samoa’s economy.
In any country where there is a low income issue various types of crimes appear. These range from petty theft as mentioned previously, through to high level corruption.
There have been multi-million dollar passport scams uncovered in Samoa (Security in Oceania in the 21st Century, 2005, Asia Pacific Centre for Security Studies). The investigations went nowhere as it is seen as disrespectful to persons of high rank, for example Matai and government officials, to be accused of criminal acts.
Again, countries, especially developing nations are open to corruption and manipulation not just from within but from other countries and their governments.
Japan for example donated all the ferries that are currently used throughout Samoa. It is not known what Samoa gave to Japan, if anything, but fishing rights would top that list in my eyes. For example, in 2005 Japan awarded millions of Yen in “grant aid” to several countries, including Samoa, in an attempt to buy votes at the International Whaling Commission (McNeil, 2006). So, it would not be the first time something like this occurred.
This could have a very significant impact on fish stocks in Samoa’s territorial waters. That is having large industrialized nation fishing on a large scale in its territorial waters.
After the Tiananmen Square Massacre in Beijing, the Samoan Prime Minister was the first politician to visit China. In return, China built the new Samoa Government Building.
China is now one of the top three donors of aid to the region; it offers aid with no strings attached, or so it seems, unlike Australia and others which ask for good governance of the country. This is seen as China planting the seeds to exert greater influence in the region (Windybank, 2005).
One could argue that this is a war of influence rather than an armed conflict with the prize being greater influence when it come to natural resources.
This type of activity leads to countries or governments at least of developing nations, such as Samoa, being placed in a compromised position, both politically and economically.
Pandemic Vulnerability
In 1918 and 1919 the Spanish Flu had devastating affects on populations around the world. The global mortality rate is not known but it is estimated at around 2.5% to 5% of the world’s population, with 20% of the world’s population suffering from the Spanish Flu to some extent (Wikipedia, 2006).
Samoa’s population was particularly badly hit by the Spanish Flu with 22% of its population killed. Samoa’s population in 1918 and 1919 would have been significantly lower, so this loss of life would be magnified to a much greater extent if such a pandemic were to happen today. Even with a population of 199,000, 22% of the total population is a massive number.
All this leads to questions being raised about the world’s ability to cope with a pandemic of Bird Flu. Countries that have a modern medical system and the latest in both medical equipment and pharmaceutical manufacturing are in a much better position to cope with such a pandemic.
Countries such as Samoa, who are listed among the Least Developed Countries by the United Nations, would struggle to cope.
Firstly Samoa would struggle to cope with the numbers of sick and dying and secondly it would struggle to recover.
Samoa has one national hospital located at Vailima, just outside of the capital of Apia on the main island of Upolu. This hospital is the most up to date and best equipped in the country. There are regional hospitals throughout the main island of Upolu as well as Savai’i. There is also a major hospital at Tuasivi on Savai’i and although it is the most modern on Savai’i, it is not at the level of the National Hospital at Vailima.
There is also a private hospital, the Medcen, also located at Vailima which is well equipped and modern. But with this hospital costing around $300.00WS as day, it is out of reach for most Samoan’s.
Recently Samoa experienced a major health crisis, with Doctors going on strike over pay conditions. Doctors in Samoa receive about $30,000.00WS (approximately $15,000.00AU) after completing six years university. Subsequently a lot of Samoa’s Doctors and Nurses move overseas to work. This relates back to earlier points about a shortage of skilled labour within the country. And it is noticeable in the hospitals as a lot of the doctors are from other countries, and in a lot of cases are employed in Samoa through the World Health Organisation (WHO).
The doctors’ strike lasted for approximately 5 months when Samoa’s Prime Minister gave the doctors an ultimatum; return to work or be sacked. The doctors then proceeded to resign rather than return to work.
This lead to a major crisis, with hospitals around the country having no doctors. The national hospital at Vailima had two doctors working, and the Medcen private hospital was staffed. But regional hospitals were left with no doctors at all.
During this period any one who was severely ill was being flown out of the country to New Zealand. But of course this situation does not help those that need immediate medical attention, where a flight could jeopardise their life.
In terms of medications such as vaccinations for the Bird Flu, Samoa would be reliant on either New Zealand or Australia to lend assistance and supply them with the required medications.
Samoa already relies heavily on donated medications and through various funds set up to help developing nations. It is not uncommon in Samoa to find prescribed medications past the expiry date and still being sold and used.
As I touched on earlier, Samoa has a population of both Japanese and Chinese that live and or work in Samoa. This connection could potentially expose Samoa to the threat of Bird Flu spreading to Samoa. Both Japan and China have experienced cases of Bird Flu. Since 2003 China has recorded 21 cases of Bird Flu, with 14 total deaths. This is a very high mortality rate for people who contract the disease (Cumulative Number of Confirmed Human Cases of Avian Influenza, 2006, WHO).
Another aspect that poses a threat to Samoa with regards to the spread of Bird Flu is the fact the Apia harbour is one of the major shipping ports in the South Pacific. Many products in Samoa originate in places such as China and come into the country aboard ships to Apia.
An interesting point to raise here is that if we are comparing the spread of Spanish Flu to that of Bird Flu, one of the theories that has been presented is that the Spanish Flu began to spread through port cities. Apia is a perfect example of a port city. It is thought that in 1918 the Spanish Flu virus mutated and spread to three port cities, Freetown, Sierra Leone; Brest, France and Boston, Massachusetts (Lessons from the 1918 Spanish Flu – Part I, 2006, Duncan).
It is not too far a leap of the imagination to assume that Bird Flu may spread in a similar fashion.
Considering other major pandemics to hit the world spread around the globe in six to nine months, it is thought in this age of globalization it would take as little as three months.
The World Health Organization believes that once a contagious virus emerges, its global spread is inevitable in this day and age and that all countries will be affected (WHO, 2006).
Given Samoa’s loose border control and lack of medical infrastructure, it remains at great risk of a population decimating pandemic such as the Bird Flu scenario given by the World Health Organization.
Future Paradise
Samoa needs to continue to develop policies that move towards economic stability. They also need to encourage local industry development to ensure economic stability. As we have seen the major industries in Samoa at present such as the tuna industry may not be sustainable over the long term. Samoa needs to plan for this and diversify its industry.
The tourism industry needs to continue to be nurtured as it is the biggest growing industry at present in Samoa. There have been steps taken to develop skilled labour within the country for the tourism sector. The Samoa Tourism Authority for example runs training days that are free of charge for resort workers. This training is in areas of customer service and food hygiene to name just two. This is a positive step to ensuring the tourism industry survives and contribute in a positive way to Samoa’s economy.
In terms of protecting itself from a major pandemic such as Bird Flu, hospitals must be fully stocked and staffed to have any chance of coping with such an outbreak of a deadly disease.
Putting in place agreements with countries such as New Zealand and Australia, supply of medications needed to treat Bird Flu, and have a stock pile of vaccines for Bird Flu is crucial.
Samoa needs to take part in regional planning to prepare itself to deal with an outbreak of Bird Flu, as well as an awareness program set up to provide the public with the knowledge needed to identify possible cases of Bird Flu and how to seek treatment.
Bibliography
- CIA, (2006), CIA World Fact Book, Central Intelligence Agency.
- Duncan, K (2006), “Lessons from the 1918 Spanish Flu”, PERI Symposium.
- Malielegaoi, T.S. (2006), Statement to UN at Review of Least Developed Nations, United Nations.
- McNeil, D (2006), “Revealed: Japans Secret Whaling ‘Shopping List’”, Independent UK.
- Nickel-Leaupepe, J (2005) 4. District Hospitals to get doctors: PM.
- Cabinet needs more time to look at the Commission of Enquiry’s Report, LeSamoa.
- Shibuya, E and Rolf, J (2003) Security in Oceania in the 21st Century, Asia-Pacific Centre for Security Studies.
- STA (2004), October Monthly Newsletter, Samoa Tourism Authority.
- US Department of State, Samoa - Country Reports on Human Rights, (2004), Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor.
- Wikipedia (2006), Spanish Flu, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_flu
- Windybank (2005), “The China Syndrome”, Policy.
- World Health Organisation (2006) Cumulative Number of Confirmed Human Cases of Avian Influenza A/(H5N1) Reported to WHO.
