Tuiloma Lina Samu who resides in Aoteara gives her reflections & observations about Rio+20, she was attending with the Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact (AIPP) as an Indigenous women's rep for Samoa.
Malo lava le lagi e mama ma le soifua maua! This
morning as I prepare to go to the "main" conference of Rio +20 at the
Rio Centro, I have reflected upon the meetings that I have attended for
the past two days with indigenous people from all over the world. I am
honoured to have heard the stories, the histories and the ongoing battle
that many have with concerns over discrimination,
disadvantage and even threat of death and killing.
I was able to share
with others about our concerns in the Pasifika: of Tagaloa/ Tangaroa
consuming our islands; that fresh water supply is dwindling in some
areas because of the rising seas destroying groundwater tables; that we
are like many other regions a dumping ground for the chemicals and
toxins that the first world makes illegal in its own homes; that the
Pacific Ocean is home to a plastic formation the size of France. It
seems so unfair that the smallest polluters are paying the highest
price! The biggest emphasis from the Indigenous Peoples' fonotaga at the
Museu da Republica is that culture - that is languages our identities
and our traditional/ ancestral knowledge is a fundamental dimension of
sustainable development.
Sustainable development will only happen if
there are sustainable relationships between us as human beings - so we
have to talk to each other as aiga/ kainga/ famili/ whanau about how
we're going to do our part to take care of the natural resources we've
been blessed with. This is what our Samoan ancestors called "o le va
fealofani" and what Maori call "whakawhanaungatanga".
It is our
relationships of caring and co-operation that is key to finding
solutions. Even though these problems have been caused by industrial
manufacturing and production - we have responsibilities and obligations
ourselves as indigenous peoples. Look at how our ancestors for
millennia, our parents and grandparents and great grandparents lived
within their means and only taking what they need. In the Pasefika, we
don't face continuous threats of war and genocide as many other people
do, yet we have to be vigilant to ensure that we are not bullied by our
governments and by transnational companies advancing the "economic
growth" agenda.
I know that many of us are concerned about the
corruption in our Pasefika region - of the suffering of our peoples
where those in power seem to be prospering. What is beautiful, is that
we have the opportunity and the space to be able to organise ourselves,
to critically question decisions and hold decision-makers responsible
and to challenge injustices of which there are many. I dedicate this
update to the Advance Pasifika March supporters who drew attention to
social inequities for Pasifika; to Te Whanau a Apanui fighting deep sea
drilling and fracking in their rohe/ area; to Taranaki iwi still
fighting for their rights regarding drilling of gas in their rohe; To
Tame Iti who in my opinion has been unfairly imprisoned; to those of you
putting your time and energy into fighting social injustices and those
of you making a difference in your own families/ aiga/ kainga/ whanau on
a daily basis. The most powerful thing we can do is teach our loved
ones to question: What? Why? When? How? Where? Which? Who/m? To question
and challenge authority with confidence. Soifua ma ia manuia! ♥ ♥ ♥
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