NZ Born Samoans Vs Fresh Samoans - What is behind the rivalry?

Last week, I attended a two day training workshop that was aimed at introducing a new model, for The Department of Corrections staff to engage with Pasefika people called the 'Fauina o le Fale'(The Art of Constructing a Samoan House/Fale). It is the first of it's kind created by the Department, having acknowledged that there is a gap in its tools and approaches to counter an ever growing Pasefika representation within New Zealand's Criminal population. Pacific populations are over-represented within the NZ Criminal Justice System, despite making up only 7% of the total population. Pacific peoples make up 11.6% of the total prison population and approximately 10.7% of offenders serving community based sentences and orders.(All public information). So this is a much welcomed initiative.

However, this blog post is not to focus on the bearings of the model, but rather one concept that it suggested for considerations, which stood out for me. The model outlines a conception that there was/is a rivalry between New Zealand born Samoans and Samoans born and raised in Samoa. Having experienced this first hand, and being a Samoan born and raised in Samoa, I thought, it was an issue worth bringing to light.

My New Zealand born colleagues from across the country who attended, certainly had a lot to share about their experiences of being discriminated against simply because they were not born in their parent's country of birth. So I did a bit of research and asked some people. Most reported of discrimination which occurred mostly during times when they visited Samoa. Most pointed out that the judgement was mostly from family members residing on island and some locals who may have sniffed that they were fresh 'mosquito meat'. Reponses to queries of where they were from weren't always received well. "Oh? So you're from NZ huh?". Others reported being thrown stones at and being mocked when they decided to go for walks on the streets. Some recalled getting the complete shut down when they offered to help out with the 'umu' or other family activities. "It's ok, just go inside and leave it to us". What is really wrong about this picture (for me at least); is not so much the physical manifestations of the acts of discernment but rather the concept that another Samoan should be discriminated against simply because they were born outside of Samoa! That it was somehow their fault that their parents decided to move to NZ for better opportunities and made the cardinal sin of conceiving and giving birth to them in NZ instead of Samoa. I found this revelation quite alarming.

When NZ born Samoans travel to Samoa, it is usually for a holiday or their parents forced them to attend a cultural event -fa'alavelave. Either the funeral of someone they barely knew or the Title Bestowal ceremony for a distant relative or even their parents. Most try to make the most of the opportunity to learn more about their parent's birth country, and the country that they're so closely linked to no matter where they were born or where they lived. You see whenever a NZ born Samoan is asked for their ethnicity, they will always identify as Samoans. Not a NZ Samoan, Pacific Islander or other. It will always be - SAMOAN. There is no other category for half and halves. You are either one or another.

AFA KASI/ HALF CASTE

I cannot begin to imagine what it may be like for my fellow NZ born Samoans to go experience this ill treatment, but can understand where they are coming from. You see, the same can be said for Afa kasi or half caste Samoans, or Samoans born out of inter-racial marriages or unions, between full blooded Samoans and Europeans who first made contact with Samoa in the 18th Century. I too am a product of this half caste category of people. A term that is now considered racist in the modern world. Like my NZ born Samoan brothers and sisters, I too have experienced direct discriminating statements with reference to my racial background. "Afa kasis, they don't know the culture, they do their own thing as they please". Or one I've heard directed at my father many a times by my mothers family (in times of conflict), was "Le Afa Kasi le popoi (the rude afa kasi)". Usually these notions were directed at Afa Kasis because they tend to behave a different way and still do. If you were looking from outside the box, you would notice that this group of people, often associated with others like themselves, (mostly because there is a lot of inter-marriages within the group). Nowadays, not so much the case anymore. Most Afa Kasi, like myself, are well integrated into their Fa'a Samoa. Serving the chiefs of their families, their villages and churches in whatever way that is expected of any normal Samoan. Most of these so called 'Afa Kasi's' and I pride myself and my family on belonging to this percentage, are well versed in both worlds. Traditionally sensitive to the expectations of a much subjective culture and equally accepting of the rationale behind westernised concepts, traditions and lifestyles. We proudly walk the two worlds without fear of crossing into the other, as our Samoan lineage runs just as strong and deep as any other Samoan. Our ancestral links or gafa is as rich as it gets with links to the four pillars of Samoan royal heritage. And because we too serve our matais, villages and our families; just like any other Samoan family, we make it our business to learn our heritage and ancestral links at least five generations back. We teach our children and pass on stories of lineage links to them for their knowledge and to nourish, as our heritage is our Mea Sina/treasure. It is who we are. It is where we are from. It is our identity. Like the NZ born Samoans, we too identify as SAMOANS. Our Birth Certificates, Pass ports, and all identification boldly states that we are Samoan. Not Half Caste, Not Part German, or Part Samoan, just SAMOAN.

In saying all this, lets now turn the tables and picture this, a Samoan from Samoa arrives onto New Zealand/ Tangata Whenua land for the first time and what happens? We are called FOBS - Fresh Off The Boat, a most derogatory term, that I despise with a passion. Second to that, we are called 'Coconuts'. We meet our NZ born cousins, and well some are friendly and some are just right out standoffish and reserved. Not very hospitable and not very welcoming at all. The tension is often as thick as a loaf of bread (the tanks made in Samoa). The wayward looks are often indiscreet and without any efforts for subtlety. You read their statuses on face book referring to Samoans from Samoa as FOBS, they bloody use the term far too loosely for my liking. If you happen to work in a workplace with some, you often get questions like "Do you have any air conditioning in Samoa?", or "How come your English is good? Did you go to school in Samoa or were you education else where?". "Are you sure you're from Samoa?, Cos you sure don't sound like it". If it's within a family setting, when something goes missing, you often hear them enquire about whereabouts of the Samoan from Samoa first before anyone else. The list of examples go on and on, and on, both sides of the coin.

I say there is most certainly a rivalry between the two groups of Samoans, with the main distinction of the differences in places of birth and the environments in which the two were raised. How or when exactly did it all start? I don't have the answer to it. I do believe however, that the rivalry is not so much geographical based, but more around common human flaws. The real problem is a matter of attitudes, by way of both groups turning their 'noses down' on each other. It is a pure matter of insolence and arrogance between the two groups. One strives to outdo the other and be perceived as the better of the two. There's an unspoken unhealthy competition between the two groups. What they fail to see is that both are treating the other exactly as they do not want to be treated.

BUILD A BRIDGE

A bridge will have to be built. There's many bridges that can be constructed, and in many different ways and levels. You could start simply with yourself. As a Samoan from Samoa, I initially struggled to work in a professional environment with my NZ born Samoan colleagues. At first I could feel that unspoken tension, or was it just me? I had to ask myself to step back and look at the situation from a fresh pair of eyes. Was I perhaps carrying with me the insecurities and common assumptions of my Samoan upbringing and how NZ born Samoans were normally regarded there and thus affecting the way I interacted with them in general, and vice versa? I think my colleagues and I made the conscious effort to get to know each others' worlds from then on. And that's all there really is to it. It's about getting know the people and the person first, before the popular assumptions you're so used to take over. When you do that, you bridge that rivalry gap. You come to respect the other person sitting across from you. I most certainly learned that my NZ born Samoan colleagues, friends and relatives, could do a lot of Fa'a Samoa processes a lot better than me. Some could do the Folafolaga like it was no body's business. Others could lalaga the ie toga and cook Samoan unique dishes, things that I refuse to learn really. And together we mended the gap by sharing our knowledge, our experiences and learning with each other, weaving (or lagalaga)our own newly refined mat. A mat where discussions are open, where respect is awarded no matter where you were born, where mutual interests and va fealoai (sacred space of respectful boundaries)is practised and lineage is acknowledged and respected, no matter where you were born, or who your ancestors blood lines came from. On this mat, we are equal men and women with strong pride for their country. On this mat, we are all Samoans.