austraLasia #2469
Gleanings from Salelologa, Samoa
APIA: 31st July 2009 -- From time to time we receive a letter
from one or other part of the Region which gives a real insight into
the day-to-day work of the Salesian and missionary. Some of these
correspondents have a veritable flair for description, one which
lightens the heart, provides excellent information and generally moves
us to congratulate them on what they do, and feel proud to be Salesians
at the same time. One of these correspondents is Fr Nick
Castelijns of the Australia-Pacific Province, who is parish priest at
Salelologa, on Samoa's 'other' island. What follows are simply
excerpts, snippets from his letter in his own words. They tell
their own delightful story!
-------
HOW TO BUILD (OR NOT BUILD) A CHURCH
Returned to Samoa [after a short break in Australia] early February, I
found the church building very much in the state I left it after
Christmas. Obviously the builders had had a good break too. Progress
has been steady since until the Archbishop recalled his builders for
another of
his many projects and work has now stopped for two months. The date of
the blessings is now 17th December (but I am unsure
of the year, ha-ha!). It was supposed to have been blessed December
last year!
HOW TO BUILD (OR NOT BUILD) A PRESBYTERY-COMMUNITY RESIDENCE
The two months stop to the church building has given
the parish the opportunity to commence the building of our community
house that was supposed to have been finished in Church as on 30 June
2009 February 2008. But all going well we may be able to move in in
September. There were a lot of complications, first with the location,
and then with our supply-line which is very fickle. Building materials
from the other island arrive spasmodically and in small amounts. When
the building actually started things went a bit haywire, as there was
only a “sketch” plan, and the builders would not wait for the final
plans from the architect. When I saw that things were going wrong (they
used the sketch drawing for the foundations) I had to call a halt and
demanded that the architect come to our island to check things out. All
the same I suspect that the foundations are a bit wonky because of all
the improvisations. A few earth tremors, a bit of moving ground ??….. –
time will
tell –. It is good to be on the building site early each morning for an
inspection, as the architect did not
follow all our suggestions, and the builders don’t always follow the
architect’s plan. In spite of daily visits there are still a few things
not quite to my satisfaction. However a few potential disasters have
been averted re power points, water drainage, position of doors and
windows, etc. We can even change things
as we the building shapes up and we get better ideas! “Anything you
want, Father”, We will have a beautiful view across “Salelologa Bay”
from the front verandah, and hopefully an unobstructed sea breeze once
the house in front has been demolished..........
H1N1/A
We are having
another few days of rain, cold and high winds. The weather has gone
decidedly haywire. "The" flu has arrived,
is creating a mild panic, and in a knee-jerk reaction the government
has closed all schools, mission schools followed suit. I think it will
just run its course. If you get it you get it. There is no way it can
be contained in this place where privacy is non-existent, all sleep in
the same room, sharing crockery, cutlery, clothing, towels, anything at
all, is an inbred cultural thing. Unfortunately the H1N1 arrived at a
time that is already a time of colds and flu, because of the winds that
prevail at this time of the year - I first thought this to be a bit of
an old ...tale, but it really is a time when many people succumb to all
kinds of coughs, sneezes, colds and fevers. H1N1 Test swabs have to be
flown to New Zealand, and there is not a flight every day, it may take
a week before the results are back, so it is a losing battle. Medical
facilities on this island are even worse. Cannot even get my ear
syringed; have to go to an ENT specialist in Apia for that!
POLITICS 1: GET READY FOR SEPTEMBER 7th WHEN CARS, NOT POLITICIANS,
CHANGE SIDES
Politically we are going through an interesting
time. Democracy Samoan style is not quite what we know in the Western
world. There is a stable Government because it is a One party
government and the PM calls all the shots. Whatever opposition existed
has been outmanoeuvred and eliminated by hook and by crook. We are fast
sliding into a dictatorship, with an arrogant and “all-knowing” PM who
knows what is good for the people, even if they disagree, and who can
pass any law at all because he has the absolute majority in the House.
. His latest claim was that his government has been appointed by God.
One of his most unpopular ideas was to change the side we drive on in
Samoa. After urging rentals and taxis to update their fleets for the
Commonwealth games in 2007, which they did at great expense, he decided
in 2008 that it was good for Samoa to drive on the left side of the
road. An obvious overnight decision, but once it was made there is no
going back. Two of the largest protest marches in the history of Samoa,
(between 15,000 and 20,000 people!) , petitions, advice by economists
that the country cannot afford it especially in the present day
financial climate, etc, were all shrugged off in a most arrogant and
demeaning manner. “It takes only three minutes to get used to it” is
one of his gems, and “we will give you a public holiday to get used to
it, and if you need two we will give you two, and if you need a month,
well, take a month off work.” And “what is the problem with Savai’i
anyway, there is only one road.” So in spite of protests, differing
advice from experts, here we go, on September 7th. “Your Safety is YOUR
responsibility” is the message we get in the newspaper together with he
count-down to D day! Government absolves itself from all responsibility
in case of accidental damage or even death as a result of the road
change.
POLITICS 2: TRAFFIC LIGHTS ON THE ONLY ROAD THERE IS
Interesting too, that in the last budget education
and health were slashed by about the same amount the government
estimates the change will cost, but experts say the cost will be triple
the estimate! We will just have to wait what happens.......
Speaking about traffic: Since Easter Savai’i has
another white elephant: Traffic lights! “What is good for Apia is good
fort Savai’i” is the government’s reasoning, so now we have a set of
Christmas lights merrily blinking away, with no-one taking any notice
(except on the rare occasions when there is a policeman around) . What
is the point of stopping at red when there are no other cars in sight?
I am afraid I am guilty of many acts of “civil disobedience”, but when
a police van in front of me merrily ignoring the red light the other
day I felt less guilty!
[WHERE IS SALELOLOGA? It is on the island of Savai'i, Samoa's
largest but less-populated island, several hours journey from the main
island and the Salesian house near the capital Apia, first by ferry,
then by bus. It ends up being a day's effort to travel.]
This letter has been long in the making, and I want
to get it off tomorrow as I have my weekly access to the internet at
our house in Alafua (Apia). I am not looking forward to the boat trip
these days as the seas have been rather rough lately. Last time we had
to hold on to our (hard-wooden) seats. Fortunately I don’t get
sea-sick….
So I will sign off till another time.
nicholascastelyns@lesamoa.net
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Title: australasia 2469
Subject and key words: EAO Provinces AUL Samoa
Date (year): 2009
ID: 2000-2099|2469
