How to Train Your Dragon (Part 2)

"I'm tired of the city life, Summer's on the run
People tell me I should stay, but I got to get my fun
So don't try to hold me back, there's nothing you can say
Snake eyes on the paradise, and we got to go today."- Dragon April Sun in Cuba 

A small number of Chinese traders had settled in Samoa prior to 1900. Like their European counterparts- stories varied widely and wildly in how and why they found themselves so far from home, at the Pacific frontier.

But it was the change to German jurisdiction in 1900 (after a dissolved marriage of English, American and German interests), that dramatically increased the Chinese population.

German agricultural interests, in particular the copra industry had expanded exponentially, to over 7500 acres of plantations in Savaii and Upolu. Unfortunately sufficient labour- willing, hard working, low cost, reliable labour- wasn’t readily available.

The first Chinese indentured labourers arrived in 1903. Coming from China & Hong Kong- single men, contracted and paid, and lured with both a promise of a better future, and the occasional flashy poster displaying a happy worker picking tropical fruit under the desirous gaze of a dusky (should have been husky) maiden.

Workers were worth their fare and more still- and between 1903 and 1913 almost 3900 were shipped across the world under the German administration. The population of indentured Chinese labour peaked in 1914 at 2184 men. 1914 however also ushered in NZ governance, at the outbreak of WW1.

The original contracts were always for a set period- usually of 3 years- with the intention of the workers being returned to their homeland. The NZ Administration initially expedited the return of workers to China, but quickly discovered the previously obvious labour issues, and so the practice of indenture began again, although the peak in Chinese nationals in Samoa had already been reached in 1914, and after 1922 would steadily decrease to a trickle.

Conditions of work varied from fair but hard- to not very fair at all and hard- to abusive. But for the most part, the lot of workers was acceptable enough for many to reapply and stay several terms. They were held in high regard for their diligence with landowners, and mutually beneficial relationships naturally formed

As happens, nature took her own course, and it eventuated that many of the single men who arrived neglected to remain so. Cunningly, the NZ administration attempted to overcome such relationships, and the assimilation of the Chinese- by outlawing marriage of immigrants “liable to repatriation”…to Samoan women.

Following is taken from Pacific Islands Monthly 15/7/1939

“On 21 June an extraordinary scene took place when 34 Chinese labourers from the New Zealand Repatriation Estates and the same number of Samoan women lined up to hear their sentence for co-habitating in violation of the law. The 3 men were sentenced to 3 months in prison and the women to 3 days in prison.”

It was 1961 before these laws were repealed and Chinese and Samoans could legally be entrapped in a matrimonial sense by the opposite sex…

Many Chinese-Samoan families went onto to “free” lives, moving from plantations into commerce and laying the foundations of many of today’s most successful commercial enterprises in Samoa. They became Samoans, taking up civil and village roles and responsibilities, becoming matai and other leaders.

Of note- shortly after achieving independence in 1962; as an acknowledgment of it’s minority groups and their standing outside of the aiga and matai system- Samoa incorporated in its constitution political rights for part-Europeans and Chinese to vote and be members of parliament by setting aside two seats to be elected by the independent voters. These seats remain a point of political debate.

Comments in some public forums reveal divisive minority attitudes to both Saino-Samoans, and European afa-kasi. Well over a century after the ancestors of these families were welcomed and worked to integrate themselves into Samoan society, weaving their lives from opposite ends of the social strata- through marriage, children and work, with Samoans of all ranks…there are still those who would distinguish between Samoans and the decendents of Chinese, German or English afa-kasi. But these voices represent a fraction, and a type which exist everywhere… deserving only of disregard.

On islands populated by 190,000 affable people- occasionally downright amorous people- arguments of race, in any sense, are laughable.

It’s also difficult to take seriously the objections of Australia and New Zealand in terms of Chinese “influence” in the Pacific.

Chinese influence in Samoa extends almost precisely as far back as that of the English and Americans. It’s also clear that while the Chinese initially had less control over the fate of their integration into Samoan society, time has found them in a remarkably similar standing to the families descended from German, English and American free settlers and land owners, The commonalities between the people of Samoa and China, the shared history, and the agreements reached today will always float upon the tide of the time- agreements are made between men on behalf of nations, not the other way around.

How to Train Your Dragon (Part 1)

Part 1…China & Samoa

“Kneel and behold your new king, 

Digital dreams and wonderful things to tease you
Small gods with electrical hearts and it all will end
Time to be killing the dragon again”
- Dio Killing the Dragon

“And I found myself in a better time
a rose and a velvet glove
seven seas of mystery
gifts of gold 'n' love”
- LA Guns Chasing the Dragon

China increased aid to the Pacific from USD $33 million 2005 to $293 million in 2007. 

By 2009, it had exceeded an estimated USD $1.9bn for the decade. 

(n.b. China's aid figures are not published by the PRC- and there is a grey area between grants and concessional loans.)

“China’s investment in Samoa as of June this year has climbed to more than $600 million tala.” 
“The trade between our two countries has grown steadily, increasing 89% last year to the new high of $170 million tala.” 

- Savali News Oct 09 2013

“China’s aid is sincere, pragmatic, given with no political strings attached, is nonreciprocal and given on the basis of equality…China understands the needs and aspirations of other developing countries…” 

- Ambassador Li Yanduan (Samoa) 5th Jan 2014

“… the Chinese government has extended the zero-tariff policy to Samoa...”
“China pledged US $2 billion of concessional loans for Pacific Island Countries... 

the China Development Bank also announced USD $2bn special loans…”
- Ambassador Li Yanduan (Samoa) 17th Feb 2015 2014

“We can only hope that China will forgive the loans and they are written off as gifts or grants.”

- Dr Salele, Samoan Opposition Leader, Samoan Observer Jan 31st 2015

“…in 2006 China forgave a $US 11.5 million debt owed by Samoa…”

- LEAM discussion Paper- The People’s Republic of China’s Aid Program in Oceania 2005-2009

Sometimes referred to by Apia locals as the "Chinese monuments"...the following buildings have been either gifted to Samoa or built using a concessional loan-  the design, construction contractors and materials have been predominantly Chinese: 

· 1994- Government Building (5 story office of Prime Minister, Foreign Affairs and Cabinet) 

· 1995- Ministry of Women & Sogi Hall
· 2007- Apia Sports Complex renovation & Aquatic Center - USD $10.8 million 
(Samoa hosted 2007 South Pacific Games - 22 Chinese coaches were sent to train Samoa's team ). 

· 2008- Parliamentary Office Complex USD $17 million.
· 2010- Ministry of Justice and courts complex- USD $6 million
· 2007-2010 China had built three public schools at the cost of USD $1 million each.
· 2012- Government Office Complex and Conference Center- USD $44 million 

On tertiary education…on average 50-60 Samoan students in China undertaking graduate and post graduate studies under Chinese Scholarships...& a further 25 annually as part of its China-Samoa Scholarship Scheme...9 more potential places in the China-Pacific Islands Forum Scholarships....& the the Technical Cooperation Training Program sends at least 15 candidates annually on 4 month placements in China...

On health- the second stage of the new Hospital in Apia (Moto'otua) is expected to be completed in 2015, at a cost of $ST135 million (NZ$73 million) using funds loaned from the Chinese Development Bank...Stage 1 at a cost of ST$70M became operational in 2014...on top of this, has been millions in donated special equipment. NZ also helped fund new medical equipment worth $ST12 million.

Since 1986, China has sent 14 two year term expert medical teams...112 doctors.

Over the next five years, China will provide 5,000 training opportunities for Pacific Islanders.

On disaster relief…and other odd bits...
· 2004 after Cyclone Heta USD $100,000
· 2004 a fleet of 20 limos worth USD $1.25 million for the Pacific Forum leader's meeting.
· 2007 assistance of USD $100,000 to Samoan government for Head of State's state funeral.
· 2009 earthquake and tsunami, USD $100,000
· 2014 ST $15M in equipment and vehicles to host the Small Island Developing States conference.

“ Today, people tend to question the motivation behind China's gifts. 

Tomorrow, they'll probably only remember the gifts. 

Anyone who asked an average Samoan in this century "who helps Samoa?" will get the answer, "New Zealand, Australia and China"~ and not necessarily in that order. 

If actions speak louder than words, then our actions, louder than our statements of support, are saying, "the Pacific and Samoa in particular, are not really important to the United States." 

- above extract from leaked email US Embassy Apia to Washington, Feb 2, 2010

https://cablegatesearch.wikileaks.org/cable.php?id=10APIA2
http://www.leamplus.eu/files/LEAM_Discussion_Paper_1.pdf
http://www.savalinews.com/2013/10/09/china-commits-more-aid-to-samoa/
http://www.islandsbusiness.com/news/samoa/1662/new-hospital-opens-in-samoa/

http://www.samoaobserver.ws/home/headlines/5712-70m-phase-of-new-hospital-opens

cargo

“...in the back of the ute., on a blanket with the tailgate down; a coupla cans and a Vegemite sandwich, and we'll go rootin in the back of the ute. ”

"Twenty-four kids, 9 adults and 15 dogs
All squeezed in the front seat with the wireless turned full on"

-  Kevin Bloody Wilson Rootin' in the back of the Ute and Living Next Door to Alan

There are more twin cab diesel utes getting about Apia than there are BMW's and Porsches in the suburbs between Ponsonby & Parnell combined. They're the preferred choice of locals and expats who can afford them- and of development agencies and government departments who need both transportation and to exhaust their budgets in time for replenishment. 

(In one recent case- several newer ministry utes were sidelined several months into an agricultural project- because they'd used so much of their allowance on purchasing the new fleet of vehicles, that the fuel budget was insufficient to run them all...)

On an island less than 80km long, with extensive sealed roading it can only make sense when you're sitting in the back of one. 

Sure you can fit 6 people you know, 3 you don't, a crate of beers, a dog or two and 4 more bodies in the front of a twin cab ute (do I mean 5 people in the cab? not in Samoa)...and yes, utes outperform a minibus in both accommodation and sex appeal...but the attraction they hold is greater still than that...and you have to be sitting in the back to feel it.

Sitting on the back of a ute holds a pleasure which we have forgotten in all but the most rural areas of Australia & New Zealand. It's something we lost- sacrificed to the gods of road safety statistics and funlessness (what? that might be a word...). 

It is the comfort, the sheer enjoyment, the release- of being cargo.

 

Wind in your face, sun on your back, stinging rain in your eyes, or wet dog in your lap- it doesn't matter...what matters is the relinquishing of control to a force greater than you- namely a driver to whom you cannot comment, on a route over which you hold no control and a completely rearward view prohibitive of any expectation or warning. The back of a ute, no matter the weather, no matter the destination and no matter the company is in fact a bloody relaxing place to be. Time doesn't so much stop- as look the other way for a bit, and when it looks back, you've moved on. There is a powerlessness in being cargo...completely devoid of responsibility or presumption...just along for the ride- just ask Shappelle Corby's body board bag. 

There few pleasures, truly simple pleasures, like bouncing about in the back of a ute on a sunny day, waving at the occasional stranger, getting both sun and wind burnt and wondering whether the rattling tailgate you're sitting on is secure. I'm beginning to think that they may work as some sort of low budget adventure tour...

My advice to you- if you're at home, and you have a ute...is leave now- pick someone up who looks like they need a lift...then give them the keys, jump in the back and enjoy the ride...

TripAdvisor

"There's no stopping me honey, so you can take my hand,
We can lay on the beach and count grains of sand,
Or take a plane to Japan, and drink saki with mafia,
Fly to Libya for some Bacardi with Gadafi a
Dinner date, followed by a funk show, (uhh,)
We'll rip off our tops and jump around in the front row." - Hilltop Hoods Nosebleed Section

There’s nothing like the occasional email from Trip advisor, flattering you that your opinion matters- to remind you that you’re actually having a bloody good time, and it’s very possible that you’re just a little bit spoilt.

While I’ve been counting down the days to getting home for a week in NZ with my darling wife…I’ve also been flitting about the islands like a some sort of social butterfly. From the retreat at Aggies a fortnight ago, to Manono Island last weekend, to ocean kayaking on Monday this week, with half a dozen dinner invitations in between…frankly, that would have been a years worth of outings at home.

Another ex VSA volunteer hooked me up with an Ocean Kayak “day out” this week. One of the local operators was filming promotional materials, and needed bodies to fill the fun-boats. I didn’t need to be asked twice to take up what would normally cost a weeks wages, for free…and so spent I much of Monday gliding across still aquamarine waters- watching turtles, reef sharks and fish aplenty. The weather wasn’t golden- in fact it was a bit blowy and overcast, but that just added to the adventure. A little bit of swell now and then to vary the mirror like lagoon. A fresh fruit and salad lunch beneath a tree on the beach, out of the drizzle - a hot afternoon tea on return (deep fried banana donuts and sweet coffee)…and frankly, it the kind of complete and satisfying day to which I had little right, having woken up with a Vailima frosting on my consciousness...

The volunteer/expat community here is pretty cool- even for the socially inadept such as myself. In fact especially for us- because most of these people have departed “normal lives”, to do something new and adventurous, and many of them have made significant sacrifices simply to be here. The chance to actually enjoy it all could easily slip away. While I miss my family - you can be lonely, but there’s no excuse to be alone. I can be sharing lunch, dinner, or tourist type experiences at the drop of a hat, providing I have the nouse to accept every fair invitation which comes my way. If I’ve learned anything at all from the parable of walking the home and back each day- it’s that if you don’t accept the occasional invitation of a lift, eventually the offers will wane.

Anyway, while I try to remain immune to Trip Advisor's unsubtle flattery (just 4 more reviews and I too could be a senior advisor? "I wrote it and they love it"...oooh, stoppit...)

I guess I’m not above taking a sec to let someone else know the places I’ve enjoyed- to share the luff….http://www.tripadvisor.com/

ono masina

“Ship-wrecked love can be cruel, don't be fooled by her kind

There's a wind in my sails will protect and prevail

I just spent six months in a leaky boat

Nothing to it leaky boat”- Split Enz

10 signs you’ve been in Samoa for 6 months…

1. “Let sleeping dogs lie” is no longer an idiom, it’s a very literal and personal motto which you will happily step into oncoming traffic to abide by. 

2. The best parts of your day are sunrise and sunset and they’re only made better by a 90 minute walk up a 2000 foot mountain.

3. You feel obliged to return a wave to every second driver on the road including cabbies and bus drivers- but everybody has stopped offering you lifts.

4. Random schoolchildren start to greet you with “Malo Iakopo” (and you don’t have the heart to ask them for their names again…)

5. House geckos have stopped being cute- but are now so plentiful and large you’re scared of a mass revolt if you evict one.

6. You’ve stopped referring to “vevela tele le aso”…because every day is very hot - some are just wet too.

7. “Please Forgive Me” emblazoned as a logo across the front of a bus no longer prompts the question in your mind of “What for?”…you just forgive him

8. You can utter the phrase “famalie atu, ‘ou leai talanoa faasamoa” (sorry, I don’t speak samoan)- with just enough conviction and correct pronunciation, to confuse someone into thinking that you might be able to speak samoan.

9. You sometimes feel like you have accomplished something at the end of a working day.

10. You look forward to a week in Auckland mid-winter, the way you used to look forward to a week in Samoa mid-winter.

Ma-no-no’s

"Sunsets over the beaches from now on
Each day looking for new ways to go on

Maybe I should drop by maybe I should have called
Maybe I should have followed you and beat down your door
Maybe it's gonna be breaking you every time you fall
But to shower you with pity will do you no good at all"- "Sunsets" Powderfinger

My weekend was spent with more volunteers than you could poke a poorly-educated-underclass at, after accepting an invitation to join 5 other VSA kiwi’s to go stay in fale’s on Manono Island for 2 nights.

Manono is one of 2 moderately sized islands between Upolo and Savaii. (The other is Apolima- an exciting looking crescent shaped remnant of volcanic cone, which if I’m right, should be resident to a giant ape.)

Manono is only a kilometer or so off shore from the Western end of Upolu and a pleasant 25 minute boat ride on a funky 5m aluminium fishing cat' takes us to the far side of the island and Sunset View Fales. Inclement weather for the weekend resists the obligation of the title to provide a sunset on either day…but it’s probably spectacular when it’s not raining...

There are (famously) no dogs or horses or cars allowed on peaceful Manono…apart from the dog I saw- but she didn’t look like a barker. There are however, many exuberant roosters living there, and it’s somewhat akin to falling asleep in a thin foam mattress at a  struggling cockroach farm, unfortunately located next door to a clock store where the cock-shaped alarm clocks have all been set variously between 3 and 7 am. It is a very quiet place for the remainder of the day however- so afternoon naps are encouraged by a lack of other daytime options.

Some other guests appear while we’re there…a Dutch pair of tourists, 8 Aussie volunteers, 2 more Pommy volunteers and a retired, used to be volunteer, couple from Port Douglas who have the unfortunate and no doubt disappointment inspiring habit of comparing every South Pacific hideaway to the extravagantly luxuriant Yasawa Islands in Fiji. http://www.yasawa.com/

Sunset Fales isn't luxurious- but it’s clean and quiet and relaxing…(the roaches I referred to in the rooms are resident, and not indicative of the cleaning- but of the jungle nearby). It’s also a microcosm of how resident overseas volunteers appear to be contributing rather unequally to propping up a flagging Samoan tourism industry. (Buy me a beer one day and I’ll regale you with why…actually, better make it a 6 pack).

You can walk around Manono in under 2 hours…which that leaves you roughly a day and a half to contemplate whether you’ll walk back the other way, or read a book or go for a swim. It’s not a choice for the most active of holiday makers. There are a couple of historical sites- an ancient “star” mound of volcanic stones which predates modern history, and some selected graves. The tour guide unfortunately isn’t au fait with the stories, or English language and so a garbled account of each is given to questioning audiences. There are important stories attached to each. A later discussion among  volunteers contemplates researching and compiling and editing a collection of relatively “definitive” short versions of the stories modern and old, to be circulated via the tourism authority and  incorporated into future training…the kind of ridiculously simple stuff that needs to be done if Samoa ever hopes to compete for global tourist trade. 

So after 2 days of not much- I returned home relaxed and bored stiff with a research project… 

Retreat!

“There are not enough Indians in the world to defeat the Seventh Cavalry.”- George Armstrong Custer

“… never retreat, never retract... never admit a mistake.” -Napoleon Bonaparte

It can be easier to criticise than to try to understand something, which at the outset manages to be both familiar and yet disconcertingly unlike previous experience. As I approach the 6 month mark of my volunteer assignment- I find I’ve unconsciously developed some judgements and assumptions that are flawed. …by contrast to the conscious effort I made to keep an “open mind” in a strange environment. (Excuse me for a sec- I’m going to delve very briefly into my work here…)

The Annual Staff Retreat is a relatively common business practice here for those organisations which can afford it. In the case of my employer/partner organisation, it entails some 23 staff; everyone from the receptionist and driver to the CEO; spending 2 nights and 2 days, all expenses paid, at a high end resort….contemplating the next annual business plan, and “team building”.

Forgive me if that sounds like a junket…

It also sounds very similar to what any large Aussie or Kiwi corporate might do once a year….inadvertently connecting an annual planning event to a conference, dinner and more often than not, an excuse to get pickled, before going on to tell the people you work with “what you really think”, then passing out in a resort garden while your immaculately made up bed lies untouched, and your roommate for the weekend throws up in the shower…all before waking up with a monster hangover to contemplate the financial goals of your employer for the next 12 months, having blown a significant amount of the previous years profit on the bar tab (all of which has mysteriously been charged to the head of the IT departments room number, even though he doesn’t drink).

But that isn’t what happened his weekend.
Instead- we spent 2 days working and 2 nights laughing.

Ok- so the day 1 agenda was meant to start at 10, and actually started sometime around 12…that sort of time lapse isn’t inefficiency, it’s just Samoa. After brief introductions and a break for lunch- sometime in the early afternoon the show got on the road. Without getting into detail- a framework for a plausible annual business plan was developed in under 4 hours, genuinely incorporating the thoughts of 23 people. It was effectively captured, communicated, agreed and recorded… professionally without fuss, or stress. It was, in a word- efficient.

For a quasi-governmental agency (buy yourself a development dictionary), which by its nature is meant to assist in the establishment, development and support of pisinisi (business)- it was pretty bloody business like….and a massive relief.

After 5 sometime on day 1, as I was beginning to think pretty hard about the resort pool and the bar.. instead we got a 1 hour workout session on the lawn with three of the fitter management members leading a sweaty, fun, loud, inclusive training session. It’s followed by another hour of staff frolicking in the pool, all without alcohol, unimpaired and uninhibited. It’s after 7 before I shower and head for dinner and a beer- feeling satisfied, healthy and enjoying a work day which I dreaded here, and would have actively avoided if I could at home…

Sheraton Aggie Greys is a brochure reflection of every island resort in the Pacific. At $12 tala a beer, and a dinner menu that starts somewhere around $50- it’s exorbitant in local terms, but divide that by 2 for a tourist’s exchange rate and it’s not too bad. Our staff dinner and drink costs are covered, but are kept to a strict budget at the low end of the menu- and the bar tab is closed at 10, after I squeeze away 3 cold ones. 

I’m happy and tired, hoping for an early evening, but my bedtime plans are scuttled by an impromptu speech contest which takes place after dinner. While the speech contest is planned and compulsory, the rest of the floor show is not. Court jester, fa’afafine, head trainer (no pun intended) and all round odd fellow, Santy hits the dance-floor like a big pink and brown energiser bunny…calling up his colleagues one by one to siva to the island tunes of a surprised but accommodating restaurant musical trio. One moment Santy is singing and dancing- and the next comparing the speech contest…from television compare, to drunken self-heckler…it’s like watching a broken television set flicking stations…moments of a foreign film, current affairs, a glimmer of “Next Top Model”, interrupted by “So you think you can Dance”...all delivered with a nail-on-blackboard pitch of girlish giggles…to a receptive and highly participatory audience of workmates.

Day 1 finishes close to midnight, and Day 2 starts with an early morning- but after a ta’ele (swim) and buffet brekky, I feel up to the task. There’s a sold day of work before winding up in the evening after 6, for another team physical session- this time water-polo. 

By now, there’s a 5 year plan and budget based on pretty detailed divisional tasks and strategies, and an updated set of company policies and procedures on the directors table. The longest discussion all day was related to meal allowances when away from home and staying with aiga…topics inordinately close to the Samoan heart (just like a surgical stent).

Dinner is somehow a typical street-type bbq of moa, pusi, taro & salads, delivered to the function room. Drinks have been delivered in crates from outside the resort at a ¼ of the cost of buying them at the bar. Karaoke and a talent quest follow, and it’s somewhere around the time that we claim our prizes (shortly after peeling off my shirt, yelling “chahoo” and diving chest first at the floor to become a footstool for the big finale of Santy’s Gangnam Style siva) that I realise I’ve had more than I intended to drink, but I’m enjoying myself greatly.

Throughout the days and nights- I speak to more people for longer than I can or would at work. I learn a lot, laugh a lot, sleep very little and find some more work which I’ll be able to help with over the coming months. It develops both my sense of inclusion, and of purpose.

I’ve probably taken too long to say it- but here’s the point. Was it a typical corporate retreat?...all thunder and no lightning…well, no- instead, it was simple, professional and effective. 

Was I expecting it to be a useful, enlightening experience? Well, no. 

Could it be done differently? Maybe…but I can’t criticise either the budget or the facilitation. It was organised in 2 days, and executed in the same amount of time. Some of the our employees are on salaries which equate to roughly a 10th of what I can earn at home, and other than this weekend won’t get to go to a resort for leisure- ever. Without attending, I would have been quick to judge this a waste of time and money…just because, I thought I had enough experience of similar events to know they don’t normally produce results which aren’t predetermined. 

So, any mild lingering guilt over a resort weekend is taken in the context of- “this is the job, and the organisation for which I work- and this is their method of achieving their planning requirements, bonding their team, and rewarding their people”…and it works. 

Perhaps there is no sin in the occasional privilege- except to squander it.