As a Palagi, you only have to have had a little to do with Samoa to recognise that greed is an issue. Here's a few thoughts on how it manifests itself in regards to Samoa.
Before you think I'm about to whack Samoa - I'm not. Greed is a universal issue and is no worse in this little Paradise than in any other nation on the planet. I just want to share how I see greed manifesting itself in the Samoan culture because any Palagi visitor to Samoa will at some point have to deal with the issue. It's sad for me when a small child comes up to a Palagi and asks "Got any money?" This is not good and unfortunately it happens all the time. But as I said, every culture has issues of greed - a universal evil.
What IS different in Samoa however is that the Samoan people are a little more transparent and in some ways a litle more honest than in the Western world. It is therefore easier to spot greed. They really make little effort to disguise it, instead explain it away with the broad-brush "culture" or "historically . . ."
Take for example the difference in accommodation between some who are the haves and others who are the have-nots. Samoa is such a small place that the rich and the poor effectively live side by side. In one short stretch of roadway not even 100 metres long, you could easily find a couple of Samoan families with very nice "Palagi" style houses, maybe a few middle-class Fales and a whole bunch of stick and thatched roof Fales, some with wooden and others with only dirt floors. At social occasions some are able to feed to excess and others are at the bottom of the pecking order. This is just the way it is.
In the Western world we can be a bit more subtle in expressing our greed. Poor houses are located in other suburbs and therefore out of sight. Rich dudes tend to congregate together at work and play, so the differences are a lot less "in-your-face", but greed is insideous in the Western world too. It manifests more in the thinking that I am the centre of the universe - me, me me. I will make a million dollars. I matter more than you or "the others". If I can make more profit then I will be better off, contrary to the Christian message that it is better to give than to receive. Culturally is is OK in the West to own immense wealth while there are millions elsewhere who struggle to survive.
As with all cases of those who have and those who have-not there are other factors that come into play like the rich tend to work harder, and have a more positive attitude, as well as our different circumstances but greed is certainly a big part in a lot of social injustice.
The institutions
I see greed affecting three institutions too - the government, the church and the Matai system. Once again I'm not wanting to ping the three, or to single them out, its just that they are the three control systems I've observed in Samoa. I know that within each institution there are good people doing good things, but let's be honest, people are human and it is obviously likely that institutions run by people will reflect the values of the people who govern. It would be naïve to think otherwise.The Matai system - again let's be positive about it before talking negatively, the Matai system of local government in its purest form has been proven to be extraordinarily effective. Samoa is recognised as one of the most stable political environments of the South Pacific. Take Fiji, for example with deep seated conflict of almost a century - there's simply no comparison. Samoa wins by a country mile! But there are nasty undercurrents to Matai control and I've witnessed aspects of power and control that feed greed.
The Church - the whole country of Samoa is nominally and culturally Christian. Church attendance is almost universal and even if the genuineness of the faith probably equates to most other Western nations, the country proudly proclaims that it is "founded upon God". As a Christian it saddens me to see the Samoan church as a business - with "enforced" attendance and tithing but I think back to many Western churches who would fit within that criticism too. So again, I've observing here, rather than criticising.
The Government. From the outside of Samoa the government is perceived in some circles to look after its own and sniggers of nepotism and doubts of corruption abound. From inside of Samoa there is a high degree of skepticism over its effectiveness and integrity. There seems to me to be a widespread attitude of apathy and low expectation toward the powers that be, but that said, the government has actually made a lot of progress in improving their peoples' lot in recent years.
One of the indicators I use for measuring reality is observing the response of the local people to the institutions. In time I will share more of my experiences with these three institutions but they do give me indications that greed is alive and well in Paradise. Sorry to burst anybody's bubble here!
There is another side to this whole "difficult" subject, and that is that the Samoan people can actually be the most generous selfless people on earth. As I see it, this paradox comes about from their cultural desire to bless, honour and serve the Palagi, so on the one hand while they are quick to eye up the Palagi's wallet, they are on the other hand generally only too happy to give what they do have to make the Palagi happy.
Dealing with greed
In the work that we are developing, (i.e. the S.W.A.P programme, the Eco Tours, and developing the Honeycomb Resorts) we've had to develop ways to minimise the influence of greed. One way we do this is to sell at cost and pay a good wage, and funding our work through donation and smart systems.Of course we recognise that as with any country, in the village of Fusi (our pilot village) there a those who have a giving, charitable nature as well as those who wish to profit unduly from anothers' efforts. Yes, while it is uncomfortable to talk about it and some would like to admit it, there are people who a little more greedy than others, so our system simply pays the same good wage to all families who work. Currently set at the equivalent of $40.00 WST, this is an above average wage in this society.
An example of how this works in practice is this . . .
The local shop currently buys goods from the Wholesaler (Frankies) in Apia. Goods are delivered by truck to the village shop. The shop buys at wholesale and sells at retail. One person only (the shop owner) makes a profit from the village people (the customers). The higher the price, the more the profit. The more business, the more profit. This is a perfectly normal business structure.
Unfortuantely this system actually helps make the rich richer and the poor poorer, because the people least able to pay (the rural villagers) end up paying the highest prices. The city prices are not available to those distant.
The structure for the Eco Tours Samoa shop however is different. For those families involved in our project, our shop buys from the same source as the local shop (Frankies wholesale) but provides goods in return for services provided to Eco Tours Samoa. A village family may for example have entertained a Palagi visitor or two for an afternoon or a day. This service has a commercial value of perhaps $40.00 WST. If this family is then paid with food, clothing or petrol calculated at wholesale price, then they have first an income (whereas previously there was none), secondly a good income (higher than the low pay offered from most resorts) and thirdly increased value at wholesale rates (an effective improved standard of living).
The establishment of a Charitable Trust that provides working capital, vision, mentoring and expertise goes a long way to preventing excessive personal profit. Sure, people will always be people and will always find ways to abuse the system, but in the main I have found that people in both Samoa and offshore appreciate our intent - to lift the living standards of the local people and to help them better their lives.
Local people for example love the ideas for various reasons - some the idea of being able to do something to better themselves, and others lets face it, because there is some income, or even they just like the idea of paying less for their petrol, clothing or their food.
In time I'll share much more of the mechanics and concepts behind the Samoa Story. It's a truly amazing vision!
Tagwords: greed
