Gotta admit, it was hard choosing a title for this post. I considered “Mulipipi is King Again” and “Mulipipi has the Final Laugh” and even “Hallelujah, Mulipipi is Back.”
Come on, we all see the humor in this situation, don’t we? It’s one of those times when all of us Samoans just shake our heads and say “only in Samoa.” Where else in the world does the muli of a bird or any other animal become part of such important negotiations? What other country in the world can lay claim to the fact that their membership in the WTO was dependent on a piece of xxx (scratch that, gotta keep this PG). Ok, I can hear you guys sniggering and you’re probably right, perhaps there were a lot of deals that were initiated or sealed that way so scratch that thought altogether. Alright, that is now completely gone from my brain.
I have to say that one of my problems as a Samoan with this whole thing is the fact that the government decided it knows what’s best for me. I mean our Samoan government has unilaterally decided what’s good or not good for us before like a couple of years ago when they banned the showing of Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code in Samoan theaters. So now instead of letting Samoans decide for themselves that they shouldn’t be eating mulipipi everyday, the government banned it altogether. What’s next? What other Mulipipi Decision (a decision made by our government that lacks broad community consultation – term and definition courtesy of Rhonda Annesley editor-in-chief of Samoa News) is in the wings for Samoa? The Samoan government either believes that we’re too stupid to make these choices for ourselves or they believe that they can dictate every aspect of our lives down to what we can and can’t eat.
So where was I? Ahh yes, the decision by Samoa to reverse themselves and lift the ban on importing mulipipis to Samoa – which by the way became official last month. I thought it was strange that in a statement last month Tuilaepa said Samoa never banned mulipipis. I say strange because the last three times we’ve gone to Samoa these past 3 years, every Samoan family member and friend that we visited told us sorry but there’s no mulipipis in our barbecue laga ua fa’a sa mulipipi i Samoa. So if they weren’t banned, why did all these Samoans think they were?
Once again Tuilaepa was quick to explain. Here it is in his own words, “We simply said, the turkey should bring its own tail to Samoa. It’s no good somebody else chowing the turkey and then send the tail to Samoa. We too know how to eat turkey.” Sounds reasonable, doesn’t it? Well, it makes sense until you break it down.
From what I understand, mulipipis were banned because they were blamed for the obesity epidemic in Samoa. Seems like a wise choice on the surface. However, in taking the drastic step to ban mulipipis the government simply attacked the surface of a deep and far-reaching problem. It’s like they went out and found a fall guy (the lowest guy on the totem pole) for the obesity epidemic in Samoa and Mr. Mulipipi was the unlucky guy.
The government failed to ask the right questions. Why is that I wonder, why didn’t they ask the right questions? Is it because the answers might actually hurt our politicians and leaders in Samoa? You see I believe one of the questions that should have been asked is, why are Samoans consuming so much mulipipis? Well for one, they taste good barbecued or prepared any number of different ways. But the most important reason is because it was one of the cheapest meat (if you can call it that) in Samoa. It was cheaper than mamoe, fasi povi, moa, maybe even cheaper than eleni and pilikaki. Your typical Samoan family cannot afford many of these other meats on a weekly let alone a daily basis. But once a week at least they can afford mulipipis.
So the government should have been investigating why the prices of these other meats and goods in Samoa are so outrageously expensive, so much so that they’re well out of reach of many Samoan families. Every time I go to Samoa, e u’u lo’u guku i le kau o mea i Samoa, ou ke ofo i le mafai e kakou kagaka Samoa o ga afford oloa o lo’o fa’akau i fale oloa. I feel for our families in Samoa and can’t help but wonder how they do it. How are they able to afford even basic necessities such as sugar and flour when the cost of goods are the way they are in Samoa?
Are these kinds of questions not being asked because our Samoan politicians and leaders are the very same people that own and have shares in these businessess and fale oloas?
So Tuilaepa said that they want to import the whole turkey to Samoa, not just mulipipis. Well not that they’re listening or care but my advice to business owners in Samoa, ua lava le 10 o au turkey e oka i le kausaga aua e ga’o le pau le ga o aiga i Samoa e mafai ona gafakia le kau o le turkey.
