Tag Archives: college

Notable Samoan Women

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I came across a speech by Winnie Laban recently that really impressed me. I hadn’t heard of her before but she is definitely an important woman in New Zealand politics. And she is Samoan. Obviously, she is intelligent and articulate. What an awesome role model for our young Samoan daughters. I’m including the link to her speech here because I think everyone should read it in its entirety. http://www.winnie.org.nz/speeches/speech_at_unifem_womens_conferen

One of the points she raised in her speech is that sometimes if we want to accomplish something we have to have a thick skin. How true! Unfortunately, too often people want to limit what we can do. They may do this in subtle ways but it is there. I’ve seen this even from some of our Samoan people. Sometimes it is our own people that is our worst enemy. Instead of being happy that a fellow Samoan is doing well, and thus, bringing pride and recognition to our Samoan community, they appear to do and say things that belittle such accomplishments. Sometimes, I’ve even heard other Samoans refer to those Samoans who do well as fia palagi.

Probably such people imagine that only a palagi can have a brain, that only a palagi can have an opinion, that only a palagi can be successful, that only a palagi can have a prestigious career and status in today’s society. How utterly sad. As a community, we Samoans have enough barriers that we must all deal with without adding to it ourselves. I wonder if someone in Winnie Laban’s life told her that she could never become a Member of Parliament in New Zealand because she is Samoan? If so, I’m so glad she never listened to them.

I agree with Ms. Laban that we need more Samoan women in positions of power and authority, not only in our beloved Samoas but wherever else we call Home today. We need to have more of our Samoan women making the decisions that count.

Samoans are wonderfully gifted. Yes, we’re good at sports, that is an awesome talent in and of itself. But we are also intelligent and talented at many other things. We have so many young people with the potential to make it big in sports. Unfortunately, many do not make it all the way because of grades. Many an aspiring Samoan athlete finds out the hard way that grades are just as important if they are going to the attention they want from most colleges.

We are not all going to get the well deserved fame and public respect that Winnie Laban has. We are not all going to get the kind of attention she commands when she speaks. But all of us, Samoan women, all of us who are mothers can be notable in our families through the way we raise our kids. We can all be notable if we teach our kids that there is no limit to what they can do. We can all be notable if we raise a young Samoan generation that refuses to settle for second best. We can all be notable if we raise a generation of Samoans who believe that they too can go to the best colleges, have well-paying jobs, and make positive contributions to their communities. We can all be notable by becoming role models for our children by ‘doing’ and not just preaching!

Teach our Children

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I don’t know about you but once in awhile I do a search online for any noteworthy mention of Samoa and/or Samoans.   I like to read about how well Samoans are doing in their field, whatever that may be.  I feel a surge of pride in our Samoan people when I read about any Samoan who has accomplished alot in whatever they’re doing.   When I read about our young people who are doing well I feel like sending a huge shoutout and a fa’amalo to them and their families.  It doesn’t matter to me whose daughter or son it is, if they are Samoan I feel a pride in them as if they were my own. 

As a Samoan community we need to be known more for the good things that we do rather than the bad.   Too often we are in the public eye for stupid things that some of our Samoan people might do.  Too often a Samoan is in the news for something really bad.   When such things happen I feel really sad because I know that its another blow to our image as a Samoan people that we really didn’t need.  Of course we all know that our people do a lot more good than bad, that many more of our Samoan people serve their communities proudly and tirelessly but it seems as if the media is there only when one of us falls flat on his or her face.

As a community we need to do more to encourage our young people in their education.  Talk to them about making college a priority in their lives.  Talk to them about setting goals and working hard to achieve them.  I know that one of the reasons we came to this country is to provide a better life for our kids.   A good education is one way to get that good life.   The way I look at it is – I didn’t bring my family here to this land of opportunities so that my kids can work at minimum wage jobs for the rest of their lives.  We need to teach our children to reach higher, to dream bigger, and to go farther.

I know that we sometimes have to deal with stereotypes and ignorance on the part of other people that we come across.  I’ve come across it on many occasions.  When people I meet find out that I’m Samoan I can almost see the wheels in their minds turning and judging me by a stereotype of what they think a Samoan should be.  I enjoy proving their stereotypes wrong.    

As a Samoan woman I am proud of my heritage and take it personally when one or two bad apples give us a bad name.   On the other hand I feel like literally jumping up and down for joy when I read or hear about a Samoan that has done well.  E taunu’u ai le alagaupu fa’a Samoa, “ua fia Falealili fua” because even though I may not know them personally I am just as proud of their accomplishments as if I did.