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
_________________
AustraLasia is an email service for the Salesian Family of Asia Pacific. It also functions as an agency for ANS based in Rome. For queries please contact admin@bosconet.aust.com . Use Bosconet-wiki to be interactive. RSS feeds - just go to Bosconet, click on austraLasia 2009 in the sidebar. You will see the RSS orange icon in your browser address bar - add it from there. Avail yourself of the Salesian Digital Library at http://sdl.sdb.org
Title: australasia 2469
Subject and key words: EAO Provinces AUL Samoa
Date (year): 2009
ID: 2000-2099|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
_________________
AustraLasia is an email service for the Salesian Family of Asia Pacific. It also functions as an agency for ANS based in Rome. For queries please contact admin@bosconet.aust.com . Use Bosconet-wiki to be interactive. RSS feeds - just go to Bosconet, click on austraLasia 2009 in the sidebar. You will see the RSS orange icon in your browser address bar - add it from there. Avail yourself of the Salesian Digital Library at http://sdl.sdb.org
Title: australasia 2469
Subject and key words: EAO Provinces AUL Samoa
Date (year): 2009
ID: 2000-2099|2469
