KEY POINTS:
A Vaiola College student from the island of Savaii was suspended after the principal of the school discovered an entry regarding him in a group diary.
Evo Fa'auma a Year 11 student was called into the principal's office on Friday after a book, referred to by her friends
as the "Soul Book" was discovered by the principal brother, Siakisone Taleni.
A source from the school told Newsline in Samoa, that the book contained negative remarks about the principal.
The "Soul Book" was a combined diary of a group of friends at the school.
Imelda Ale, a co-author of the book spoke to Newsline about the case.
"Evo, myself and a few others own this book, like a diary, where we write our thoughts in, we call it the soul book," said Ale.
The book according to Imelda was allegedly 'stolen' by a student and delivered to the principal two weeks ago.
"Because I was not in school on Friday, Evo was called into the office alone and was threatened to be expelled, but begged the principal not to be," Ale said.
Imelda, whose best friend Evo, ended up on a week suspension said she was saddened by the decision.
Ale confirmed that she was called to the principal's office on Tuesday in regards to the book.
"He told me that he could not believe that I wrote those things in the book and that I was too good to do such a thing," Imelda said.
Although she was not suspended like her friend, Ale said she was given a staunch warning and a "lecture" from the principal.
Asked about her thoughts on the principal's decision she said: "I think he had no right to read our book it was a direct intrusion of our privacy."
Asked about the suspension and warning she said: "We have the right to express ourselves, we are encouraged to do that, and therefore he should not have punished us for doing that."
Attempts to reach Brother Taleni were unsuccessful, however a source from the school did confirm the suspension and warning of the two students.
The source did confirm that the suspended student was back in school last week, a day shy of her week long suspension.
South Pacific Games
The South Pacific Games preparations are well under way in Samoa, teams from around the Pacific start arriving this week.
The Safe Games Campaign Committee have confirmed that each athlete will receive eight condoms each in their SPG kits upon arrival, including female condoms.
The much publicised distribution of the contraceptive methods have received no complaints from the public.
Nelle Wightman, Secretary of the Campaign says: "There will be bags given out to each athlete upon arrival, each containing eight condoms."
The Red Cross will be assisting in distributing extra condoms to the public during the games at both Faleata Sporting Complex, and Apia Park.
Tourism News
The latest tourism statistics indicate tourism revenues dropped 23 per cent, a noted SAT$5.4 million ($2.7 million) loss in June.
Published in the Foreign Trade Report by the Central Bank of Samoa, the fall in tourism earnings was due to a seasonal 35 per cent decline in average tourist expenditure.
CBS however indicates that the tourism earnings of June 2007 is 5 per cent higher compared to the same period in 2006.
On a good note, total tourism earnings grew 17 per cent over 2005/06 and according to CBS this reflects the continued expansion in the tourism sector, encouraged by Samoa's stable political environment compared to our neighbouring countries.
The Report also tributes increased number of flights to Samoa, to competitive airfares and the apparent success of overseas tourism promotions.
The majority of tourists in June 2007 were from New Zealand followed by American Samoa and Australia.
The main purposes of visit were 'visiting friends and relatives' and 'holidays' followed by 'business purposes' and 'sports'.
The surge in total tourist arrivals largely reflected the influx of visitors for the country's 45th Independence Celebrations at the beginning of the month, the Annual Five Nation's Rugby Tournament and a number of regional meetings held in Samoa.
Environment
Three invasive species have been named for eradication in Samoa.
The Ivy Gourd, Fue Lau Tetele, and the Mautofu (Sida Acuta) were named at the Invasive Prioritization and Management Planning Workshop to be dealt with by the Ministry of Natural Resources, Environment and Meteorology (MNREM).
The workshop identified 250 species that have been introduced to Samoa, the majority of which have the potential to become invasive.
According to Mr James Atherton, Conservation Outcomes Manager from Conservation International, the three plants are now priority for the eradication scheme set up by the MNREM to stop the further spread of the species.
The Ivy Gourd, chosen by the environment group, is mainly situated in the Apia area and smothers trees and slows down growth of native trees.
It poses the same threats as the Fue Lau Tetele, which is a grass or vine that also smothers plants.
Atherton says the problem is not limited to Samoa, but extends out to all parts of the Pacific.
Airline
Polynesian Airlines is sending back the last of its existing modern fleet in Samoa.
Chief Executive Officer of Polynesian Airlines, Mr. Taua Fato Tielu says the Dash 8 will be returned to Australia where it was first purchased.
Taua confirmed the decision is due to the high number of vacant seats on the frequent flights to American Samoa.
He says an average of 18 seats out of 37 are used on each flight, an occupancy that is not enough to sustain the aircraft and personnel.
Taua confirmed that the Government owned company will be looking at purchasing a smaller aircraft to suit the low demand for their flights.
The Dash 8 has been in Samoa for three years since October 2004 but will be returned to Carnes next month.
Taua says there is a chance of possible job losses, however, he is unsure of just how many and when they will go into effect.
Immigration News
The Immigration Directors meeting held in Samoa last week confirmed that identity fraud continues to be a problem in the region.
Directors of Immigration from 18 countries and territories from across the Pacific attended the eleventh Pacific Immigration Directors' Conference (PIDC).
According to former Chairman of PIDC, Mr Api Fiso, identity fraud can be prevented with increased cooperation between the regions immigration.
"With ever increasing numbers of people travelling internationally within the region, immigration agencies face ongoing challenges. The PIDC takes a collective, pragmatic approach to these challenges, seeking small incremental steps to improve border management across the region," Fiso said.
The PIDC is part of the regional effort to realise the objectives of the Pacific Plan and the Millennium Development Goals.
The PIDC works collaboratively with regional law enforcement agencies as well as other regional and global organisations on migration matters.
Village beat
The coconut wireless has remained fairly quiet this week, except of course for the murmurs of the usual village gossip and rumours that makes quiet villages buzz with life. One of my coconut wireless sources informs me that the feud between two church ministers' wives (faletua) on the island of Savaii continue to be the topic of great discussions amongst not just the women of the Faasaleleaga district but ministers of the Church and interested ministers of Cabinet. No names will be used in this report as repercussions will be great if my coconut wireless sources are discovered.
The boiling point of the feud occurred last year during the 'asiasiga' or the annual stock take for the Church. According to eye-witnesses, what started as a minor disagreement on the quality of sheets used by a minister of the Church turned out to be a full fletched fight in the presence of ministers and members of two congregations on the island of Savaii.
"The faletua who was doing the stock check accused the other one for using cheap materials for her husbands sheets, a Minister of the Church," said one eye witness.
After explaining that the minister asked for the specific fabric, the accuser was not satisfied with the answer, what happened next will never be forgotten by those who were there.
The eye-witness continued: "One faletua reached for the bowl of peanuts in front of her and threw it to the other, then one by one the cups and teapots started flying across the room amidst loud screams and accusations of greed and theft between the two faletuas."
On a personal note, so as you can see, hypocrisy is very much alive in Paradise.
Manuia le Aso.
