You can’t expect to survive if you don’t work

By Vatapuia Maiava 23 November 2016, 12:00AM

Tualafasa Alofa’e, from the village of Luatuanu’u, believes if you want anything in life then you must work hard to earn it.

Aged 47, Tualafasa works hard in his plantation situated on a steep mountain. He describes his work as brutal but it’s a must if he wants to take care of his loved ones.

“In Samoa everyone knows that you won’t live if you don’t work,” he explained to the Village Voice.

“It’s common knowledge that if you want something in life then you must work your hardest for it. If you want food and you have no money then grow it.

“If you want money then work for it; it’s that simple.”

He says that it’s a good idea to have contingency plans. His plan is to be a farmer if he remains unemployed.

“If I don’t have a job, then as a father I go and develop a plantation so that my family can live,” he said.

“I have a plantation on the top of that hill and that’s where I get my crops to sell and to make the food. The reason why we need to work so hard is because life is no longer easy. “The cost of living is on the rise and we need to deal with it no matter what.” He has learnt that if you want something in life then depending on others is not the way to go.

“The one thing I have learnt in life is that you should never depend on the government,” he said.

“You don’t know the time you will receive the help from them so you have to stand on your own two feet first. The only people who are reliable in this life is yourself.

“Every day, I would leave the house by seven to make my way to the plantation. Sometimes I leave even earlier and I come back home when the sun is strong.

“I then return when the sun isn’t too strong in the evening. Work is good and being lazy at home will just cause you more problems.” Although his life isn’t easy, Tualafasa refuses to quit.

“In this area there are only mountains,” he said.

“We try and work slowly because it’s not easy having a plantation on the slope. Many people give up because it’s not easy to live the way I do.

“But like I said before, If I don’t work hard then there is no point in living.”

By Vatapuia Maiava 23 November 2016, 12:00AM
Samoa Observer

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