Unity will lead to happiness

By Sarafina Sanerivi 25 October 2016, 12:00AM

Wars and bloody strife, regardless of where they happen, have one common denominator. 

They are the result of small differences that are allowed to escalate.

For Anesone Toa Punefu, from the village of Moata’a, his message to Samoa is not to allow small things to become big problems.

The 26-year-old says that with trouble within families, villagers and communities, it’s best to address them early.

 “Everything is well here in the village,” Anesone told the Village Voice.

“We make what we have last and we have nothing much to worry about. Yes we do have a few problems here and there in the family and village but we deal with it together.

“If your family and village work together on problems then we can have it fixed. Unity can help make any tough task a little easier for everyone.”

Anesone says that one of the common problems is the behavior of the young people. But when we all unite, then we can work together to instill morals in the young ones.

“An example of this is the behavior of the young people,” he said.

“If our young people give us too much trouble with their behavior which makes the village or family look bad, then we can gather the parents, village leaders, pastors, youth leaders, and other leaders to work as one to teach lessons to them.

“That’s how we should all be. It makes life easier and helps everyone by taking some weight off of their shoulders.

“We are all Samoan, we help one another and that way, we can all live a joyful and peaceful life.”

When asked how life was in general, Anesone says everything is great.

“Right now, life is great in Samoa,” he said.

“We should count ourselves very lucky here in Samoa. Yes we have so many cultural gatherings (faalavelave) which is an annoyance but our life is still peaceful compared to other countries.

“Those countries who are war torn know real suffering compared to us in Samoa. Nothing big really affects us. Life here is close to perfect.”

According to Anesone, nothing trumps living with the family.

“If you want the truth, living here in Samoa is the best,” he said. “I say that because we have our family here and it’s always good to be with them. There is a saying we always hear. There is nowhere in the world that’s beats living with family.

“You can get so much help here. It’s also great because you learn the Samoan way of life here and how to do things the Samoan way.”

Tasked with his Samoan duty to the family, Anesone says there’s a lot of joy in taking care of his loved ones.

“With my family, I am given the duty of helping out around the house,” he said. “My chores and activities are your ordinary youth tasks. There’s nothing too special about it. I prepare the food for the family especially for the parents.

“As you approached me this morning, you can see that I am mowing the lawn to make use of the morning before the sun gets too hot. This is an example of my tasks as a young man in the village.”

By Sarafina Sanerivi 25 October 2016, 12:00AM
Samoa Observer

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