Father cites erosion of family values

By Aruna Lolani 01 August 2017, 12:00AM

Charity begins at home.

Problems in today’s society mostly exist because that is no longer the case.

Manu Fali says far too many people have ignored the importance of family values, especially raising children the right way. Discipline has gone out the window.

The 67-year-old from Faleasiu and Mulifanua said he is shocked by the growing number of murder, rape and incest cases on the news.

He attributes the rot to the breakdown of family values.

“It’s true, a lot of problems have happened in our country,” he told the Village Voice.

“And to me, these cases and problems have come to exist because parents are not doing their duties just as how we were raised back in the days.

“You know, I see most of the kids nowadays do not get hidings or being punished if they do something wrong. In my days, I had to go through both in order for me to do the right thing.”

Manu added that so many things have gone wrong in families because of the changes that we now have in raising our children.

“Inappropriate behavior has been done because girls and boys are mingling together but back then brothers and sisters are not even allowed to hang out together. 

“Another reason why bad things happen is because the mother doesn’t stay home anymore. I’m not blaming the mothers for everything that’s wrong right now but for me and my wife, she is the one responsible for my daughters.

“Lately, I see some mothers find it hard to stick around at home because they always have elsewhere to go.

“If your children are all girls, mothers should make a priority to stick with them everytime.

“They should be advising them and talking to them about what is going on with their lives. 

“These days, you see children living life in a reckless way because they have never known how to keep in mind one word from their parents.”

Manu is a father to seven children and from his experience as a father; he has never failed to tell them the right thing to do. 

“I’m not going to lie and say that my kids don’t drink. My kids drink but I encouraged them to drink at home where it’s safe.

“Also in our village, drinking alcohol on the roads, infront of shops has been banned so if you want to drink then you can drink at your own place.

“I always advice my kids that I don’t want any of them to behave in a way that will bring shame to our family.

“I don’t want them to be punished by the village council because of inappropriate behavior; I don’t want them to be married to any of the women or men from this village either.

“Don’t steal, don’t take things that do not belong to you and don’t eve depend on others.

“I always tell them that prison is not a nice place to be living in so they know what’s going to happen if they ever disappoint me.

“They should know how to walk, how to sit down and how to talk and most importantly be humble. 

“You see, these are all the things that you must teach your children while they are still living under your roof.

“Another thing is, keep your family close to God; emphasize family time to your children and always do faiga-lotu to thank God because who do you think gives you life and strength everyday?

“No one is perfect but the best thing you can do is stay away from things that can get you into trouble in the first place.”

By Aruna Lolani 01 August 2017, 12:00AM
Samoa Observer

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