Elderly mother says cost of living driving people overseas

By Ulimasao Fata 17 November 2017, 12:00AM

The high cost of living is the number one cause of family problems in Samoa.

And it is also driving many Samoans to seek greener pastures overseas.

This is what Fetu Fetaia’i, 77, from the village of Faleula-Uta, believes.

Mrs. Fetaia’i spoke with the Village Voice team yesterday afternoon while doing some work at her plantation – a walking distance from her house.

She said issues within families, like violence against women, occurred because of the high cost of living.

“Violence against women in families arises because fathers tend to think that mothers are using money for gambling,” she said.

“This is not true. It’s just that life is getting very expensive.”

Mrs. Fetaia’i said after living in New Zealand for one and a half year, Samoa was still the best place to live.

“I was in New Zealand for one and a half years with my children, but I came back because it was not a home for me.

“Samoa is different from New Zealand because if you don’t work, for sure you will end up on the streets but that won’t happen here in Samoa.”

Mrs. Fetaia’i said the only problem in Samoa now, since she moved back, was the expensive cost of living.

“The thing I have noticed after coming back here the cost of living and it does make things hard for some families.

“Right now the price for chicken leg quarter is much cheaper than fish cans (elegi) that we have always consumed.

“Our country is blessed with land because it is mainly owned by families and that is why I think Samoa is better.”

Mrs. Fetaia’i said family obligations in Samoa nowadays were also getting expensive.

“That is why people nowadays are just going overseas because they are running away from this.

“Some families in Samoa are just supporting family obligations rather than paying their kid’s school fees, and that is something we should be looking at.”

By Ulimasao Fata 17 November 2017, 12:00AM
Samoa Observer

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