The cost of living is very expensive

By Sarafina Sanerivi 20 December 2016, 12:00AM

“The cost of living in Samoa is very expensive today.”

That is the opinion of Fuisami Lomiga, 42 years old from the village of Malie.

She told the Village Voice yesterday that we have so many different goods from overseas in our country today, and at the same time, the prices keep increasing.

“Samoa is not the same anymore,” said Fuisami.

“There are a lot of changes in our country and the cost of living keeps increasing as well.

“Now that we are in the festive season, a time where we buy gifts for our loved ones, it’s so costly to buy things like that, especially when we have other things as well like fa’alavelave.

“But that’s normal for us here in Samoa to have fa’alavelave and family commitments. We can’t do much about it.

“We have a lot of things to do at the end of the year, not only within our families but also within our villages and churches as well.

“And that’s what I mean about the cost of living being very expensive nowadays.

“I mean back in the days, you can buy a lot of things with $100. But now, $100 is just like spending $10 especially if you have a big family.

“It’s a good thing we have our own lands here in the villages and that we have plantations to help us out.”

But Fuisami believes that there is no point in arguing about it because there is nothing much we can do about it.

However, she said her priority right now is to celebrate Christmas with her family. 

 “The most important thing for me during this season is to see my children and family happy.

“There’s no point trying to buy expensive things and look at doing other things. To me, the best thing to do for Christmas is to spend quality time with the family and of course a big meal to celebrate.

“That’s the best thing to do. Family first before anything else; as long as my children and family are happy, that’s all that matters.

“It’s the perfect time to strengthen our relationships as a family and celebrate together the birth of Jesus Christ and also reflect on what we did this year and talk about what we need to do to improve our lives moving forward.”

Moreover, Fuisami also said that spending Christmas in the village is better than spending it in town.

“Life here in the village is better than town life.

“And like I said before, spending time with my family is all I want to do for Christmas. This is home for me and it is where I want to be for Christmas. The spirit is very much alive here in the villages. You see a lot of relatives coming to celebrate Christmas with their families, you will see a lot of celebrations at night, the Christmas lights and also the different programmes by the villages and churches. 

“It’s always great to spend Christmas in the villages.”

By Sarafina Sanerivi 20 December 2016, 12:00AM

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