The images of women and children turning up in numbers to welcome the Samoa Victim Support Group’s Torch of Peace, as it passed through their villages in the first two days of its journey from Upolu to Savai’i this week, were heart-warming. 

Banners condemning the violence were displayed on the roadsides and in the villages on Monday, even the elderly men of the villages stepped forward to show their support, confirming the general sentiment being felt in and around the community.

A story (Peace Torch begins its journey) in yesterday’s edition of the Samoa Observer reported on the first day of the journey that the Torch of Peace took from the SVSG office in Apia to spend the night at Lalomauga on Monday and continued to Salamumu on Tuesday.

Village chief Saveasi’uleo Poasa told the Samoa Observer in an interview that the Peace Torch initiative was critically important for the community and seeing action being taken shows that “actions speak louder than words”.

"We are elated that the Torch of Peace campaign has chosen to establish itself in our village," he said. "We want the best for our people and this may be a means of helping them to understand what it means to live in a peaceful and safe environment.

“To make sure that our people understand the message and act upon it, our village committee is cooperating. Since we really believe that actions speak louder than words, we must ensure that others understand the message as well as just appear to support it.”

A member of the women's committee, Agnes Faletagoai, said the Peace Torch is a wake-up call for women and children who are victims of violence to come forward and ask for assistance.

"This initiative, in my opinion, is crucial for our communities, particularly for women and children who are victims of domestic abuse but are unable to report it, and this could be a way to find answers to put a stop to this persistent problem in our nation.”

Mrs. Faletagoai is correct, there is no better way to put the spotlight on the recurring epidemic of violence in Samoa, than through such an initiative as the Peace Torch.

We commend the SVSG and its team for conceptualising the Peace Torch, whose journey over the next 10 days through villages on both Upolu and Savai’i ensures that the scourge of violence in these communities, will be front and centre of the villagers’ conversations.

Having witnessed the first leg of the Torch of Peace on Monday, the children attired in their school uniforms would have a lot of questions on their minds when they returned home on Monday. Therefore parents shouldn’t shy away from having frank discussions with their little ones on the scourge of violence, and the role that non-profit organisations such as the SVSG play in Samoa to address this societal challenge.

Feel free to quote data from a landmark inquiry by Samoa’s Ombudsman/National Human Rights Institution published in June 2018, which found that “physical, harsh verbal discipline/violence and sexual violence towards children has reached epidemic levels” in the country. The same inquiry found that 9 out of 10 children in Samoa experience violence in their lifetime and the majority of women (6 out of 10) in Samoa experience intimate partner violence in their lifetime amongst various findings. 

As a media organisation having covered the work that the SVSG and other partners, including development partners and civil society organisations have done in this space over the years, we agree that the Peace Torch is a wake-up call not only for women and children victims but the whole community. It is time for the community to rise up and say enough is enough of this epidemic of violence, which continues to target and victimise the most vulnerable members of our community.

There’s no doubt that there are women and children out there, victims of a cycle of violence, who fear for their lives and that of their children to speak out. Overwhelmed by the thought of a family member-turned-perpetrator subjecting them to more violence, should they reveal the extent of the abuse they’ve received behind closed doors, and out of sight of the general public including law enforcement authorities.

The country cannot continue to keep its epidemic levels of violence under the covers and take on a business-as-usual approach. Just like the Torch of Peace, which is now going through the villages in Upolu, we must bring this issue out of the closet and do our part by reporting incidences of abuse and violence and ensuring the perpetrators are held accountable for their actions. We all must make a stand if Samoa hopes to build a foundation for a violence-free community in the future.