The sinking of the HMNZS Manawanui is one of the most significant ecological disasters to have occurred, and now a stark reminder will be left behind. The nation has agreed to keep the wreck.

The incident also does not bode well with the New Zealand Navy; it is seen as a dent in the glamorous defence force’s armour. The $100 million ship sank because of human error. The Commission of Inquiry into the Manawanui sinking highlighted the crew's failure that led to the ship striking the reef off the coast of Tafitoala. The New Zealand Defence Force, after cleaning up most of the fuel, chemicals, weapons and other hazardous chemicals, celebrated the end of Operation Resolution, marking it as a success.

There was no success here. More than 200,000 litres of diesel were spilt into the ocean, and as a result, the Safata district’s nine villages had to endure a fishing ban. This took a toll on the villages for whom fishing was a way of life and for some, their only source of income. 50,000 square metres of the reef were damaged. Underwater pictures obtained by this newspaper showed that the damage was far worse than reported. Most of the damage to the environment was downplayed. This was also an occasion where local bodies like the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment rose to the occasion and ensured daily testing of the seawater to check on diesel content.

During this time, fish and marine life were found to have been covered in diesel, and even the surrounding mangroves, which were inland, had traces of diesel. The impact on livelihoods was far greater, as for more than five months, most villagers could not use their traditional waters to make a living. The resilience of our people showed, and during this time, neighbourly love was apparent as some villages opened their fishing waters so people from the nine affected villages could survive.

In all of this, the biggest disappointment came from the national government. There was no move to hold the New Zealand Navy accountable for the ecological disaster, there was no push to seek compensation for caused to the environment, especially to the livelihoods. This showed a lack of action on the diplomatic front by the government. This was something lacking in the past administration. The failure to stand up to nations that have been donors and demanding answers and retribution, when we are in the right.

This was seen in the failure by the government to back the citizenship bill. The government had stayed away from it by saying that it was a sovereign matter and not their business to put their noses in. That was a low blow to many Samoans who had that citizenship right taken away because of a racist law in 1982. The failure to act on this matter showed the failure to protect Samoans. Furthermore, Arthur Anae Arthur’s new petition that calls for visa-free travel to New Zealand has not received any word from the government.

The nation has also abstained from voting to end conflicts. This is a stand that will not do, especially in critical times when one country is trying to dictate things for the rest of the world. United States president Donald Trump’s latest decisions show that our nation has been affected. He is looking to deport Samoans, has stopped USAID, and now Samoans who have a green card are scared to return even for important family events, because they could be stopped from re-entering the US, even worse, detained by the US Immigration.

The elections are almost here. Perhaps the new government will have a different approach to dealing with this matter. No nation is too small to raise its voice, and all nations are important. The Solomon Islands showed this, and so did Kiribati.

Let the Manawanui disaster and other international shortfalls be a lesson to the incoming government that, apart from strong promises of prosperity on the local scene, a strong voice is also needed to highlight the country’s stand on international affairs.