A 23-year-old man has some words of wisdom for the young people of Samoa.

“The Bible says a young person who obeys his/her parents will live longer,” he said. “We need to go back to that basic and listen to what our elder folks are saying.”

Pati Viliamu, 23-year-old from Vaitele works at one of the restaurants in Apia.

 “I quit school because I couldn’t continue studying,” he told the Village Voice

“At the moment I have a family, my wife and a daughter. I’m learning as I go and the one thing I’m very concerned about is the behavior of young people.

 “Youth nowadays are doing illegal stuff to make their parents suffer instead of finding a good job.”

It’s not just the uneducated youth he is talking about.

“I see teenagers who have degrees from University and they have the skills and knowledge to do work but they are lazy,” he said.

“Some of them lead the way in doing negative stuff. This saddens me.”

 As a young father, Pati said he works hard for his three-month-old daughter.

 “I receive $180 a week; this money goes towards the needs of my family.”

Asked about the cost of living, Pati said it is what it is.

“It’s our people’s fault,” he said. “We have a plantation to depend on but some of our people are too weak to go work.

“Sometime I feel very weak and tired to go to work but I always put my family first before anything else.

“My family motivates me to go to work every morning even if it’s raining. I always put them first”

Pati said far too many young people are going to prison.

 “They disobey their parents’ order and they don’t have love,” he said.

His message is simple:

“Youth should be thankful that life nowadays is much more comfortable than the past. They should use the opportunities wisely and listen to their elders.”