It’s not always government’s fault

By Sarafina Sanerivi 25 October 2016, 12:00AM

We cannot blame the government for all our problems.

That’s Laumatataeao Faafetai’s belief. 

The 43-year-old from Seesee is adamant that sometimes, people are to blame for their problems. 

Running a small roadside market selling banana, pawpaw, peas, mango, and so on, the hardworking mother says she is a big supporter of the government.

“I am really happy with the way Tuilaepa (Sailele Malielegaoi) is running the country right now,” Laumatataeao told the Village Voice.

“The problems we face on a daily basis is the fault of individual persons, it’s not always the government’s fault.

“We should stop blaming the government for the high cost of living, the low pay, and many problems. It’s not always their fault; it’s the fault of those people who own the businesses.

“Those business owners work their employees so hard but they don’t pay them well. They are also in charge of how expensive they sell their goods for to make some profit.

“Overworked with low pay creates so many problems in Samoa and people always turn and point fingers at the government.”

On the other hand, when asked about how life was in general, Laumatataeao said everything was going great.

“This market provides quite a bit of money to take care of the family,” she said.

“The only problem is we can’t run it every day. We have to wait till the produce is ready before we can start selling them. That’s probably the only problem we face to be honest; the waiting time for the harvest.”

She admitted that they do go through their ups and downs but she works hard nonetheless. The hardworking mother also said that living off of a plantation is extremely hard and that there’s nothing easy about it.

“We have good days and bad ones,” Laumatataeao said.

“On very good days we can make a little over $100 a day but if we don’t then we make as little as $50. It all depends on the customers we get. 

“To tell you the whole truth, living on our plantation is very difficult. I can’t stress enough on how hard it is. Don’t get me wrong, it’s good money but it’s very hard work. 

“I guess all jobs have their upside and downsides; but if I were to compare an office job to this one, I prefer living off of the plantation.”

Laumatataeao said that it’s great to be your own boss and to be in charge of your own daily activities.

“The best thing about this type of lifestyle is that I am my own boss,” she said.

“If I want to sleep then I’ll just sleep. If I want to relax then I will just relax. If I want to work then I’ll go out to my plantation.

“It’s up to me on what I want to spend my time on. The only thing important about this is knowing the value of work. If I relax too much then I won’t get anything done. 

“There needs to be a balance.”

By Sarafina Sanerivi 25 October 2016, 12:00AM
Samoa Observer

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