Relocated villagers want to hear the truth

SAMOA – A community in Samoa is demanding the truth from the government as to why their village has to be relocated. The government said the village needs to be moved because of climate change – but some say its to make way for a new waterfront development. “The government’s decision to relocate Sogi residents – which has led to a legal action – is not only unfair, it is also insincere,” the president of the environmental group, O Le Si’osi’omaga Society, Fiu Mataese Elisara, said. Fiu is urging Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sa’ilele Malielegaoi to tell the truth as to why they have evicted people from Sogi. “The government is using climate change as an excuse and the main reason why they asked the people to relocate,” Fiu told the Samoa Observer. “It seems that there is a conflict in the reasoning by the government when in fact they are actually talking about the waterfront project. “The decision seems insincere. They’ve used climate change as an excuse at the same time, they are planning to develop the Apia waterfront project and it contradicts their decision. “They should tell the people the truth and say that they are asking Sogi to relocate because of the waterfront project and not because of climate change. They need to be honest with the people of Sogi,” he said. Fiu, who is a strong advocate for indigenous rights, said he understands the government has the power to take away people’s land under the Taking of Land’s Act 1964 to remove people from their lands for public purposes.” However, Fiu warns that the decision for the people of Sogi to relocate will have a huge impact socially. “The decision will surely cause stress for the people of Sogi,” he said. “No one is doing an analysis or a research on the impact assessment of resettlement. A lot of global policies we have now require the donors who have projects involving people, to carry out an environment impact assessment. But they also need to look at the social impact assessment and how it affects the mentality of the people. “These people have been there for hundred years. That community is made up of generations and generations from a hundred years ago. That is home for them. “And if we ask them to relocate, that’s violating their rights and that’s an element of injustice, because they finalised their decision without adequately consulting the people first.” Fiu believes that with this decision the people who have been living together as a community will be divided. “This community has been a very closed-community for years, asking them to leave will divide the community.” Adaptation is another challenge the residents will face if they relocate, said Fiu. “If they move out of Sogi, it will take them time to adapt to this new place, new lifestyle and new environment,” he said. “It’ll be just like a life of a new born baby – it’s going to be hard for them.” “The other thing is, most of these people have families and relatives buried at Sogi. This is going to be one major issue for these people.” “Again, this needs to be covered during a social impact assessment. Unfortunately, they don’t carry out researches on the impact of these decisions and projects on people.” One family in Sogi village is taking legal action over government moves to relocate them. The government said it was moving people because of the threat they face from climate change as much of the town is low lying. Some of the families in Sogi were settled there generations ago after their ancestors had been brought there by the country’s then German colonial masters. Ownership of the land was eventually vested in them but a 76-year-old member of one the affected families, Nanai Liu Tokuma, said the government is violating his family’s rights to own and live on the land. The government has maintained that its decision to move families in Sogi village, including the Tokuma family, is final. But Nanai said the government’s plans had less to do with concerns about climate change and more to do with the plans of business people to develop the area. The decision by the government to relocate residents of Sogi was initially announced in 2011. The government then offered families a quarter acre of land at Falelauniu which they will lease to own at just over $30,000 and $3000 cash to relocate. Many families at Sogi have taken up the offer. But many others have refused. A 30-day notice given to residents at Sogi to relocate expired on May 5 this year. Earlier, an elderly mother, Tala Leiataua, issued a heartfelt plea to the prime minister: “We’re ready to face the consequences but we want to be buried on this land. Tuilaepa, this land is where our grave is. This is where we belong. I ask the government to dig a hole and throw us all in there. I’d rather die and be buried on the land my ancestors passed down to us.” - PNC sources