Two matai banished from the village of Leulumoega-Tuai are threatening to set up their own sub-village should the main village council continue to deny them the opportunity to be reinstated.
Amiatu Fa’atoafu Leoli Sagoto and Fa’atoafu Mati Sauafu approached the Sunday Samoan to tell of their plight. They claimed yesterday that they have been banished since 2004 and they have grown tired of being made exiles in their own village.
The last straw was on New Year’s Day when the village usually holds a gathering where mistakes of the past are pardoned.
Amiatu and Fa’atoafu said they were gutted when the scheduled meeting did not happen.
According to them, the Land and Titles Court had ordered a reconciliation meeting between themselves and the village council.
When the decision was delivered, Amiatu said “we [village and them] shook hands outside the Court house."
<!-- samoaobs_headline -->
<ins class="adsbygoogle"
style="display:inline-block;width:300px;height:250px"
data-ad-client="ca-pub-9419815128221199"
data-ad-slot="5353984075"></ins>
<script>
(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});
</script>{/googleAds}
“We were told by a representative of the village that the village would have to meet to discuss when a gathering could materialise for the Court’s order to be followed."
“The Court gave us four weeks but after two weeks of waiting, we decided to meet with the mayor at the time to inform them we would be coming to the village on Saturday 18 December to meet."
“We made the appropriate preparations for that meeting. I had a cow slaughtered from Falealili and organised monetary gifts and fine mats but when we arrived at the village, no one was there.”
Today, Amiatu said he is tired of waiting.
“We have been banished for over ten years now and we are still not accepted back into the village,” he said. “We were punished for merely exercising our human rights in opposing changes made to the village genealogy.”
Fa’atoafu Mati said they disagreed with the changes made because they were not informed and that’s why they were banished.
They took the matter to the Court from which a decision was made for the village council and banished matai to reconcile.
Asked for a comment yesterday, the government’s representative in the village, Tiata Vailiga, rejected claims that the village is divided over the issue.
He also confirmed that Amiatu Faatoafu and Faatoafu had relayed their willingness to meet with the village through another matai.
The request, however, was rejected.
According to Tiata, despite the rejection, Amiatu and Faatoafu will “not back down”.
“If they had come to the village in a humble manner, we would have accepted them back.”
Tiata said the men should have made a traditional apology.
“Had they come that day covered in fine mats, the decision would have been different,” he said.
Told that the two are threatening to set up their own sub-village, Tiata said: “Our village will not accept that. They can take the matter to Court but our village will not accept their decision. We remain firm with our decision.”
<!-- samoa_observer.ws -->
<ins class="adsbygoogle"
style="display:inline-block;width:336px;height:280px"
data-ad-client="ca-pub-9419815128221199"
data-ad-slot="5306335075"></ins>
<script>
(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});
</script>{/googleAds}