If you turn on the radio these days, you can easily stumble upon song lyrics that in no way matches the economical, cultural ambitions and traditions of Samoa.
“Do what you want, what you want with my body”- a sentence from the number 1 song on the Magik FM’s “Coca Cola top 10 hit list.”
These words are not exactly encouraging youth to follow the fa’asamoa values. But Tahere Siisiialafia does, though, not blame Western influences such as these for youth issues including unemployment, high crime rates, and increasing teen pregnancies. She blames the mindset of the youth.
“Some elders would say that we are losing spiritual values and becoming immoral because of Western influences; I disagree,” she says. “I would say that what has been missing is 'critical thinking’.”
This need for youth to thinking critically is clearly reflected in the statistics provided by the Samoa National Youth Policy from 2011-2015.
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The numbers are alarming. There is Chlamydia prevalence rate of 40.9 per cent among the age category of 15-25. The 20-29 year age group makes up 43 per cent of those imprisoned by the District Court for 2005-2006.
Fifty per cent of people imprisoned by the Supreme Court in the same period are youth.
Looking to the future, Ms. Siisiialafia says that the only way to prevent these problems is for the youth of today to think critically.
“With critical thinking a young person develops the 'will' to do what is required to keep themselves properly informed,” she says.
Diving into the staggering numbers of the Samoa National Youth Policy from 2011-2015, this message seems very relevant.
According to the policy, only four per cent of women and seven per cent of men have comprehensive knowledge of HIV/AIDS prevention and transmission.
Ms. Siisiialafia's theories might be a solution to this.
“Overall, it provides the young person with the keys to unlocking their own intellectual independence leading them to being empowered, willing and able to explore and solve problems themselves.”
When confronted with the fact that influences from Western culture such as the lyrics of the song “Do what you want” encourages attitudes and morals that may not coexist with traditional understanding of Fa'aSamoa, Ms. Siisiialafia explains how the fa’asamoa, just like society, is evolving.
“The world is evolving and so is Samoa, therefore, we may still be indebted to our traditional morals and values, but the Fa'aSamoa is also evolving.”
This, she says, explains how youth may for instance be dressed modernly, but still uphold their fa’asamoa values such as respecting their elders.
Thereby, Western culture may influence themes such as spiritual values and morals, but, according to Ms. Siisiialafia, it is up to the individual to decide how they take the influence.
“Either we resist the Western influences based on our strong spiritual morals and values, or we make well informed decisions and choices from critical thinking,” she says in conclusion, defining what could lead to the end of alarming rates in youth issues.
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