FAST Party delegation meets with Guest Workers and Pago supporters

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — Pago Faatuatua I le Atua Ua Tasi (FAST) Party supporters gathered at Suiga ula ole Atuvasa beach last Friday morning to celebrate the visit of Samoa Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mataafa and a delegation from Samoa.

Around noon, the Prime Minister officially visited with FAST Party supporters in American Samoa.

Activities included a prayer service and traditional speeches. The day would later conclude with a corporate dinner at the DYWA Tafuna Gym that evening.

Before dawn the PM and cabinet ministers visited StarKist Samoa cannery and joined the morning prayers at the start of the day shift. The production area was a sea of red, the color of the FAST Party and cannery workers didn’t waste the chance to take selfies with the visitors.

A senior manager at the cannery told Samoa News that the group later sat down to a meeting with cannery management to discuss the guest worker program.

Guest workers at the cannery shared their feelings during the Samoa Prime Minister’s visit at their location of employment.

“It’s an honor to meet our Prime Minister and share some memories with her and the delegation from Samoa. This is a historical moment for all of us guest workers from Samoa because our leader and her cabinet visited us and gave her blessings,” Laamauga Tinosa, a 41-year-old mother from Savaii who came to the territory under the Guest Worker Program.

Matthew Vaalele, a 37-year-old male of Vaitele, Samoa said meeting the Samoa Prime Minister for the first time was an honor for him.

“I’m a citizen of Samoa and all these years I did not have the chance to shake hands with Fiame, and today (last Friday) is the day that I will never forget because I was able to take a photo with Fiamea and shake hands with her,” Vaalele said with a big smile on his face.

He also shook hands with the Minister of Agrriculture and Fisheries, who is also the Chairman of the FAST Party, Laauli Leauatea Schmidt.

“I met Laauli before and it’s an honor to meet him again here in the territory.

“He advised me to work hard for my family and remember to live a humble life, respect others and fear God,” Vaalele said about his conversation with Laauli.

Another guest worker from Samoa, Silia Toomalatai shared her thoughts about the visit.

According to Mrs. Toomalatai, working at the cannery is a great opportunity for her, not only to support her family and children in Samoa but American Samoa is much closer to Samoa than New Zealand and Australia.

“I thanked the Samoa Prime Minister for taking her time out to visit us here at the cannery.

“We’re here because we want to supported our family and our government and I thanked the Governor of American Samoa and the Samoa Prime Minister for allowing us this golden opportunity through the Guest Worker Program to work here and support our family,” Toomalatai said.

“My own opinion is, why would I want to travel overseas when there are job opportunities here in American Samoa?

“I will be more blessed to stay and work for my nation than traveling overseas and serving others because American Samoa and Samoa is a family and one nation,” Toomalatai concluded.

Later in the day at Su’iga’ula o le Atuvasa in Utulei several Pago FAST supporters shared their views on the first visit of the FAST Party leader in American Samoa.

According to Lagaaia Siaki, the official visit by leaders of FAST Party from Samoa is an honor and he’s grateful to spend the time meeting the Prime Minister and members of her cabinet.

Samoa News got a chance to speak with the Samoa Minister of Trade, Commerce and Industry Olo Levaopolo Fiti Vaai last Friday at the Su’iga’ula o le Atuvasa regarding some of the issues that were discussed during the Samoa talks and official meeting with the FAST Pago supporters.

Olo said that one of the issues that he’s interested in is developing and enhancing trade between the two Samoas.

PM Fiame and her entourage returned to Samoa last Saturday. She and her government are hosting NZ PM Jacinda Ardern, who arrived in Apia, Monday, Aug. 1, 2022.