Address delivered by Vui Clarence Nelson following his swearing-in
as Samoa’s Ombudsman.
Transcript note: This transcript was prepared by
Samoa Newshub from the Government of Samoa video. It has been
formatted and lightly edited for punctuation and readability while
retaining the wording of the address. Some Samoan words and phrases
may require further verification against the original recording.
Saunoaga i le gagana Samoa
Ia, ou te talitonu ua ona pae alago ia le paia sausau gāta le
tatou mafutaga ma le tatou taeao.
E lē toe tavaevaeina ese faamatalaga, aua o Samoa o le atunuu
tofi. O le fale foʻi o pō ma ao. Ua soo lona taiao ma i
tulutulu tao. Faataalolo la paia ia. A o lenei aso, o le
fagatonu le malama ma vili ifi a maina, ma agai se manatu e
tusa o le tatou faamoemoe.
Le susu o lau susuga o le taitai o lenei sauniga, faapea le
aufaigaluega totofi a le Atua. Aemaise o si aʻu fanau
faalesitala o Poasa, Leitupu ma Latu, faafetai le afifio mai
seʻi tulou tou tofiga mamalu.
E faatulou i le afio o lau afioga i le Tama o Aiga, le sui o
le Fono a Sui Tofia, lau afioga i le Tui Atua, Uncle Tupuola
Efi, ma le faletua ia Filifilia.
Afio lau afioga i le Palemia, lau afioga Laaulialemalietoa,
tainane le mamalu o Minisita o le Kapeneta. Afio foʻi lau
afioga i le Fofoga Fetalai, lau tofa Auapaau Mulipola, ia ma
sui o le Palemene o Samoa.
Aemaise le afio o le mamalu o le Ofisa o Faamasinoga, ae
maise o nai oʻu uso ma tuafafine ua tele tausaga sa matou
galulue punonou aua se manuia o Samoa.
Afio foʻi tatou paaga masani, ma sui mai malo i fafo ma le
mamalu o le diplomatic corps ua mafai ona tatou faatasi i
lenei taeao.
E faapea le aia o le lasilasi o Samoa ua aofaga ma potopoto
i aiga ma uo ma ē ua masani i le maota nei ma le live stream
o le Facebook.
Faafetai i lau saunoaga matagofie, lau afioga i le alii
faifeau. Ia, e lē iloa po o se faasatauro lenei tofiga, ae ou
te talitonu e leai. Ua faia e lo tatou Matai Sili lenei aso,
tatou te fiafia ma olioli ai, aua o tofiga uma lava e mai i
le Atua.
E lē tau fesiligia, ua valaauina ai lenei tagata faatauvaa e
faaauau se tautua mo le atunuu.
E ao ona ou faamalulu atu i lau afioga i le alii Palemia, ma
lau afioga i le Fofoga o le Fono, faapea foʻi le paia ma le
mamalu o sasao nei, ona o loʻu lē auai i le taimi sa
faatapulaa mo lenei faatautoga.
Ona sa ou faimalaga i nuu i fafo e faamaea nai tiute
faafaamasino, e fai aʻu ma sui o Samoa ma le Pasefika.
Social media and online harm
A ua avea foʻi lea mea, ua ou maitauina, ma tulaga ua
faauiga sese foʻi e nisi i luga o le social media, e
faapea: “O le la foʻi ua sola Vui, ae lē sau e fai lana
galuega.”
O se tasi lenei o faafitauli ua aafia ai le aia tatau ma
le nofo fealofani o tagata o le tatou atunuu: o le
faaaoga sese o le social media ma aupega tafai lagi e
faatupu vevesi ai i le va o tagata ma totonu o aiga.
E oo foʻi i ekalesia ua aafia i faamatalaga soona lafo
ma uiga lē migao ma le popoi o tagata i luga o le social
media.
Ae maise ua aafia atu ai ma le fanau iti. O le tatou
lumanai lena, ma taitai sese ai o latou mafaufau, ma
latou lagoa ma latou amioga.
Ou te talitonu, o se tasi lenei o mataupu e tatau ona
silasila totoʻa i ai le Ofisa o le Komesina o
Sulufaiga.
E saili ni auala e fofo ai le gasegase lea, ua pei o se
faamai i Samoa i lenei vaitau.
E tele foʻi nisi vaega o le soifuaga manuia o tagata o le
atunuu e tatau ona agai i ai se sailiiliga ma galuega a le
ofisa, tou afioga.
Ou te fiafia ua ou tagai atu o lea e afio mai le tamaitai
Minisita o Tupe. Mo se paketi o le a faataatia atu e le matou
ofisa, faamolemole, talia loa ma pasia.
O le tatou galuega, ou te talitonu, o le tou lagolagosua mai
i taumafaiga uma a lenei ofisa o le a taumafai i ai.
O le tatou galuega foʻi, e pei ona saunoa le taitai, e
faifai faatasi mo le manuia o Samoa, e ala i le Atua i lona
alofa.
Ou te faafetai foʻi i lau afioga i le Ao Mamalu o le Malo.
I lau faautautaga ua talia aloaia ai le fautuaga a le
Palemene o Samoa mo le tofiaina o lenei tagata faatauvaa.
Faafetai i lau afioga i le Palemia ma le mamalu o sui uma o
le Fono Aoao Faitulafono.
Ou te tautino atu, o tiute ma matafaioi e pei ona folasia mai
e le Faavae ma le Tulafono, o le a ou taumafai i le mea e
gata ai le mafai e faatino, e tusa ai ma musumusuga a le
Agaga Paia, ia ma le Tusi lea na fai ai laʻu tautoga i lenei
taeao.
E momoli atu foʻi laʻu faafetai tele i oʻu aiga, oʻu uo ma ē
masani, mo a latou tatalo ma tou tapuaiga.
O lea ua maea le tautua sa faia mo le Faamasinoga a Samoa, a
o lea ua toe tatala mai e le Silisili Ese le isi faitotoa e
faaauauina ai saʻu auaunaga mo le tatou atunuu.
E momoli atu laʻu faafetai faapitoa i si aʻu manamea, si oʻu
toalua. Ua tele tausaga o pologa lenei fafine ia te aʻu, ma
si aʻu fanau, mo la outou lagolagosua mo le galuega.
E pei ona saunoa le alii faifeau, na o le Alii Faaola na te
silafia le faigata, o le tulaga o le tou onosai ma le tou
lavapapale.
E avatu foʻi malu i puega i tou paia ma le tou mamalu pe afai
ua sasi se faamatalaga, ua lē atoa se sao i la outou
silasila.
E iai lava le talitonuga, lafo i nuu lē aina e pei o le
tatou upu masani. Faamagalo mai so matou vaivai.
English-language address
For our non-Samoan-speaking audience, both here and online,
thank you for taking time out of your busy schedules to
witness this event. I am humbled and honoured by your
presence.
In particular, I wish to acknowledge our donor partners, who
have assisted the Office of the Ombudsman in the past and
continue to support us today.
This is exemplified by the ongoing presence in the office of
two Australian volunteers, Rachel and Lisa, under the
Australian Volunteers Program. I am still trying to become
familiar with everyone’s names.
As we all know, human rights and good governance are not new
concepts. They go back to the time of the Greeks and Romans,
who believed in citizenship and representative government.
They are also reflected in documents such as England’s Magna
Carta of 1215 and in the actions of the first king of Persia,
from what is now Iran, who invaded Babylon and, according to
the Book of Daniel in the Bible, freed the Jewish people from
captivity and declared that all people were equal and free
to choose their own religion.
These are among the concepts upon which the United Nations
adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Samoa
incorporated these principles into our Constitution when we
became a sovereign and independent nation in 1962.
When you ask what the Office of the Ombudsman does, its work
is based on good governance and human rights. Those are its
foundation stones.
You are probably also correct that not many people know what
the office does. That is going to change, starting today.
We will work to ensure that the people of Samoa have a better
understanding of what we do. We will always zealously protect
their rights as citizens of this country and as people of
God.
Children and internet safety
There are many modern challenges. Protecting children and
other vulnerable groups from the dangers of the internet
is a major concern.
Some countries are now limiting children’s access to the
internet. This is something we need to consider very
carefully because we cannot simply take what other
countries do and apply it here.
Samoa is its own country, with its own social structure,
and we must always remain conscious of that.
We are also aware of the continuing high rate of sexual and
other forms of violence against women and girls. From my time
as a judge in the building next door, I know how horrific
this violence can be.
We also know that we must secure for future generations the
right to health and an adequate standard of living in this
country.
This includes the right to a healthy environment and
protection from harm caused by climate change, biodiversity
loss, pollution and the emerging threat of seabed mining in
the Pacific.
It is already occurring near American Samoa, and I assure you
that it will eventually reach our shores and affect our
country.
I apologise in advance to our donor partners. I will be a
pest to you. I will annoy you, and I will keep knocking on
your doors for assistance until you open them, because the
Bible says, “Knock, and the door shall be opened unto you.”
With your guidance, the office will seek to work together
with you to create a better Samoa, a better Pacific and,
indeed, a better world.
I think Michael Jackson said it best: “If you care enough for
the living, make a little space. Make it a better place for
you and for me.”
God bless.
