Amata's Pacific Notebook: Mother's Day in Texas
May 16, 2007

Amata's Pacific Notebook

Killeen/Ft. Hood, Washington, D.C. (May 14)- Mother's Day was terrific. I was invited to be part of a tribute to Samoan mothers being held at the Fort Hood Samoan LMS Church but because my nephews had a family event planned for my sister Moni Glenister and her mother-in-law Naijo Nomura Belford, I was unable to make it.

Naijo came all the way from American Samoa for the college graduation of her grandson, my nephew Marshall Glenister, which was held yesterday in Abilene, Texas. Marshall is the son of my youngest sister Limonmon and recently retired Army CSM Roland Glenister of the Afoa and Fanene clans of Utulei and Nuuuli. Marshall also was fortunate to have the presence of Tomio Brown, the son of Naijo's sister Jacinta and Robert Brown of American Samoa. Tomio is an Air Force flight engineer who is on his way to Iraq in the next two weeks. Not being used to Texas, I was surprised that the "short" drive to Abilene, where the graduation was held, was about a four-hour drive away. And, of course, it was another four-hour return!

But the day after (Sunday) was our day of rest, not travel. We all went to a youth church service in which my nephew and niece, Stewart and Rachael Glenister were part of the program and afterwards, we spent the rest of the day in family activities. My brother-in-law Roland and his children prepared a delicious brunch for us mothers and we all had a wonderful time together.

Today is Monday and I had a chance to visit briefly with some of our people in Texas.

I also chatted with Faavaefou, the sister of the late Gov. Tauese Sunia and the wife of Rev. Sasa who is the pastor of the LMS Church at Ft. Hood. She has invited me to visit them when I am next in Texas and I look forward to it.

There are many Samoans in Killeen. If one wants to visit, it is best to contact the different Samoan pastors, such as Rev. and Mrs. Sasa when organizing things because the pastors are plugged into the Samoan community. They know who in their flock is sick, well, getting ready to be deployed, retiring and so forth. The LMS owns the Samoa i Texas fellowship hall that holds Samoan family nights, youth revivals and various other gatherings. I am told the Samoan churches are working on getting the Katinas to come there for a concert possibly after the Samoa Gospel Rock Revival.

I also spoke with Tanielu Tuiasosopo, whose parents, Senator Pulefa'asisina and Tupu, coincidentally were visiting Tanielu at the same time I was in Texas. They had come to Honolulu to see their son Mariota off to Afghanistan again. Tanielu is an enthusiastic, energetic, sharp young man who is working on his Master's Degree at Tarleton State University. Two other Samoan students are there as well: Christabell Mariner of Tafuna, and Christina Noll of Killeen (Rev. Pati's daughter).

Before departing Texas, I had a chance to sample the dishes at C&H Hawaiian Grill, owned by Henson Timo of Utulei and his lovely wife, Cora Langford of Fagatogo. We lunched there with my brother Richard who had flown in from Hawaii for the graduation, my sister Moni, her son Marshall and mother-in-law Naijo Nomura Belford. The food is a Samoan/Hawaiian mix and it's delicious. No wonder the place is a big hit. The key to Cora and Henson's success is that, not only do Samoans like their food, but many more non-Samoans also dine there regularly on palusami, laulau, green bananas, chicken and long rice, you name it. Their butter mochi is the best I've ever had. I would not be surprised if they eventually open restaurants at other locations, they are that popular. By the way, they do not open on Sundays, just weekdays and Saturdays.

While I was in Killeen, I got the word as did everyone else, that His Highness Susuga Malietoa Tanumafili II had passed away. There was a great sadness among the Samoan community, whether from Samoa or American Samoa, because this wonderful man was held in such high esteem. I will never forget his humility and courtesy during my father's funeral in 1997 when he came to our home in Niu Valley to make a presentation and personally express his condolences to my mother and her children. When we received the call that Malietoa was coming to the house, it caused a bit of excitement, at least on the part of the State Department. I still remember him climbing up the hill to our house surrounded by the U.S. Secret Service. He did not have a Samoan entourage with him, which surprised me. With tremendous humility and simplicity, he himself spoke as he made the traditional Samoan presentation from "Tanu" in memory of his boyhood friend "Pita."

I also learned that ASG was sending to Washington this week a most senior delegation as a last ditch effort to influence the federal minimum wage hike debate. I was really torn on my travel plans and could have made a case for proceeding in any one of three directions. I have been invited to Columbia, South Carolina for the Presidential debate being held Tuesday evening. Events such as these are good opportunities to raise American Samoa's profile and discuss issues with political leaders who also are current office holders in Washington, including Senators McCain and Brownback, and Congressmen Tancredo, Hunter and Paul. Hunter has a large Samoan community in his San Diego district and Paul is from right here in Texas. Because I will be a delegate to next year's national convention, as will other members of the national committee who will be in Jackson, these leaders are interested in spending time with all of us.

As much as I regret missing this opportunity, I ruled it out. My heart is in going to Samoa for Malietoa's funeral and I wrestled with that long and hard. But in the end I know that Malietoa's family will understand that so much is at stake in Washington, I felt I needed to travel back to the Nation's Capital Monday night.

Samoa News readers will know that the House has passed a new emergency supplemental for Iraq to replace the one President Bush vetoed last week and, to the disappointment of many, it contains the same provision to increase American Samoa's minimum wage. The bill now goes to the Senate and that is what has prompted ASG to send its delegation to Washington.

Because so much is at stake for our economic future, I feel I must be in Washington to be available to the delegation. Because I have strong ties to the Republican side from having been on congressional staff for a decade and with my position as a senior member of the RNC, I want to be able to help our delegation meet with any Republicans they want to see. I am sure it is not lost on our leaders that it is important to work with Republicans, too, even if the House and Senate are controlled by Democrats right now.

After all, we are in this crisis right now because it was the Republicans who questioned why American Samoa should be treated differently than the Northern Marianas. Had Republicans known more about our circumstances, this situation might not have occurred. Moreover, even though Democrats have a majority in the Senate, they only have 50 votes. Under Senate rules, it takes 60 votes to pass controversial legislation. Republicans have the power to block bills.

Finally, the executive branch is under Republican control, so President Bush has the power to veto legislation he does not like and Democrats do not have enough votes to override his vetoes. So, Republicans are hardly irrelevant right now in the Washington power structure.

There is no certainty that our delegation will contact me for assistance but I feel duty bound to be in Washington to be available to them. When the new Congress convened in January, a minimum wage hike was not even an issue but it has become so and the debate has taken many strange turns since then. Since there is no guarantee how it will come out and since the decision could be made any day, as it is a part of an emergency supplemental, our leaders have taken the wise course of sending to Washington its most senior leaders to demonstrate our serious concern.

There is no question that our culture dictates that Governor Togiola must attend Malietoa's funeral but I am sure if the issue is still not settled, he will be on the first plane to Washington to lead the effort.

As I mentioned last week, this is also the key week in Washington for Asia Pacific American Heritage Month. Given the new circumstances, I hope I can find time to take in some of the activities being planned.

Write me with your comments and I would be particularly interested in anything you have to say about the federal minimum wage hike debate. .

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