Front Page Sunday November 15, 2009

Lanu’s tsunami story: “I will not leave, nor turn back from you.”

Afuafu Tuilaepa is the senior lady and matriarch of Chief Tuilaepa Fua’ava’s family clan at Manono Island. She has never been married in her life and thus her Chief Tuilaepa and clan has the responsibility of caring for her, especially that Afuafu is now crippled in her senior years of life. Lanu is married into Chief Tuilaepa Fua’ava’s family and has become quite attached to Afuafu. She calls her, ‘matriach and mother’ and Afuafu calls Lanu, her ‘daughter’. Furthermore, Lanu has become one of Afuafu’s primary caregivers. As the tsunami hit Manono Island, Lanu was already on higher ground with other family members when she realised that Afuafu was still at the maota (chief’s house) at the beachfront. eventpolynesia.com [+]

Scholarships for military children available

The Scholarships for Military Children Program was created to recognize the contributions of military families to the readiness of the fighting force and to celebrate the role of the commissary in the military family community. [+]

Tsunami survivors still struggle

Samoans bury their dead in elevated graves in front of their homes. It's thought to enable the home fires to shine upon the souls of the departed. These days, the pathways to homes in the Samoas are dotted with freshly laid graves. A Sept. 29 tsunami claimed 32 lives in American Samoa. It ripped houses off foundations, hurled trucks into trees, and damaged about a third of properties in the 3,000-population village of Leone. Rekha Basu, desmoinesregister.com [+]

Delta State Univ. football team boasts 5 Samoan players

Delta State University football team's 5 Samoan athletes are featured in a news video on local Mississippi television station WXVT's website. Delta State University [+]

 

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Free legal aid for people affected by tsunami will be available Monday

Free legal assistance will be available early next week for local residents affected by the Sept. 29 earthquake and tsunami which is a project made available at areas following a disaster, according to local and federal officials. Fili Sagapolutele [+]

Visitor’s Bureau CEO shares tourism plan with Chamber

Despite the limitation in funding and resources for tourism development, American Samoa Visitor’s Bureau (ASVB) Chief Executive Officer David Vaeafe says the territory has the potential of becoming a “huge” tourist destination and this could be accomplished by working together— both with local and off-island travel partners. Fili Sagapolutele [+]

FEMA can help with siren alert system, but ASG must initiate it

The U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is ready to help American Samoa assess and fund an island-wide siren alert system, which has to be initiated by the local government, says a top FEMA official.  A siren system, or the lack thereof, is one of the top issues of conversation since the Sept. 29 earthquake and tsunami. Fili Sagapolutele [+]

Hometown News: Airman 1st Class Faaletino T. Roberts

(PRESS RELEASE) -- Air Force Airman 1st Class Faaletino T. Roberts graduated from basic military training at Lackland Air Force Base, San Antonio, Texas. The airman completed an intensive, eight-week program that included training in military discipline and studies, Air Force core values, physical fitness, and basic warfare principles and skills. SamoaNews Editor [+]

Arkansas organization helping American Samoa

FORT SMITH, Ark. -- Help from our area will aid those affected by the September tsunami in the American Samoa, located on the South Pacific Ocean. Randy English grew up in Fort Smith, but has spent the last two decades doing missionary work in the American Samoa. 20-49 TV Ft Smith, Arkansas [+]

West Seattle resident volunteers in post-tsunami Samoa

The 8.0 magnitude earthquake in the South Pacific that set off the deadly tsunami Sept. 29 brought tragedy to American Samoa and Samoa. Samoa was formerly Western Samoa and is now independent and simply called "Samoa." Sean Wooten, 29, of West Seattle, decided he wanted to help. Steve Shay, West Seattle Herald [+]

Katina’s produce Hope4Samoa commercial

Bringing joy and comfort to their brothers and sisters in Samoa, The Katina's continue their work by promoting Hope4Samoa. [+]

Samoan hopes saved

Trainee chefs in Samoa who feared they wouldn’t be able to graduate have been thrown a lifeline by Manukau Institute of Technology in New Zealand. Manukau Courier, N.Z. [+]

In first visit to China, Obama walks a tightrope

SHANGHAI (AP) -- President Barack Obama is walking a tightrope on his first trip to China, seeking to enlist help in tackling urgent global problems while weighing when and how - or if - he should raise traditional human rights concerns. Obama arrived in Shanghai late at night, in a driving rain, hustling through a phalanx of umbrella-holding dignitaries to reach his limousine. [+]

Apology for kids shipped from Britain to colonies

LONDON (AP) -- As many as 150,000 poor British children were shipped off to the colonies over three and a half centuries, often taken from struggling families under programs intended to provide them with a new start - and the Empire with a supply of sturdy white workers. Forty years after the program stopped, Britain and Australia are saying sorry to the child migrants, who were promised a better life only to suffer abuse and neglect thousands of miles from home. [+]

Bingo! In quieter Baghdad, beloved game is back

BAGHDAD (AP) -- It's Saturday night at the Alwiyah Club, and 21-year-old Sarah al-Kimackchy is doing the hip thing - playing bingo. [+]

Recession intensifies GenX discontent at work

CHICAGO (AP) -- They're antsy and edgy, tired of waiting for promotion opportunities at work as their elders put off retirement. A good number of them are just waiting for the economy to pick up so they can hop to the next job, find something more fulfilling and get what they think they deserve. Oh, and they want work-life balance, too. [+]

Palin's way of talkin' dissected, you betcha

MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- When Sarah Palin burst onto the national political stage there was a lot of talk about her distinctive way of talkin', you betcha. [+]

Geeky 'tweeters' to report on space shuttle launch

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) -- Fingers will be flying when space shuttle Atlantis blasts off Monday: About 100 of NASA's geekiest fans will be on hand, pecking away at iPhones, BlackBerrys, laptops and other Twittering gadgets. [+]