Local Department of Homeland Security director Samana Semo Ve’ave’a has echoed the call by local leaders including Gov. Lolo Matalasi Moliga for the community to join together to “eliminate” the drug problem in the territory.

As part of his remarks at last Friday’s 25th Police Academy graduation ceremony at the Gov. Rex Lee Auditorium, Samana spoke about what he says is “dear to my heart - drugs” which he described as an illness.

“My little brother died from drugs,” he told the audience which included graduates, family and friends, as well as the Governor, Secretary of Samoan Affairs Mauga T. Asuega, Attorney General Talauega Eleasalo Ale, Police Commissioner Le’i Sonny Thompson, and former police commissioners, Sens. Galeai M. Tuufuli and Tuaolo Manaia Fruean.

Samana, a military veteran, said, “Sons, daughters, brothers, sisters who are taking drugs — they are victims.”

He said the “people that we need to get, are those who sell the drugs, those who are making the drugs. Those are the folks we need to concentrate on.”

He describes “those folks” as “silailagi” (which is the Samoan word for a specific type of boil), because it starts to develop inside the armpit, and if not cured properly, it jumps to another side.

“But there’s a treatment for those folks. When you go see a doctor, what does the doctor do? They cut them and they squeeze that puss out of them and they plug it,” he said. “I believe that is what we need to do.”

Samana said his department needs to come together with Department of Public Safety, Customs, Immigration, Samoan Affairs, village coalitions, chiefs and all villages.

“We all need to come together as a team to eliminate the silailagi,” he urged, adding that he made a promise to Le’i that ASDHS along with DPS “will work together to resolve the drug issue that we are facing.”

The call for everyone to work together, to rid the problem in American Samoa has been made by the Governor since early last year. At the 25th Police Academy graduation ceremony, as well as Friday’s cabinet meeting, the Governor again urged Samoan Affairs, DPS, ASDHS and everyone to ban together to combat the drug problem.

In a memo to police officers earlier this month, Le’i said the Governor established this year a Task Force for Domestic Security to formulate mitigating strategies to curb and eliminate the plague of illicit drugs and narcotics that has plagued the daily lives of the community.

To be successful, he said, police call for a united and coordinated effort with the Office of Samoan Affairs to partner with grassroots community organizations, faith based and non-governmental organizations to stand united with the law enforcement community to eliminate the systemic threat that drugs and narcotics impose on children and the family.

Le’i’s memo to police officers explained his move to expand manpower and strengthen the Department of Public Safety’s Vice & Narcotics Tactical Unit by inviting police officers interested in joining the Unit to see the Police Commissioner by this Friday.