 New
column to feature people and cultures from the War Zone
by Tina Mata'afa
Samoa News Writer
Beginning this
month Samoa News will bring our readers "Tala Mai Tafa o
Taua," (Stories From the War Zone), an all new column by
on-site guest writer Easter Asi Bruce, a counterintelligence/human
intelligence (CI/HUMINT) analyst currently stationed in Baghdad,
Iraq.
With so many
Samoan soldiers in the war zone today, Bruce, who hails from
the villages of Taputimu and Vatia, American Samoa, is excited
to be able to serve her fellow Samoans in Iraq by writing "Tala
Mai Tafa o Taua."
From the Asi
and Tagovailoa family lines, Easter said she experienced "an
awakening" to her Samoan culture after her grandmother passed
away in late 2003.
Bruce's grandmother
is Miriama Ituomanu Tagovailoa, daughter of Fa'atali Mulaulau
of Solo Solo, Samoa and Ituomanu of Vatia. The death of her grandmother
revived an "unexplained passion" for her to re-acquaint
with her Samoan culture and instilled in her a "burning
desire" to serve, she told Samoa News.
She said the
death of her grandmother was "a life-changing occurrence"
when she was living in Korea. Following her grandmother's death,
she became actively involved as one of the founders of the Republic
of Korea Samoa Association (ROKSA).
"I have
known my dear brother Tuileama and his wife Anita Nua since the
days of Ft. Bragg back in the late 80s, early 90s. Furthermore,
I have enjoyed serving alongside Tauapai Laupola, Luse Meleisea
Wiley, Talalelei Fautanu, and others during my stint in Korea,"
said Bruce of her relationship with other ROKSA founders. "I
am truly humbled to have been affiliated with ROKSA's founding
fathers and the Samoan community in Korea in support of many
activities held for Samoan soldiers.
Her request to
volunteer as a guest writer for Samoa News is "a continuing
desire to serve her fellow Samoans," she said.
In the weekly
column, readers will receive reports from Iraq that aim to share
the unique aspects of the Iraqi culture and compare the cultures
of Samoa and Iraq.
Bruce is calling
on all families with soldiers serving in Iraq, Afghanistan and
Kuwait to submit service member nominations to be featured as
the weekly "Toa O Samoa", part of the weekly "Tala
Mai Tafa o Taua" column.
Samoa News asked
Bruce to include in "Tala Mai Tafa o Taua" weekly features
on the Samoan servicemen and women, well-known locally as the
"Toa O Samoa," who are stationed in the Middle East.
Families who
would like their soldier featured in "Toa O Samoa"
may submit a brief biography of the service member, no more than
250-300 words, along with one or two photos, to Bruce.
She said, "due
to the competing network traffic and bandwidth in Iraq,"
Bruce asks that all photos be compressed for web page publication
with the larger duplicates for print publication sent directly
to Samoa News at SDN@samoatelco.com.
Samoa News continues
to thank all our Samoan brothers and sisters in uniform for their
continued service. We continue to pray for you and your families
until your safe return home.
E-mail "Toa
O Samoa" submissions and all inquiries on "Tala Mai
Tafa o Taua" to Easter Asi Bruce at: sinaoalii@yahoo.com.
Reach the
reporter at
tina@samoanews.com
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Samoa News reserves all rights.
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