Pacific perspective

By Siosifa Pole in All Sorts

inspiration for young people from the Pacific

PACIFIC PERSPECTIVE EVENING
Recently I was invited to do the beginning prayer in an inter-school speech contest on "Pacific Perspective‟ at Otago Girls High School on Thursday, the 15th of August 2013 at 6.30pm. This was an historical event because it was the first of its kind held in Dunedin. Because of the nature of the evening and the purpose of this event, I asked the organisers if I could say something important before I offered the beginning prayer. I told them when I was invited to come forward that I am not coming only to say a prayer and then go home. I want to
contribute to the significance of this event to the Pacific Community here in Dunedin.
So, here is an extract from a speech that I made before I continued on with a prayer.

"Tena koutou, tena koutou, tena tatou katoa, Ta Lofa Lava, Bula Vinaka, Kia orana, Fakalofa Lahi atu, Taloha ni, Malo e lelei and warm Pacific greetings. It is indeed an honour and privilege to take part is this evening on this unique occasion for the Pacific students in Dunedin. My name is Siosifa Pole and I am from the Pacific. I was born in Tonga in the village of Fua‟amotu, where Tonga International airport stands. When I grew up and did all my primary and high school education in Tonga, I was constantly told that Tonga is a dot in the world map. It is hard to recognise by those who have eye sight problem. Yes, we are a small island as other islands in the Pacific compared with the powerful nations in the world. This aspect of smallness disempowered me immediately and reduced my striving for educational success. I realised that I did not have the resources and facilities that could assist me to excel in my education. However, it is the perspective of one of our Pacific renowned scholars, the late Professor „Epeli Hau‟ofa, a Tongan anthropologist, who inspired and motivated me with his article, entitled, "Sea of Islands." In this article, he claims that we are not only islands, but islands in the sea. We live both in the islands and also in the sea. Both the islands and the sea are instrumental in resourcing and nurturing our people in the Pacific. Therefore, if we add together the landscape, the underground, and the Pacific Ocean, which is ours, our island nations in the Pacific are obviously bigger than the most powerful nations in the world! Perhaps tonight, on this Pacific Perspective Evening, we need to think big and beyond our smallness. We need to stretch our minds like an eagle‟s wings and fly above our limitations. I read a book written by the Frank brothers, who are also All Blacks. It is an inspiring book for young people who strive for success in any field of their interest. They write in this book this unique phrase, "We are all born to be equal but some are working hard during pre-season than others." Although, they wrote from a rugby perspective it can apply to any area of life. Indeed, God created each of us to be equal but what that means to you and to me will make the difference in our lives. Don‟t let what others think of you diminish or discourage you in relation to your dreams to succeed in your studies and also your seeking of a career for the future. May God bless you all on this historical occasion." This is the end of my short speech but I continued on with a prayer before the MC came forward and called each contestant to share their speech. It was a long night but I was impressed with the speeches of these young students. I am sure all of us who were present were challenged and inspired.
All the speakers on that evening were of Pacific descent and I could feel that my introduction set the platform for each of them to build their speeches on. It was not planned to be that way but it did happen, which was impressive. Although we came from different families and cultural backgrounds we all had something in common, i.e. our Pacificness and our smallness. We were trying that evening to encourage one another to come out of that cocoon and realise that opportunities are out there for them to grasp. They have the potential and the ability to grow big and think big. It was a couple of Sundays ago that I was impressed by a photo in our bulletin of Celia Cannon and Rachel Jones and Joy Clark with a title on the top, The Power of One. The title on this photo was referring to Celia Cannon as the only child in the children‟s talk and also in the Sunday School on that day. It was certainly powerful because Celia was able to draw the attention of the whole congregation to herself as a unique member of our church family. In the gospels, Jesus compares the Kingdom of God to a mustard seed, the smallest of all the seeds. He also compares the Kingdom of God to children, the most vulnerable people in our society. He valued the giving of the poor widow, although her offering was small comparing to the rich people. Why was smallness important to Jesus? What is i
t that smallness can offer? Should we value smallness?
Everything that is growing big started from smallness and that‟s why smallness is important. While anything or anyone is still small it/they requires special attention and careful consideration. This Sunday is Father‟s Day and we celebrate the significance of father‟s role in families and homes. From a Tongan perspective, father‟s role is to provide for family‟s sustenance and for family‟s security. The growth and the health of the vulnerable members of the family are dependent on his compassion to nurture and cherish their lives. He has to ensure that the weak members of the family are secured and safe. I suppose this is a general expectation of all fathers in any community, to consider the importance and the uniqueness of the small ones. We can apply the same principle to other areas in our community and our role to protect the vulnerable ones and to hear to their voices. By listening to their voices and considering their points of view, we will enable them to grow beyond their set boundaries and their limitation.
Siosifa Pole