Remittances of $5m tala are coming in every week, but that is from just one local money transfer outlet.
If those reports are true then we have so much to be grateful for to our kinsfolk who are sending those money home to families.
A question we should take seriously for families who are the beneficiaries of these remittances, is how desperate are they for this money?
If they don’t get any what will become of them? Will they starve or be forced to steal to live?
Will the children go hungry or the family ended up sleeping on the streets of Apia because the remittance money did not come through?
Will they lose their customary land to unpaid bank mortgages?
How about the ‘faifeau’? What will become of the Lord’s servant if the Sunday ‘love plate’ is half full?
Are these genuine worries families in Samoa should have when they missed out on overseas remittances?
If we are going to ask hard questions about ourselves are we not deserving also of honest answers to us personally.
Are we are truly in dire straits or will be if we don’t put pressure on our loved ones overseas to send money?
These are thoughts that play in the head as the heart goes out to our loved ones trying to raise a family where they are.
What are the challenges they go through to get all that money send to Samoa? What sacrifices do they make? Are their children getting warm clothes or food to eat when they come home from school?
What about here in Samoa. Where has the bulk of the remittance money gone to?
How long do they normally last.
When will the please send more remittance money cry go out again? When will the cycle of dependence on overseas money end?
“….so they’re not rich and we’re not starving, dear?
