FrontPage

Member Area

Sunday

Sep 07th

FrontPage

The News

Travel

Leave Our Taxi Drivers And Their Beards Alone

Written by Pio Sioa
Saturday, 29 March 2008
Nobody faults a drumbeater when it comes to promoting a good cause. As long as the message is worthy go for it. Beat away all you want. On the radio this week for example, our tourist people were drumming away on the whats and what not to do, for our taxi drivers when the tourists are around. Dress properly. Be polite and helpful. Be friendly. Don’t over charge. Of course the taxi drivers and owners are fully aware of what is required of them. But it does not hurt to rattle on the drums now and again. A helpful reminder is always necessary to maintain focus. But that should work both ways. The drumbeater has to know when to back off and allow the message to sink in without bludgeoning the poor ears pieces. Very important as well, is the quality of the information that is being passed across. Our tourist messengers for example, were telling the drivers on the radio, not to grow a beard or a moustache because it is not Samoan and the tourists have an aversion to drivers with hairy faces. Now if that is true, our Visitors Bureau should start looking for incentives to ensure all taxi drivers are clean-shaven. But boy, this is a most ridiculous requirement to expect from our drivers. It is understandable if the offensive growth of hair, refers to a scruffy looking person who has obviously missed out on a shave and probably shower, over the last two or three days. But if you have a perfectly trimmed line of hairs adorning the upper lip or a full growth from the sideburns down, what in goodness sake is wrong with that? How can a ‘palagi’ take offence to that? It is not like they are going to throw up when they see a human face with hairs on it for the first time. Would it scare them to see a Samoan with a beard because they did not book to travel to the Planet of Apes? Would they be offended because the ‘palagis’ are supposed to be the only ones with the kind of DNA that allows for hair to sprout below their noses or along the jaw line? Surely this is not what our Visitors Bureau CEO Ms. Sonya Hunter is telling his messengers to go and drum out to the drivers! There is going to be an awful lot of short hairs with angry curls out there, if this is what our tourist experts are going to continue to demand out of our taxi drivers. Maybe it would be worthwhile for Ms. Hunter to invest on a few hair brushes to smooth out some very riled up tufts of jutting facial growth, among the members of one of our tourist industry’s front line services. Of course Samoa needs tourism, but let us not go overboard about it folks. Please! There are more important developments that merit the kind of drum beating our people need, than for every taxi driver to be clean-shaven. Take a car ride along the Falealupo - Tufutafoe beachfront if you do go to Savaii. See how our village entrepreneurs are making the effort to heed the call by the tourism industry for beach fales. You will be encouraged to see the effort that has been put in Unfortunately when you see an abandoned outhouse on the edges of the sand line and only a few meters from where the beach fales are, there is obviously something missing somewhere in the messages going out to the villages. Erecting beach fales are not enough either. Maybe our tourism operators in the villages need to be told that tourists require the extra facilities to shower and attend to natures call as well. Falealupo and Tufutafoe have white beaches like the popular tourist spot at Manase. The clincher for the area is that it is rich in the folklores of the land. There are landmarks to show for some of them as well. Yet on the drive along the length of the beach front, all one sees are large government signboards telling everyone about rehabilitation projects undertaken after the Ofa and Val cyclones. Where are the signboards showing the legendary landmarks? Where are the writings on the many legends the land is famous for? One does not have to be a tourist to appreciate the legend of the Fafa o Sauali’i, where the souls of the dead go, according to legend. Then there is the footprint of the Giant Moso. But everything pales in comparison to the legend of the Great Nafanua – the warrior goddess. The attractions the area has to offer is a gold mine for tourism in Savaii if properly developed and exploited. After all, how much swimming in the sea or tanning on the beach can a tourist takes, before the place becomes boring? These are critical developments our tourism drumbeaters should be rallying public support for. Calling on the taxi drivers to shave off perfectly nice moustaches or well kept beards is not going to clear the Falealupo or Tufutafoe beachfront of old outhouses. Remember what they say about different strokes for different folks? There are tourists who do appreciate the tickles of a hairy face. It matters not whether it’s on a taxi driver’s face too. So leave the poor bearded taxi drivers alone. Comments (1) Subscribe to this comment's feed Well said..... written by makayo, March 31, 2008 We don't need to change for them...they dont bother when we come to their countries...... Write comment Name Email Title Comment

< Prev		Next >

[ Back ]

Polls

The Land Bill ?

	Against it
	For it
	Need more info

US Presidential Elections

	John McCain
	Barak Obama
	Ralph Nader

Would you send your Aiga a RHD Car?

	Yep...I'm getting it ready now
	Yep....Sometime Soon
	Nope.....We dont have RHD Cars here
	Nope.....I'd rather just send money

Who's your favourite Miss Samoa Contestant?

	Susana Hicks - Miss McDonalds
	Soteria Opeta - Samoa Mamanu
	Selepa Tufuga - Pacific Express
	Dikaiosune Tamili - Lalelei o Samoa
	Tiliilagi Ah Kuoi - Lefaga and Faleseela Rugby
	Mamele Aloalii - Australia
	Selina Lumanuvae Sua - Susana o Samoa
	Amily Faleafaga - New Zealand
	Gwendolyn Tuaitanu - USA

--ADVERTISEMENTS--

Google Satellite Map of Eveni Carruthers

--ADVERTISEMENTS--

FiaOla.com Featured Items

Before you buy, check out FiaOla.com for bargains

BARGAIN! INVESTMENT! Prime
Location 1/4 Acre Land & House

Land Rover Discovery.

Cook Island Pareo Dresses

	GYM SET
	Printing Business for Sale.

"Where the natives buy and sell"

--ADVERTISEMENTS--

Latest Comments

Miss Samoa 2008 Pageant Set For 5th September 2008
Congratulations Gwen. would love to meet up with you when i return home this november. hope all goes...

Happy Birthday Baby Miracle
Happy Birthday Miracle, We lovingly remember you in our prayers. malo le tauivi, baby! Alofaaga : T...

Our Turn To Chew Will Come
1.....The crazy fan...who complangere no matter what the outcome is....

............................

Gwendolyn Tuaitanu Is New Miss Samoa
Congrats to Miss Samoa USA for winning the title this year!!! God bless

Gwendolyn Tuaitanu Is New Miss Samoa
Awwwwww kalofa e ia Gwen...Way to go...you made all of us Americans PROUD...ku'u ai lakou e talk

...

Social Network

Join the Newsline Team on Bebo

www.bebo.com/newslineS

Become part of the Newsline Bebo Network

Get News via your Email

Subscribe to Samoa Live News Headlines by Email

Get the Latest News on your Blackberry or PDA

Subscribe in a reader

Sounds from Samoa

Listen to broadcasts from LiveSamoa.com
Courtesy of Plantation Feet, SBC(540am) and
Radio Polynesia(99.9 FM)

http://www.samoalive.com/sliveradio.asx

Live on Weekdays from 8am to 9am

Have your Say

We want your Opinion

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
If you would like to submit a letter for possible
publication in the print edition of the Newsline,
please send an email to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

We want your News

Submit News from your Area
If you would like to submit News for possible
publication in both the online and print version
of Newsline please feel free to email us
at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Become a News Blogger
Have a passion for writing? Interested in
writing articles for Newsline? Email us
at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .
We are looking for Bloggers from
around the world to contribute to our site.