Editor,
My eighty-year-old mother, who is a Tongan citizen and also a US citizen, was on her way to Fiji from Tonga on an Air Pacific flight of November 10, 2007 at 9:am. She checked in her luggage and paid her taxes and she was on her way to the waiting area to board her flight when she was approached by Tongan official (female) demanding money.
My mother told her that she does not have any money but she kept on insisting to give her money and finally my mother gave her US$20 because my mother needed to kept going because she might miss her flight.
Since it is the holiday season I would like to share my mother's horror story with other family members that are traveling or planning to have your parents travel by themselves to take extra precaution. Tonga is not a friendly island any more.
Thank you,
Lucia Siulangapo
msiulang [at] hotmail [dot] com
