What Should We Ask For? [1]
Tuesday, May 24, 2005 - 17:52. Updated on Monday, May 19, 2014 - 18:21.
In my youth, I consistently asked the tooth fairy (Hina) for an exchange of my bad tooth for her good one. Then I tossed my bad tooth over the house believing in my good fortunes to come. I have no idea why, but that was the norm according to our Village's Dental School of Thoughts. The most common technique was the thread and pull technique. When a tooth is loose, this is done by finding a thread (the coconut husk threads are the strongest and most commonly used), tie a knot around the tooth and yank it fast. I did it several times. I don't know what my grandma was thinking, but she convinced me of it. No one else disputed that. As a matter of fact, other kids in our village were asking the tooth fairy to make the same exchange when their turn came. Kids are declared "brave" when they accomplish this self care dentistry by themselves. The pain and the depression from this horrible ordeal usually diminished with the growth of the new tooth. Lesson learned from those days were, to get a better deal, a little pain is necessary.
We are now at a crossroad where we are asking ourselves, where do we go from here? For quite sometimes now, the Democratic Movement (Temos) has made their stand on issues very clear, and so was the Monarchy. The Temos screamed louder and seems to be louder each year. Ten years? Ten years after its formation, the Temos are as ineffective as they were at the beginning. Yet, they are claiming victory. This reminds me of the U.S. President George W. Bush, declared the end of the Iraqi invasion, but US soldiers are dying each day since that declaration. Is this what the Temos referring to? They have won their battle but somehow, their declared victory is not materializing? They failed to stop the monopolizing of the local airline by the Crown Prince as well as the humongous tax increase. What are you offering as an alternative? Show us!
If I am the Chief Temo, I will provide an alternative to the people. For example, after ten years, the Temos should already have a staffed free health clinic somewhere in Nuku...alofa, so people will go there as an alternative to Vaiola Hospital. When they try to make an argument about health care, they can use their efficiency and effectiveness in running this health clinic to compare it to the archaic heavily politicized system in Tofua. Is it in Tofoa or Tofua? Which ever place it is located, the long waiting time to be seen by a doctor, we might as well say, Tofua instead of Tofoa. The Royal Family even got tired of waiting to be seen, they fly to New Zealand, seen by a doctor and return, and still, the poor lady form Vaotu'u is still waiting in line to be seen by a doctor. Customer service Tongan style? Could it be, the Royal Family knows something about our health care system that we don't? By providing an alternative, you are showing the public your public management skills, which are lacking today.
Whether it is a health clinic or any other initiative, the bottom line is this: The Temos must provide an alternative to what is now provided by the government. Conveniently agitated about the status quo only identifies them with the "whiners" not the "Doers". This applies to all other issues the Temos are screaming about. Show us the alternative so the citizens of the kingdom can examine for themselves and make their educated decisions based on what they see or experienced, not what they hear. If my grandma, the chief Dental Officer of our village, was still around, she will say, "Actions talks, B.S. walks".
My fellow citizens, in our struggle to preserve our national identity, it is imperative that we know what we are asking for. Of all the problems brought on to the kingdom by the Royal Family as we have highlighted in the past, we must know the direction we are going. Otherwise, we will be taken to any direction by those who claim to know the way. The alternative may be worse than the problem at hand. No wonder the Good Book tells us to remove the mote from our eyes first, so we can see. Clear vision is essential to arrival at desired destination, despite fog and turbulence. Na'e pehe 'e he punake, "Tau fua kolosi pe 'oua 'e fiu 'a fai". We have made it to this point, I am sure we can hang on a little bit longer. All these, for the preservation of the kingdom! Our forefathers thought, it was worth fighting for. "To The Kingdom!"
TamaFoa