Pago Pago, American Samoa

So, what’s in a name?

                             Pago Pago

                             Samoa

                             American Samoa

                   Let’s start at the beginning.

                   It’s not Paygo-Paygo, It’s Pahngo-Pahngo.

          Apparently in the Samoan dialect, every time there is a “G” it is preceded by an “N” phonetically. So now we know how to pronounce it.

                             Samoa vs American Samoa.

                   Way back in the day (1800’s) the Islands were ruled by Chieftains like most of the islands in the South Pacific. Along come the Europeans and Americans with desires unknown to the local population. Soon the Chieftains were making deals with the various foreign countries for locally obvious reasons, which caused the other Chieftains get pissed off, jealous, and downright warlike. Some civil strife ensued until the various Tribes fell in line with the uninvited foreign “Friends”. The three largest countries vying for influence in this group of Islands were Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States. By the late 1800’s the two big contenders were the US and Germany. The US Navy made a deal with the eastern Samoan islands for a Naval Base at Pago Pago, which has a wonderful harbor. Eventually the western Samoan islands became independent but the eastern ones were reluctant to cut their ties with the United States who provided protection and was a valuable trade partner.

                             Now the craziness ensues.

                             These two island groups are very close to each other and obviously share a past history. They are only about 135 miles away from each other but……

                             The International Date Line passes directly between them! This line is not set by international treaty, but by where a particular country wants to be located with respect to it. And this has everything to do with economics! Back in the beginning of all of this western influence, the eastern islands (which had that harbor at Pago Pago) were convinced by their industrial partners in the western US to be aligned on this side of the IDL. Well that was all well and good until the early 2000’s when the western islands (named just Samoa) who dealt  primarily with New Zealand, Japan , and China, decided to “jump the line”.  Their Head Guy proposed that they switch to the other side of the IDL which would put them on the same day as their trade partners. So, on December 30, 2011, they jumped one day ahead, blew away December 31^st, and made the transition to the beginning of the IDL, a full 24 hours in front of their neighbors American Samoa.

                             Phew! You guys still with me?

                             To make things even more confusing, but in reality, makes sense, is that the IDL is not a Time Zone boundary. It passes almost evenly down through the Apia Standard Time Zone. The IDL roughly follows the 180-degree line of longitude which is the direct opposite of the Prime Meridian that runs through Greenwich, England at 0 degrees longitude. So, this whole thing is about 12 hours difference from England, located directly opposite on the earth.

                             Sort of.

As I have demonstrated, these lines can be moved (somewhat) for the practical convenience of a particular nation or area.

                             By now, all of your eyes are glazing over and you’re all saying, C’mon Don! Just show us the pretty pictures!

                             No worries, they’re on their way! But I’ll bet anything that you’ve all secretly wondered how the International Date Line works! We pass through it tomorrow on our way to New Zealand but since we are traveling south (not east or west) to get there, we stay within this particular Time Zone, so no need to change the clocks for a couple of weeks.

                             The nice folks here in American Samoa are quite content with their status as a US Territory. This designation affords them certain benefits such as protection and a quasi-relationship with us. They are “Nationals” which is not the same as citizens. You and I are citizens and by that nature, we are also “Nationals”. The opposite is not true, a “National” is not a citizen, although the route to citizenship, if they choose, is much simpler. American Samoa has a non-voting elected member in the House of Representatives. They also have a local government similar in structure to ours, with a Senate and House, and President. But the real Big Kahuna is the President of the United States.

                             Guess what company and/or industry employs about one third of the local population?

                             Remember good ol’ Charlie the Tuna?

                             Yup! Starkist has two production factories here and exports approximately 200,000 tons of tuna annually.

That’s a lot of Charlie’s!

The rest of the population is roughly divided in half with one sector working for the government and the rest in private enterprise. About 44,000 people inhabit the five islands that this Territory is composed of.

And….. there is a U.S. National Park here!

Get that Stamp in your Park System Passport!

The Park has within its boundaries, (on several Islands) rainforests, coral reefs, archeological sites, and the many cultural resources of this area.

Our tour was a family affair, Mom, Dad, and one of five siblings being involved. To say that they were ecstatic to see us would be an understatement! We were just the second ship to visit since the Covid Era and for an island that depends on this tourism as much as they do, (and it’s really only cruise ships) that hiatus was significant and was felt Island wide.

These Samoans could not have been nicer. You would expect that from the tour operators but to have the random walkers-by wave at our bus as it passed made quite the statement.

          The Samoan people are quite proud of their heritage and customs, and rightfully so. But as many indigenous peoples are finding, their traditional ways are slowly eroding. The younger citizens are finding what they think is a better life off-island. Opportunities for the younger set are not as plentiful on the Island as on the Mainland, and who’s to blame them? So, the customs and traditions are being held onto as tightly as possible by the folks that are left behind. Samoan is the first language and English is a very close second. The US dollar is the currency of trade, so the bonds with the US are strong.  

          Interestingly, we could not have purchased property on the island, even if we wanted to. Only native Samoans may own land and that is mostly passed on from generation to generation. The entire county is divided up into Villages, each with its own Chief. There is no need for any crime prevention as there really isn’t any.  They just won’t stand for it, everyone knows everybody else, and the family humiliation is enough of a deterrent to keep people from having a life of crime. There is a curfew every night and at about 6:30 pm until 6:45 or so, the entire island stops and gives thanks to God for all of their Blessings. It is asked that if you are on-island at that time that you respect this custom of theirs. The only caveat to this wonderful tradition is that you need not stop driving at that time.

 Maybe the world could take a few lessons from these delightful people!