{"id":13669,"date":"2022-09-06T23:05:10","date_gmt":"2022-09-06T10:05:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/talamua.com\/?p=13669"},"modified":"2022-09-06T23:05:10","modified_gmt":"2022-09-06T10:05:10","slug":"first-independence-flag-raising-celebration-in-savaii-well-received","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/talamua.com\/?p=13669","title":{"rendered":"First Independence Flag raising celebration in Savaii well received"},"content":{"rendered":"

 <\/p>\n

By Lagi Keresoma<\/p>\n

APIA, SAMOA – 06 SEPTEMBER 2022:<\/strong> The raising of the Samoan flag this morning in Savaii as part of this year\u2019s 60th<\/sup> Independence Celebrations is a first that has been well received. First through the speeches, the songs sung by the performers and the social media comments.<\/p>\n

One such comment was 75 year old Matalena Schuster who now resides in Brisbane who said she was 15 when she saw the lowering of the New Zealand flag at Mulinu\u2019u on Independence Day, and the raising of Samoa\u2019s flag for the first time on 01 January 1962. She was emotional to see the flag raised this morning by Samoa\u2019s first woman Prime Minister and \u201con the soils of our beautiful Salafai.\u201d<\/p>\n

In her message at the celebration today, Prime Minister Fiam\u0113 Naomi Mataafa said it was \u201ca momentous occasion as the country came together to celebrate in Savaii, and to remember the sacrifices of our forefathers who paved the foundation for Samoa.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 60th<\/sup> independence celebrations on 01 June at Mulinu\u2019u was limited with only several invited guests, due to the COVID-19 restrictions.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut the restrictions created another opportunity for the 51 districts around the country to conduct their own celebrations to mark the 60th<\/sup>\u00a0anniversary of Samoa\u2019s independence,\u201d said Fiam\u0113.<\/p>\n

Hosting the celebration in Savaii merits the year-long celebration and encourages more people in the villages to participate and be part of the celebrations.<\/p>\n

Not only was today\u2019s ceremony historical, Fiam\u0113 also announced that Cabinet will be having its first full cabinet meeting for the first time in Savaii.<\/p>\n

In the past 60 years, all official programs for celebrating independence took place at Mulinu\u2019u, and Cabinet meetings have always been conducted within the walls of the Government building in Apia.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a new beginning and let us continue to sail with faith safely into the future,\u201d said Fiam\u0113.<\/p>\n

She touched on the turbulent times after the 2021 general election and the quest for a successful celebration of the country\u2019s 60 years as a reminder of the bold efforts and sacrifice of our forefathers and leaders for freedom and who built the Samoa we know today.<\/p>\n

\"Entertainment1\"

Students of Don Bosco College performing after the flag raising and parade.\u00a0<\/p><\/div>\n

Fiam\u0113 acknowledged the presence of the New Zealand Governor General, Her Excellency the Rt. Honourable Dame Cindy Kiro who was the guest of honour and her delegation.<\/p>\n

She said the Governor General’s presence symbolises the strong ties and relationship between New Zealand and Samoa, as evident in the Treaty of Friendship signed 60 years ago between the two countries.<\/p>\n

She also acknowledged the Head of State, Tuimalealiifano Va\u2019aleto\u2019a Sualauvi 11 and\u00a0faletua,<\/em>\u00a0the Council of Deputies\u2019 Le Mamea Ropati Mualia, Cabinet and everyone that took part in the celebration.<\/p>\n

The celebration started with a church service conducted by Reverend Elder Palemia Tauiliili on the theme taken from the Book of St Luke 12:41-59 with the Mata-ae-vave College singing the hymns for the service.<\/p>\n

Fiam\u0113 then had the honour as the first woman Prime Minister to raise the flag followed by schools and organisations march pass and traditional entertainment.<\/p>\n

The guests later attended a Government\u00a0luncheon at the Amoa Resort before continuing on with the program and other side events.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  By Lagi Keresoma APIA, SAMOA – 06 SEPTEMBER 2022: The raising of the Samoan flag this morning in Savaii as part of this year\u2019s 60th Independence Celebrations is a first that has been well received. First through the speeches, the songs sung by the performers and the social media comments. One such comment was […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":13670,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[177,185],"tags":[1503,59,1502],"class_list":["post-13669","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest","category-local","tag-60-years-independence-celebrations","tag-featured","tag-first-independence-flag-raising-in-savaii"],"yoast_head":"\nFirst Independence Flag raising celebration in Savaii well received - Talamua Online<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/talamua.com\/?p=13669\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"First Independence Flag raising celebration in Savaii well received - Talamua Online\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"  By Lagi Keresoma APIA, SAMOA – 06 SEPTEMBER 2022: The raising of the Samoan flag this morning in Savaii as part of this year\u2019s 60th Independence Celebrations is a first that has been well received. 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