Jubilee Samoa – September, 2004

On January 14th 1954, a young Australian Bahá’í named Lilian Wyss pioneered to Samoa on the encouragement of Shoghi Effendi, Guardian of the Bahá’í Faith. Lilian was 24 years old and was the first Bahá’í to reside in Samoa (thereby earning the title of Knight of Bahá’u’lláh). In November 1954 Lilian married Suhayl Ala’i and together they helped to nurture the Samoan Bahá’ís to become the vibrant communities they are today. Suhayl passed away in 1995 having lived and died at his pioneer post and Lilian still lives in American Samoa and serves the Bahá’í communities of both Samoa and American Samoa with dedication and love.

Fifty years on from that historic arrival the Samoan Bahá’í community celebrates its Jubilee and there is much to celebrate. Dotted all over the islands are strong Local Spiritual Assemblies. There are currently five pre-schools, there are a number of Bahá’í centres and numerous social and economic development projects. The two most powerful testimonies to the strength and vitality of the Samoan Bahá’í Community are that His Highness Susuga Malietoa Tanumafili II accepted the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh in February 1968 and in 1984 a magnificent Bahá’í House of Worship was dedicated to humanity. In the words of the Universal House of Justice, ‘The Samoan Bahá’í Community may well look back on the achievements of the past half-century with satisfaction at what has been accomplished. The light of unity has been brought to all parts of Samoa, … your nation has won the everlasting distinction of being blessed by the presence of His Highness Susuga Malietoa Tanumafili II, the first reigning monarch to accept the Message of Bahá’u’lláh.’

Many Bahá’ís have travelled to Samoa, some have passed through briefly, others stay a little longer and others will lay there bones to rest in the soil of that much blessed island. Hundreds of friends from all over the world returned to take part in the Samoan Bahá’í Jubilee celebrations and Nick and I were honoured to be there, in an island that for almost five years had been our home.

It is hard to describe the feelings we experienced as we stepped down from the plane onto the steamily hot tarmac of Faleolo airport. As we exited customs the first people we met were Bahá’ís. A dear friend Tali Gordon was there with Olya. Olya is one of the Bahá’ís from Iran who has suffered much for her faith and has written the famous book Olya’s Story. From the airport we travelled into Apia and the sights, the sounds, the smells felt so familiar – an overwhelming sense of belonging embraced us.

It would take pages to describe all the events of the Jubilee so I thought I would mention some of the things that took place and then pick out some personal highlights. There was a banquet where government officials, religious leaders and leading dignitaries of Samoa shared food with the Bahá’ís and were enlightened by eloquent talks and pacific island entertainment. The Government of Samoa sent a powerful statement to that event thanking the Bahá’ís for their peaceful contribution to Samoan society. Then there was a visit to the residence of His Highness Susuga Malietoa Tanumafili II where traditional Pacific Island gift giving took place [right] and His Highness was entertained by magnificent choirs from Samoa, Fiji, Australia and New Zealand. The highlight of this event for me was when a representative on behalf of Maori Royalty sang greetings to His Highness and then knelt at his feet where she was warmly embraced for a few minutes – it was electric. This Maori woman was Mabel Burt one of the actresses from the much acclaimed film ‘Whalerider’. The visit to His Highness was followed by a traditional presentation and thank you to Lilian, held in the grounds of the Bahá’í Temple. Everyone was then fed in true Samoan style.

A three day conference took place in Apia and one of the most enjoyable key note addresses was given by Bahá’í Counsellor Heather Simpson who spoke of the significant contribution of Bahá’í youth to the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh and the importance of supporting and encouraging youth in our Bahá’í communities. Two magnificent Bahá’í services were held in the Temple. One of the services took place on a Friday evening and the other on the Sunday morning. Both services were packed and I particularly loved the evening one. There is something magical about a warm balmy tropical night and the Temple lit like a beacon against a dark sky. The choirs filled the temple with ethereal music and souls were momentarily transported to another world – a world almost too glorious to bear. The morning Sunday service was followed by speeches and a picnic in the grounds of the Temple.

The Monday following the Jubilee found hundreds of Bahá’ís descending on one of Samoa’s most idyllic beaches. And all too soon the celebrations were over. The Bahá’í community of Samoa had done an outstanding job offering welcome and hospitality to over 700 people. Along with all the celebrations the Bahá’ís found time to visit an old people’s home and numerous schools. Every day the national newspapers were full of pictures and stories about the Jubilee in what must have been the biggest proclamation event ever to take place on the islands. In the official editorial of the Samoan Observer Savea Sano Malifa as part of his full page article about the Bahá’ís of Samoa stated, ‘Having travelled from around the world to attend the commemoration of the Bahá’í Faith’s 50th anniversary in Samoa, they are also to mark the 20th anniversary of the dedication of the Bahá’í House of Worship at Tiapapata. We congratulate them all for achieving these milestones in the history of their religion. As for that House of Worship, that distinctive architectural structure standing tall over central Upolu and its surroundings should remain the pinnacle of religious freedom in this part of the world’.

For Nick and I this ‘return to Samoa’ was packed with visits to old friends, playing music with local musicians (Nick particularly enjoys this part of the holiday), official presentations (PhD to Government and the National University), and significantly we were also privileged to present 800 tala to the Samoan Association of Women Graduates on behalf of the Bahá’í Women of Scotland. These amazing women of Samoa do great work in encouraging the advanced education of Samoan girls and along with a gift to the Association of Bahá’í Women, Scotland, they sent a lovely card with their warm appreciation of our continued support of their work. The Bahá’ís of Scotland have done much to help Samoa, not least the recent fund raising effort to sustain a pre-school in the village of Fagali’i. £1000 will be sent to Samoa on the 26th of November – a huge thank you to all who supported the fund raising effort. The education of children is a vital aspect of Bahá’í life, and Nick and I were so excited to meet up with the children of classes we used to hold when living in Samoa – many of them are now fine Bahá’í youth. The picture below is of Maureen with some of those children [now youth] from the village of Fale’ula.

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Needless to say we are already saving our money for another ‘return’ – we can only say that Samoa and its people are a huge part of our lives and we thank God for the privilege of spending time there.