If you have been paying attention to the news the last several days, you have probably heard about the tsunami which struck American Samoa. If you are also like most people, you have heard absolutely nothing about American Samoa in the news, maybe your entire life. Most Americans are probably not even aware that American Samoa is a territory of the United States, that they have a non-voting representative in Congress just like Washington DC, or that they have the highest percentage of people who enlist in the military of any state or territory in the US.
I don’t blame you if you don’t know these facts. Honestly, there is little reason to know them. I bring them up only because American Samoa is one of many places which are totally invisible to everyone until something bad happens. Afterward your perception of that place is forever tainted.
Many people are scared of traveling because the only thing they know about foreign countries is what they see and hear on the news. The news from American Samoa is microcosm of what is happening all the time, but is so subtle we are seldom aware of it. If the news involves a war, killings or terrorism, the impression which is left in the minds of people is even worse.
I write this because I’m one of the few people who have actually been to American Samoa. Samoa (both American and Western) is a beautiful place with some of the most generous, peaceful people you’ll ever meet in the world. Despite their fame in football, rugby and professional wrestling, most Samoans would never hurt a fly. When I see the photos coming out of American Samoa I’m not just looking at pictures of devastation, I’m seeing places that I’ve been. When I heard the news I had an idea of what might have been damaged and where. The shop I purchased my lava lava from might have been damaged, the restaurant I ate tuna sushi in was probably destroyed, and the McDonald’s near the industrial park was probably not touched at all. My perception is probably really different than yours because I’ve traveled there.
My point is that you should always keep in mind, a place is not the sum of the stories you hear on the news. Prior to Monday, people lived, worked, raised families and died in American Samoa and no one heard a peep about it on the news. Now most people only know it as the place that was hit with a tsunami. Whether it is a natural disaster, civil war, murders, riot or famine, don’t let your opinion of a place be formed solely by the headlines in the news.