Ombudsman: all humans have a right to dignity

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A candle light march was held through the town of Apia in the early morning hours yesterday in remembrance of Jeanine Tuivaiki, the faafafine whose body was found hanging from the ceiling of a church hall in Taufusi a week ago.
It was organized by the Samoa Faafafine Association.

Meanwhile, Samoa Ombudsman Maiava Iulai Toma issued a response to complaints about the Samoa Observer            newspaper’s coverage of the death.

Maiava cites Article 1 of the United nations Declaration of Human Rights which says in part: All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.”

He says this concept mirrors the core fa’asamoa principle of feavaa’i (mutual respect).

“Like the human right to dignity, feavaa’i is demanded of all Samoans. It is something that should be afforded to all people, regardless of their gender, race or creed. It should also be afforded at all stages of the human experience, from birth to adolescence, adulthood and even in death.”

The Ombudsman said the Observer did not afford Jeanine, and the family, respect when it published the photo and printed the article on the front page of the Sunday Samoan.

He said the newspaper “showed a callous disregard for Jeanine as a human being. It denied Jeanine’s right to inherent dignity and took away Jeanine’s humanity.”

The Ombudsman’s Office strongly endorses the Samoa Fa’afafine Association’s comment that “we all have a responsibility to incorporate our fa’asamoa in all that we do. This sentiment reflects a central theme of human rights which is that we should respect the rights of others without discrimination.”

He also takes the paper to task for referring to Jeanine as a man when the term faafafine is widely recognized in the Samoan community,

With regards to media freedom, Maiava noted the media’s role in providing information and stimulating debate,  and says the media should always serve the public by providing it with accurate and reliable information.

He said the article about Jeanine’s death  did not do this.

“It was based on hearsay and insinuated the reasons for Jeanine’s death without corroborating its source.”

The Ombudsman refers to an editorial in the Observer  dated February 26  2016,  which stated that Samoa did not need a Media Council as the Observer had been operating for many years without one.

“But,” said the Ombudsman, “the inappropriate publishing of the photo, combined with the insensitive reporting of Jeanine’s death and gender clearly highlights the need for industry oversight of Samoa’s media.”

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