Director of the Office of Insular Affairs, Department of Interior, Nikolao Pula, says he will continue to work with ASG and the Tagata Tutu Faatasi Alliance of American Samoa to make plans for repatriation of those stranded off island.
Answering KHJ News questions via email, Pula said he initiated the discussion of a Zoom between the ASG C-19 Task Force and the Alliance through the help of Coronavirus Task Force Chairman Iulogologo Joseph Pereira.
As we’ve reported the Zoom session took place last Friday at the Argosy Building .
According to Pula it was during his discussion with Iulogologo where he raised the issue of the possibility of a conversation/dialogue between the two groups.
He revealed the Alliance wrote him a letter asking for help.
“I responded by calling up Eileen Tyrell and asked her to have a Zoom with her core team. After hearing their concerns and plea, I told them I will get back to them after I make some calls.”
The Zoom session followed.
KHJ News asked if there are any developments towards realizing the request of the Alliance for ASG to bring them home?
He said, “Yes, working on that with both groups. ”
The OIA Director explained, “The idea was to initiate a dialogue not of animosity, complaints and blame – but to focus on the spirit of understanding the challenges, sharing information and collaboration of how to repatriate our folks in the safest way possible and minimize the risk of carrying the C-19 infection to our shores. The Task Force shared its updated Repatriation plan and we’re all working on filling the gaps toward implementing it when the Governor says – Go.”
The Alliance had also asked that the governor consider giving them stimulus money to assist with living expenses off island. “Was this covered in the Zoom session?” we asked.
“That issue was not directly covered in the Zoom, however, a few Alliance members shared some heart-felt moving expressions of what many of the stranded folks are experiencing in the past several months,” responded Pula.
He concluded that he will continue to work with ASG and the Alliance “to make it work.”
