By Tupuola Terry Tavita

It is venal, unprofessional, misleading, deceitful, pathetic, dangerous, stupid, and now, busted.

Putting photos of mentally-challenged individuals on your front page and second page to justify your political ends and, in the process, make a few extra dollars.

That is so not on.

It appears that Samoa Observer has taken the bat for the Tautua Party, after a challenge by Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele to Opposition economist Afualo Dr Wood Salele last week, to back his claim that this country is in a recession.

“Are our people thin, are they thirsty, hungry, have no clothes?�? Asked the Prime Minister.

“Have people died because they do not have any food? How is this recession measured? What are the signs?�?

But instead of publishing poor unclothed pfolks, the Samoa Observer on Tuesday published photos of mentally-challenged people, some of whom for decades, have been begging on the streets of Apia.

It is obvious that the intention is to continue to mislead Samoans overseas, who would not know who these people are.

To resolve any misunderstanding, as any responsible editor and newspaper would, let us enlighten you.

The fellow in the front page is Shane Sione of Vaimoso. His mother is another famous waterfront resident who also suffered from mental problems. His father is a former mayor of Vaimoso. He has a home and a family but relatives say he wanders over to town every day begging people for spare change.

The bearded fellow in the second page is Mose from Matautu. We couldn’t find anybody familiar with his background but he has been living on the streets of Apia since the 1980s. He begs in the daytime and in the evenings, oftentimes, you will see him drinking a Vailima bottle under the big mango tree opposite the Chan Mow container yard at Saleufi. He doesn’t talk and appears bi-polar.

The third person is a lad from Solosolo. He too appears deranged and mentally challenged and sits in front of Value Village. Those in the know say he appeared in the Apia scene about four years ago.

So there you go. This callous and deliberate attempt to mislead tells nothing about any poverty or recession in Samoa. Maybe perhaps the face of mental illness in Apia.

It also continues to reinforce the call in recent years to set up a national media council to monitor press conduct and ethics.

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