Today is officially Martin Luther King Jr. Day. His actual birthday was on January 15.
In the spirit of Martin Luther King Jr. I want to link on an article in the Honolulu Advertiser about church groups in the Samoan and Micronesian community promoting peace.
http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2008/Jan/13/ln/hawaii801130365.html
On December 26, 2007, Fusitogamala Iosefa Savea (who is Samoan) was stabbed to death by RJ Ham (who is Chuukese) right in front of Kuhio Park Terrace (KPT).
There have been conflicts between Samoans and Micronesians in various public housing complexes in Honolulu, including KPT, Mayor Wright's and Palolo Valley Housing.
Savea's death may or may not be connected with those other incidents. But people have been worried that Savea's death would cause some Samoans to retaliate against Micronesians who were not involved in Savea's murder.
Religious leaders from both the Samoan and Micronesian communities came together and try to promote peace and reconciliation! A Micronesian church group attended Savea's funeral to show unity with the Samoan community! They even followed a Samoan ritual called ifoga .
http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2008/Jan/13/ln/hawaii801130365.html
In the Samoan tradition, an ifoga is a ritualized formal apology where those seeking forgiveness humble themselves before the person or family that was hurt. An ifoga can take days. Those seeking forgiveness may have to wait in the hot sun or through the rainy night and there is no guarantee that the apology will be accepted. There is no guarantee there won't be retaliation on the spot.
If the matter is very serious, the high chief from the village of the accused would perform the ifoga.
It is a very humbling gesture on the part of those asking for mercy.
