Batch 3 – Free Write 3: CEDAW – The Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women

During my internship in Tonga over summer, one came across for the very first time the United Nation’s treaty on the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). One morning as I was driving to work there were so many people scattering around the capital city. I wondered as to why there were so many people downtown this early morning. It was also so difficult with the early traffic rush plus these many people who walked the streets as I was maneuvering safely to get to the office. As soon as I got into the office, I asked around as to why there were so many people in downtown Nuku’alofa. I was informed that most of the people of Tonga are marching to the Royal Palace to petition Tonga signing the treaty of CEDAW. I had to Google on my phone what CEDAW was. This was my first encounter of this foreign treaty.

There were thousands and thousands of people marching the main street with their banners to include, church leaders, nobles of the realm, and children but the most petitioners were women. At first I was shocked to see that most of the marchers were women. Wasn’t this convention treaty about the elimination of discrimination against women? This was very surprising at first because I just couldn’t believe my eyes, that a treaty to eliminate discrimination against women and here they were the majority petitioning its abolishment.

I was also very shocked to see the numerous banners with their biblical quotations. I was very enticed with the women’s representation during this march and tried to comprehend their meaning behind being against CEDAW. These women representatives must had very good reasons for screaming out loud on the streets. The marchers were singing Free Wesleyan Church’s hymns throughout the entire marching. I found this to be extremely muddling that religious fundamentals were part of their escapade. I decided right there and then that I would be researching more on CEDAW in order to have a clear understanding of this United Nation’s treaty.

Tonga was represented by a few selected officials in the United Nations meeting in New York in April 2015 where they pledged that Tonga would rectified and signed the treaty of CEDAW. Tonga agreed in principle and this triggered the disappointments and uproar of the people that they were marching on the streets to their king to abolish this treaty. The King sided with the people and rejected CEDAW.

Tonga is one of the countries in the world that treated women higher than men because of its culture and their ways of life. Women are treated with highest dignity and honor and had been passed down from generation to generation. Perhaps this is the reason why women of Tonga were marching the streets because it is already in existence in its hierarchical system. This is contradicting because there is inequality with women’s representation in government, in churches and executive decision bodies of government. There is no women representation whatsoever in Privy Council, in Cabinet, in Parliament, in the Judiciary system, in any churches. Wouldn’t this be their opportunity to demand this form of discrimination? 

Reference: all pictures here from www.matangitonga.to

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Batch 3 – Free Write 2: Paradise and its beautiful beaches

Tonga is also known for its beautiful beaches. The wonderful creation of these white sandy beaches, blueish water and the cleanliness make one forget many troubles and stresses of life. Tonga has always been a safe haven for me, and I always look forward to going home to visit one of my favorite beaches and forget about this worldly apprehensions, agonies, worries and anxieties. Although it is a very costly trip to Tonga with long hours of flight and transiting, nevertheless it is so worth it when one gets to Tonga from the moment those tires are screeching on the runway.

This is my serenity and tranquility haven as soon as I get to Tonga. No time to waste, but to kiss loved ones, eat tropical home cooking food and hit the beach. This is Tafa’aki Sia Beach, one of my favorite. The island appearing on the picture is ‘Ovaka Island, another of my favorite.

My childhood friend Salesi owns that little boat, and it is out getaway boat to ‘Ovaka Island. We love fishing, snorkeling, deep diving, and swimming here. It is very isolated and most times deserted. One can walk around naked here though it is against the law of Tonga to do so. At night we would completely ignore rule of the land and shed all our clothes because it feels good to challenge yourself to do something that is illegal. There is no patrol boats near and we are extremely far away from civilization.

The Houmale’ia Beach is definitely a spot not to miss when one is in Tonga. The calmness, peacefulness and coolness of this beach is nothing but heavenly. The only sound one hears is the resonance of the waves and the water crashing on the sand. The tropical sun normally is around 75 degrees which is perfect for spots like this.

A day well spent in Tonga at the beach, but then you can always end your day at the beach even at night. One gets to sit and look over the horizon and look out at the sunset. Then you can also do your own bonfire which is legal in Tonga as well. Nothing will beat beachfire at night.

Batch 3 - Free Write 1: Frustration

My best friend is about to lose her house. She had lived in this house with her husband and their four children since 2001. They have made this house their home for almost 15 years, and to see her on the verge of losing it is heartbreaking.

The education provided by Arizona State University in the field of public policy and public affairs is extremely helpful especially when one is putting that to the ultimate test. The entire mortgage contract was read, and re-read to be completely understood of its entirety. My best friend and her husband are eligible to apply for loan modification. That may seem so easy to do at first until the frustration began. The accounting practices, the banking habits, the filing system, and even the house payments records or receipts were non-existence. The vexations level accelerated even further when my best friend’s husband kept rumpling away with things that didn’t even make any sense at all with the application for a loan modification. To put this lightly, one really wanted to tell him to shut it up.

The application form was completed, the IRS Form 4506-T was filled, profit and loss statement done, letter of hardship typed and printed, bank statements compiled, utilities statements bunched together, and immigration residency photocopied and put together with everything else.  All these documents were over-nighted to the second party that handled this house loan. Five weeks, four customer services representatives, and 5 financial managers later the ongoing frustrations escalated. This family couldn’t afford an attorney and an accountant, and they are relying on the due diligence of the student.

Four faxes and uncountable emails with numerous phone calls – the ongoing frustration has heightened that I am on the edge of giving up. I love my nieces and nephews and for that reason alone I can do this, and I think I can see this through despite the frustration.   

Typical Day

My internship started May 13, 2015 in the middle of the week. That week on a beautiful Friday morning at MEIDECC, the whole building seemed deserted at 8:50 AM. As one sat there thinking that perhaps it was a public holiday in the Kingdom of Tonga. I had arrived early as usual and sat down on the assigned desk to collect what the first three days of working in Tonga was like.

I looked around and there was no one in the section where I was working, the ministry of information. The next room separated by walls was the ministry of energy, and again no one was there as I got up to peek through the door. All the executive offices of the chief executive officer of MEIDECC, director of energy and director of information were also empty.

The next section again separated by a wall was the corporate affairs of MEIDECC was completely empty. On the very far corner to one’s surprise saw the two receptionists for the entire seven ministries. I quickly walked over to inquire about the building’s quietness. The casual reply with confidence of course was that Friday morning the staff would arrive at 9:00 AM. Sure enough, at nine o’clock almost everyone showed up to the office, this is a typical Friday morning at MEIDECC and their normal time of attendance. One was taken by surprise of the easiness, casual appearance and the tardiness were not even an issue.

Tongan time is known throughout the Kingdom as pretty much the normal practice. 

Free Write 2: How to get to Tonga?

In my personal opinion, Tonga is a phenomenal tourist destination. In the beginning as mentioned in the Bible, God created the earth. God created Tonga the last, as the only remaining sovereign nation in the entire Pacific Ocean. Tonga is surrounded by many beautiful white sandy beaches, its ocean so blue and clean where one can swim with the whales and dolphins. It is going to be a trip of lifetime, and this is how you can get to Tonga.

There are many ways of flying to Tonga as showed on the map courtesy of Tonga Tourism website[1]. I will concentrate on the way from the United States only. On the map it shows two cities that connects America to Tonga, either from Los Angeles or San Francisco. I will also recommend a new discovery of flights that one took in the summer for my internship in Tonga because it was cost effective and better especially if one wishes to travel to Tonga directly from Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. Please note that there is no direct flight from any cities in America to Tonga. Here are your options to travel to Tonga;

Option One:

From Phoenix to Tonga via San Francisco, California and Auckland, New Zealand – you will travel to San Francisco to connect onto Air New Zealand. The Air New Zealand direct flight from San Francisco to Auckland is about 13 hours. There is a layover of about two to four hours at the Auckland International Airport before connecting on a three hours flight to Tonga from Auckland, New Zealand.  

Option Two:

From Phoenix to Tonga via Los Angeles, California and Nadi, Fiji – you will travel to Los Angeles to connect onto Fiji Airways. The Fiji Airways direct flight to Nadi from Los Angeles is about 11 hours. There is a layover of about three to eight hours depending on the day of travel at the Nadi International Airport before connecting on one hour flight to Tonga from Nadi, Fiji.

Option Three:

From Phoenix to Tonga via either Los Angeles or San Francisco, California and Sydney, Australia – you will travel either to SFO or LAX to connect onto United Airlines. The United Airlines direct flight to Sydney, Australia is about 15 hours. There is a layover of about two to four hours before connecting either on Tuesday or Thursday on a 5 five hours direct flight to Tonga on Virgin Australia from Sydney. Australia.

My recommendation:

From Phoenix to Tonga via Honolulu, Hawaii and Auckland, New Zealand – you travel directly from Phoenix Honolulu on Hawaiian Airlines, and then again on Hawaiian Airlines from Honolulu to Auckland. The reason why I am recommending these flights is because you get to spend one to two nights in Hawaii, one to two nights in New Zealand before arriving at the final destination Tonga either by Air New Zealand or Virgin Australia. This was a new transiting travel for me which I really enjoyed thoroughly when I was travelling to Tonga for my internship in May. I flew on a 6 hours flight on Hawaiian Airlines from Phoenix to Honolulu. It required that you spend the night there before connecting the following afternoon from Honolulu to Auckland. The Hawaiian Airlines’ 9 hours flight from Honolulu to Auckland was very comforting and not too long. The flight also arrived at night to Auckland which required you to spend the night in Auckland before connecting on your selected flight to Tonga. I actually chose to spend three nights in Auckland before connecting on a three hours flight on Virgin Australia from Auckland to Tonga. This was by far the cheapest flight that I have paid for to travel to Tonga.   

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[1] http://www.tongaholiday.com/

Free Write 1 - Tonga, the Friendly Islands

The exploration of the Pacific Islands by Captain Cook in the 18^th century, discovered Tonga in 1773 and named it the Friendly Islands. Since then the Kingdom of Tonga is also known as the Friendly Islands. Tonga compromises of 177 islands of which 125 islands are habited. Tonga was first discovered in 1616 by two Dutchmen explores Schouten and Le Maire, and later on by Captain Abel Tasman in 1643.  

Tonga

 

Tonga is located geographically on longitude 21 degrees south and latitude 175 degrees west. It is located in the South Pacific close to Samoa and Fiji. It is about an hour away by flight to Fiji and three hours away to New Zealand

Tonga is made up of five main island groups; Tongatapu, Vava’u, Ha’apai, ‘Eua and the two Niuas. The capital city Nuku’alofa is located on the biggest island Tongatapu. Tonga has its own currency called Pa’anga.

Tonga’s total population from Tonga’s latest statistics is about 103,000 people. Tonga is a monarchial ruling form of government. Tonga’s hierarchy system is ruled by a constitutional monarchy; His Majesty King Tupou VI with the government system as follows;