Jobless youths blamed for street violence

By Nefertiti Matatia 23 October 2017, 12:00AM

Young people who are unemployed and find themselves sitting idle on the streets have been blamed for the majority of street fights in Vaitele-fou.

So says Atonio Fepuleai who believes the government needs to prioritise a project to give these young people jobs so they will have something better and more productive to do.

 “Troubles are usually caused by those that are unemployed,” he said.

“They steal things from those that work and earn money which usually results in fist fights.”

Atonio said fighting among young people which in some instances lead to some houses getting stoned is not unusual at Vaitele. The Police are often called to stop these fights.

 “Usually when there are kids fighting on the street, we would call the police but by the time the police arrive they have already stopped fighting and would run away,” he said. 

“They would leave their families too so that they are not caught.”

The young man from Vaitele Fou feels sorry for the youth members that are involved.

“It’s not just them that are affected. Their families are affected too.”

Atonio Fepuleai works at Sheraton Samoa Aggie Grey’s Hotel.

He is grateful for his job and  wishes that more young people  could be employed so that they  have something to channel their energy towards.

He also mentioned that another cause of the fights is that there are many new people moving into Vaitele Fou.

“So many new people are moving here and they come with their own different mentalities,” said Atonio.

 “Within Vaitele Fou when a new kid in the village beats up one of the kids that has been living here for a long time, all the other old youth members from the village gang up together with the kid that has been beaten up and goes after the new kid to chase him down,” he said.

“That is the reality here. It is so sad.”

By Nefertiti Matatia 23 October 2017, 12:00AM
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