The country has been shaken by another tragedy on the road in a foreign land with Samoan seasonal workers losing their lives, leaving families and loved ones back home shocked and overwhelmed by grief.

The front page article (Samoans die in Australia crash) in yesterday’s edition of the Samoa Observer reported on the death of four early Sunday morning in Victoria, Australia. They were later identified as Samoan seasonal workers, who were returning to an Australian farm where they were working when the car they were in went off the road and hit a tree before bursting into flames.

According to reports from Australia’s 9 News (Melbourne), a motorist spotted the smouldering vehicle just after 7 am on Sunday morning before raising the alarm with the local authorities. 

The partner of one of the men who was in the vehicle tragedy confirmed being told of the sad news of her partner’s untimely death when contacted by Samoa Observer. 

She confirmed receiving a phone call from the Samoan seasonal workers' supervisor in Australia about the incident and being told to get details from the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Labour (M.C.I.L.).

The last known time of contact with her partner was on Saturday night, she added. 

It was a tragic ending with the death of the four men leaving their families and loved ones back home in Samoa shocked and heartbroken. 

However, another story published in today’s edition of the newspaper should compel the local authorities to pause as this tragedy early Sunday morning in rural Australia wasn’t an isolated incident. 

The death of the four Samoan seasonal workers on Sunday means there have been 11 deaths of citizens in this line of work from traffic-related incidences over the last four years.

These are 11 productive Samoan citizens who had many more years left in them to contribute to nation-building, only for their lives to be abruptly ended, either as a victim of a vehicle mishap or being behind the wheel.

A review of stories previously published by this newspaper in recent years on Samoan seasonal workers who perished from motor vehicle incidents either in Australia or New Zealand puts the total number of fatalities at 11 over the past four years (2020–2023). 

Over the last four years, the first reported deaths were in August 2020 in the Bay of Plenty in New Zealand when two men died in a car crash. A month later, in September of that year, a vehicle collision in Perth, Western Australia led to another two Samoan seasonal workers dying in a vehicle collision. A month later in October 2020, one Samoan seasonal worker died in a vehicle collision on the Napier to Taupo, New Zealand route. A year later in August 2021, a Samoan man died in a single-car crash in Mount Maunganui, New Zealand. A year later in August 2022, a Samoan woman seasonal worker died in the Lockyer Valley, Queensland, Australia. To date, she is the only woman to have died in a vehicle mishap in Australia, while working as a seasonal worker. Just over a year later, early Sunday morning this week, the four Samoan men who worked at the same farm in rural Victoria died after their vehicle hit a tree and burst into flames.

One major question, which the families of the deceased will also be asking, is how and why these 11 Samoan seasonal workers lost their lives to vehicle accidents over the past four years when their engagement to work in these seasonal work schemes was purely as farm hands.

This brings us back to the question of orientation or preparation for their departure to live and work either in Australia or New Zealand under the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) and Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE). 

Were they adequately prepared by the responsible Samoa government ministry or foreign or local seasonal work contractor to transition smoothly into working life abroad? 

What about those who possess a Samoan driver’s licence and if they are given a crash course upon their arrival on Australia’s or New Zealand’s traffic regulations and made aware of potential pitfalls?

We ask these questions because the loss of 11 Samoan seasonal workers over the last four years is too big a price to pay for a nation with a population of our size. At some point, the relevant Samoa government agency should step up, look at the current policy and consider how the further loss of life can be avoided.