Black Saturday, By Suhail.

BLACK SATURDAY

Saturday, 28^th December 19 1929, it was a beautiful sunny day in Apia I remember it as if it was yesterday the darkest day for us Samoans. It all started out while New Zealand was trying to get Germany to leave so they can own Samoa and people in it. They obviously won, so that’s why we had to listen to rules that these people made we had to listen to.

It was things like having to pay tax, wear clothes that the parliament made (when I heard of them I didn’t know who they were) we had to do things other whys we would have gotten fined. The locals made a sort of gang thing called Mau, it started of with not wearing what the New Zealanders wanted then went on to not mowing the lawn which led to a fine and then not paying that fine.

Darius my close mate was one of them who were in the Mau I questioned him like I was crazy. and he said “ I don’t want to listen to these people I don’t even know if they respect me”, you might get killed you……..”, he walked of. Darius and these other random boys walked down the street where the New Zealand troops were. They were wearing white lava lavas and tee-shirts, the mob approached the New Zealand troops, a police sergeant fired a Lewis machine gun from the balcony above. An experienced gunner shot a few shots over the mob’s heads. Tragicly, the shot wounded prominent Samoan leader Tupua Tamasese Lealofi, it also killed  Migao, Leota Anese, Tapu, Ainoa, Faumuina of Savai’I, Vele and Tu’ia.

Many of the Mau died but it was a tragic day but it is in history everyone disagreed to the New Zealanders, eventually the New Zealanders left and the Samoans could do the things they wanted and choose who wanted to lead and things.

THE END