Losing your culture

I recently went to Rarotonga.

Such a beautiful place, friendly people and rich culture.

Just though...

It was interesting talking to the locals however to see the effect that the world is having on this small slice of paradise.

The local government (in a modern parliamentary form) was globally ridiculed as useless and run by drunks.

The local culture from the top down is still being eroded since the first arrival of the first Europeans.

Some locals were saying that the local tribal leaders were gaining more traction and respect from the locals.

Wouldn't that be great to see a small Island reclaiming its traditional leadership structure.

Looking at how the NZ Maori are treated compared to Rarotongan or Cook Island Maori also creates some interesting thoughts.

Firstly the whole Treaty of Waitangi settlements is really laughable when you consider that the NZ Maori are descendants of the Cook Islands, so what now of the CIM's decide to seek payment from the NZM's!!??

This doesn't even take into consideration the fact that when the Maoris got here they ate all the Moriori who were at the point the technical indigenous population...

The minimum wage in Raro is $5. A loaf of bread is around $4... And yet you can stay in a beach side resort for $800 or more a night in a hotel that pays minimal rent.

Add to that the fact that ALL the food that is not produced locally is imported by ONE PERSON (a foreigner) you can see why the natives are restless.

The NZ Maori want their cake, eat it and want more.

Raro seems to be in a perfect position to adopt a New Barbarian mindset.

First off they need to cut all the processed food from the menu. They have tuna, wahoo, mahi-mahi and numerous other fish on tap, fresh mango, banana and kumara out of their ears.

You don't need a car to survive on Raro, it's 32km around. Ditch the western "need" for all the extra stuff and get back to fishing and subsistence farming of crops.

If the tribes got organised they could easily demand more than $5 an hour from these foreign owned businesses.

All this done in a positive way would surely spread more wealth ultimately and secure the culture that is as under threat as ours is from the Coca Colas and others of the world.