We Are the Ocean

Epeli Hau'ofa (1939-2009) era um escritor e antropólogo tonganês e fijiano.
O livro combina ensaios académicos, poesia, ficções, e entrevistas com Hau'ofa sobre os problemas enfrentados pela região.

Foi uma leitura um pouco monótona, mas dá-nos uma visão sobre aquelas ilhas do Pacífico.

We must greet, love, and dance with each other in the middle of our zones of taboo, for we have not created any real taboos, only the fears and phobias that we, in our limitless capacity for self-delusion, have swept to the boundaries of our cherished conventions, where they remain to haunt us into insanity and violence.

45/198 – Fiji
46/198 - Tonga

Made me realize how similar the imperialistic strategies are in all corners of the world. We Are the Ocean emphasizes on how the pacific islands were divided and alienated from each other, instead of sharing the ocean, they are now each fitted on islands too small to be self-sufficient and forced to rely on foreign aid. Something very similar happened in the middle east with Sykes Picot, the same colonizers divided us and we're trying to find a solution from within when the problem came from without.

Also as one of the very few native anthropologists Hau`ofa showcases the “orientalism” this branch of studies is immersed in especially when its leading figures are our colonizers.