THESES Department of Social and Economic Geography

Staying in Niue? Students’ spatial plans related to value systems and climate change

Astrid Gustafsson

Course: 2KU039: Thesis Project STS – Social and Economic Geography, 15 c Semester: VT2019 Supervisor: Micheline van Riemsdijk Course Administrator: Cecilia Bygdell

ABSTRACT Gustafsson, A. 2019. Staying in Niue? Students’ spatial plans related to value systems and climate change. Theses, Department of Social and Economic Geography, Uppsala University.

The Niuean population has been in decline since the airport opened on the island. This thesis investigates a specific aspect of the migration from the island: what final year high school students in Niue plans to do after graduation in relation to leaving or staying in Niue. The study relates this decision to place attachment, values and climate change.

The study indicates that Niuean youth doesn’t want to study on the island but instead move to New Zealand to pursue their academic ambitions. The students exhibit a strong sense of place attachment that is based in their identification with the island culture and nature. They want to return to the island after getting their university degree, making them attached stayers. The risk of cyclones does not affect the students wishes to live on the island. Decisions are in large motivated by caring for family, the students want to get a degree and then return to be able to take care and give back to their parents, grandparents and other people that have cared for them during their childhood.

Keywords: student migration, staying, Niue, values, cyclone

Supervisor: Micheline van Riemsdijk.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT This thesis was made possible by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency’s Minor Field Study program and I am very grateful to Uppsala University for granting the fieldwork for this study. TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION ...... 1 1.1 Aim and research questions ...... 2

2. BACKGROUND ...... 3 2.1 Developing a nation ...... 3 2.2 Access to education ...... 5 2.3 Cyclones and climate change ...... 6

3. PREVIOUS STUDIES ...... 8 3.1 Factors of migrating ...... 8 3.2 Factors of staying ...... 9 3.3 Island culture and values ...... 10

4. METHOD ...... 11 4.1 Fieldwork ...... 11 4.2 Interviews ...... 11 4.3 Data analysis ...... 13 4.4 Research ethics ...... 13

5. FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS ...... 14 5.1 Planning for education ...... 14 5.2 Planning to return ...... 15 5.3 Factors and values at play ...... 17 5.4 Dealing with the risk of cyclones ...... 18

6. CONCLUSION ...... 20

REFERENCES ...... 21

APPENDIX 1 – Informants ...... 23 APPENDIX 2 – Interview questions ...... 24

1. INTRODUCTION

A place needs its people. People is what makes a place work, through economic activities and social interactions people bring places to life. A decreasing population makes it more difficult to build a functioning and sustainable existence since less people leads to fewer local social and economic opportunities (Connell, 2008, p. 1025). Niue’s population has been in decline since its’ airport opened in the 1970s which put the island in regular fast physical contact with the outside world. Niue is a small upraised atoll in the South Pacific. Today, 1500 people live on the 260 km2 island situated 2,500 km northeast of New Zealand. Before the airport opened in the 1970s the only outside physical contact with the world was the container ship that came in. It had few spaces for passengers, a ticket was expensive, and since the ship delivered cargo to several other islands the trip to New Zealand took about a month. When people got access to planes, leaving the island became cheaper both in relation to money and time and the population decreased significantly. Before the opening of the airport, the population peaked at around 5000 citizens, over the following decade about 2000 people left the island and since then the population has continued to decline (Government of Niue, 2012) (Barker, 2000). According to Connell (2008), Niue has experienced a population decline greater than any other independent state in the world as large parts of the population have migrated overseas to New Zealand, Australia and elsewhere (Connell, 2008, p. 1022).

Figure 1: Niues location Source: CIA (2019)

Migration can be explained by a myriad of factors, the migration from Niue seems to be caused by two different forces. There is both to a continuous outstream of individual migrants and instances of larger groups migrating at the same time due to climate events (Connell, 2008) Barker (2000). For Niue, as well as for many other small island nations, the social and economic opportunities overseas are greater than those on the island. Niue is still a country under development and with a small population they are struggling to reach a sustainable economy. Cyclones, tertiary education and need for specific medical attentions have also been acknowledged as catalysts when people have decided to move (Connell, 2008, p. 1024). Barker (2000) has mapped the effect which the occurrence of cyclones has had on migration 1 from Niue, often linking a surge of outward migration to the island being struck by cyclones. As the risk of damage done by cyclones increases, I’m interested if not only the event of a cyclone but the risk of them have any effect on people’s decision to migrate. When investigating migration, the option of staying is often overlooked as a non-decision and a result of deciding not to go. However, the process of staying is rarely passive but rather the outcome of complex interplay of personal consideration and the relational process linked to the lives of others. Staying is rarely a final decision but can instead be viewed as being in a state of flux and as an attachment to a specific place. This means that the decision of staying continuously is reconsidered, especially in times of transition in life (Stockdale, Theunissen, and Haartsen, 2017). This thesis aims at contributing depth to the question of migration from Niue by investigating a specific transition in life, graduating high school. It also takes staying into account by assigning value to both deciding to migrate and deciding to stay.

1.1 Aim and research questions

The aim of this thesis is to describe what factors affect the people of Niue when deciding whether to leave or stay in Niue. To limit the study, I have focused on students currently in their final year of high school. This decision is motivated by both the fact that graduation can be considered a life transition and the fact that tertiary education has been identified as a reason for migration. To investigate this, the following research questions are chosen: - What are the plans of last year high school students regarding moving from or staying in Niue? - What factors and values are at play when making those plans? - What, if any, impact do the increased risk of cyclones have on this decision?

2. BACKGROUND

2.1 Developing a nation

Niue is an independent state under free association with New Zealand. The island was brought within the boundaries of New Zealand in 1915 and restored in self-government in 1974 as a part of the UN decolonisation program (Levi and Boydell, 2003). This allows Niue to make its own decisions and still be under financial and physical protection of New Zealand. It also entails that Niue nationals are New Zealand citizens and have the same privileges and responsibilities as they do (New Zealand Foreign Affairs & Trade, 2019). This includes access to New Zealand’s student loan scheme and the right to free movement and residence in New Zealand and Australia (Informant B). According to Connell (2008) the weak economy contributes to the large-scale emigration from Niue. Niue is the smallest independent state in the world, and it faces many of the same development problems as other small island states such as isolation, expensive transport, regular natural disasters and limited natural and human resources (Connell, 2008, p.1027). The population of Niue has never been larger than around 5000 people, probably due to difficulty of agriculture. It is difficult to grow crops on the volcanic, limestone land. The farmed food is complemented with fishing, hunting and imported food (Barker, 2000, p. 195). The primary source of income is wages. Remittances were once important but never as significant as for neighbouring islands and has lost further significance over time. Niueans were unlikely to send remittances as many migrants had few dependents on the island and the people still on the island were perceived to not need remittances since they had good government salaries (Connell, 2008, p. 1030). Instead the island economy depends heavily on aid from New Zealand (New Zealand Foreign Affairs & Trade, 2019). Most people on the island are employed by the public-service sector. The island has sought to develop both a private sector and an export economy, but no attempt have generated significant or consistent income nor established a productive economy. The private sector is difficult to sustain with a small population and limited tourism. The island mostly consists of limestone which makes large scale agriculture for export difficult and most food that is grown on the island is grown for personal use (Connell, 2008, p.1022). As the island lacks surface water all water used for agriculture is either pumped up fresh water or collected rainwater, the hassle of this and the large yearly variations of rainfall limits commercial agricultural development (Barker, 2000, p. 195). Efforts to promote tourism have been hampered by limited means of transportation and lack of accommodation. The geography of the island also sets it apart from other Pacific Islands when it comes to tourism. For instance, Niue’s lack of beaches is believed to turn some tourists away (Barker, 2000, p. 200). In 2004, no households were below global poverty measures but 8% spent less than necessary to meet essential needs. This can be explained by the fact that many Niue people grow their own food (Connell, 2008, p. 1030). Niue is still classified as a developing nation, it in many ways can be considered developed but many things are still developing. Even though the island is sometimes referred

3 to as a Wi-Fi nation due to its installed hotspots with free, slow Wi-Fi for its citizen, the island still quite frequently loose both internet connection and electricity (Fieldwork). Much of what traditionally has been valued on the Pacific island still plays an important role. This includes a sense of community, shared beliefs and values. Many islands have thus found themselves in a paradox where they on one hand are seeking development through traditional capitalism and on the other try to help development through different local efforts (Connell, 2010). Land on Niue cannot be bought or sold, only passed on through heritage and a person can only own land on the island if they are Niuean. All relatives and family branches have a claim to the original source of the land and a piece of land can therefore be ‘owned’ by hundreds of people simultaneously which can make disputes complex and long-spun (Levi and Boydell, 2003, p. 4). In 2003, only 12% of the land was formally registered but more people were starting to register land since ownership could be used as security for loans (Levi and Boydell, 2003, p. 5). Skilled workers are likely to be dissatisfied with local employment opportunities. The small economy isn’t strong enough for everyone to work with whatever they prefer and when people aren’t able to obtain employment relevant to their training the limited variation of options on the island leads to them feeling as if their skills aren’t being challenged. The risk of this has led to a shortage of tradespeople on the island, including professions from mechanics to health workers (Connell, 2008, p. 1026). It is a difficult but not uncommon balance, there isn’t really room on the island to have two mechanics all year round but sometimes one isn’t enough (Fieldwork). Historically, medical needs have been a reason for people to leave Niue (Connell, 2008). The island has a hospital and a care facility for the elderly, but they are unable to provide several more advanced treatments which leads to some patients needing to be medically evacuated to get care. Thus, people leave the island, either because they themselves need care or because they want to be close to a loved one in need of care. Some even leave the island preemptable. To be able to provide more options, different kinds of specialists, such as eye surgeons, regularly visit the island to provide the population with non-emergent conditions with their services saving them a medical trip (Fieldwork). Niue is divided into 14 villages, see Figure 1 for placements and names. Besides having a bureaucratic function as electoral districts, they carry strong meaning and a sense of belonging for its inhabitants (Fieldwork).

Figure 2: Map of Niue Source: City population (2011)

In 2008, Connell describes how the single weekly plane to Niue arrives at 2 am every Friday morning. Now, in 2019 there are two planes a week. Flown by Air New Zealand, the flights to and from Auckland come in every Monday and Friday afternoon. Only connecting to one city puts the island in a disadvantage when tourists are comparing Pacific Islands for their holiday. Whenever the flights aren’t full, the rest of the space of the aircraft is filled with supplies such as materials for the hospital or fresh produce for the supermarket. These supplies are in some ways considered as bonuses since the delivery isn’t guaranteed. The proper way of getting resources to the island is the cargo ship that comes in once a month and delivers everything from cars to paper (Fieldwork).

2.2 Access to education

Education is free and compulsory for people between the ages of five and eighteen, the school follows the New Zealand curriculum (Nosa, 2009, p. 182). After the last cyclone, in 2004, the primary school was moved away from the water to a less risky place in the event of another cyclone. Now the three phases of education are right next to each other; the primary school, the high school and the University of South Pacific Niue campus (Fieldwork). The school year corresponds to the calendar year, so students graduate in December and high school covers the last three years of the compulsory education. There are several scholarships available for the students of Niue who want to pursuit higher education. These are financed by a myriad of actors such as the government of New Zealand, the government of Australia, different departments of the Australian government and the European Union. Scholarships provide different amounts of financial support ranging from only paying a part of the tuition fee to full scholarships with travel tickets back to Niue over Christmas included. Some scholarships stipulate that recipients must return to Niue after graduation to work for a set amount of years. Due to their New Zealand citizenship Niueans

5 are also eligible for New Zealand’s student loan schema and the first year of university tuition is free (Fieldwork). The students not wanting to go to New Zealand can apply to the University of South Pacific (USP). USP is owned by the governments of 12 small island states and has campuses in each member country (USP, 2019). The campus on Niue has around 40 students enrolled for part time studies. Students can study up to a master’s degree on the island as the campus recently launched their master’s in business administration program (Informant C). The campus consists of a lecture room, a computer room, a satellite room, a library and some offices (Fieldwork). Due to the lack of some facilities not every degree is available in Niue. For instance, since the campus lacks a science lab those who want to study medicine, agriculture or engineering must leave the island to pursuit those degrees. In some instances, they can do the majority of the coursework over satellite and then go overseas to complete the practical activities (Informant C). The students can also apply for studies at other USP campuses, the most common option is to apply for the main campus in Fiji. It is bigger than the one in Niue, in 2016 it had 10,000 enrolled students (USP Annual Report, 2016). In Niue, the campus is often empty except for the three employees and only one course is taught face-to-face, students in other courses must connect to their lectures via satellite. The course taught face-to-face is accounting and the reason it can be taught face-to-face is that it is taught by the campus director (Fieldwork).

2.3 Cyclones and climate change

Global warming is causing long-lasting changes to our planet as we know it, changes we won’t be able to reverse once they occur. These changes will occur all over the world and undoubtably force us to change the way we consume, where we live and what we do for a living. But so far, the effects are maldistributed, some places are more exposed than others (UNDP, 2018). Some of these changes, warmer oceans and higher sea levels may lead to more intense tropical storms. The storms will carry higher wind speeds and bring more rainfall leading to them being able to cause more damage when making landfall (Center for climate and energy solutions, 2009). When natural disasters such as cyclones strikes the island in ways that causes extensive damage it has often led to large social, political and economic changes. One of the effects have been an increase in outward migration after the disaster (Barker, 2000). Cyclones are the most frequent occurring disasters for Niue. Unlike many other small Pacific Islands which lay close to the sea levels, tsunamis aren’t a big concern in Niue since the island consists of a central plateau rising about 60 meters above sea level (Fieldwork). Cyclones are seasonally expected events in the Pacific region, although they mostly rage out at sea far from any land, when they do come close the outcome is often disastrous. Cyclones do not need to make landfall to cause physical damage, just being as close as 50-100km can cause great damage. Such damage includes destruction or damage to crops, livestock, fisheries and residential shelters, contamination of water supplies and damage to sanitary waste disposal mechanisms, disease epidemics and psychological and emotional distress (Barker, 2000, p. 194). Even years when the island isn’t struck by a cyclone, it is still affected

6 by the cyclone season weather, winds are about twice as strong and usually accompanied by heavy rain (Barker, 2000, p. 195). Niue is located just on the edge of the area referred to the Southwest Pacific’s ‘hurricane belt’ and is struck by a hurricane every 7 to 10 years. Between 1905 and 1990, 21 hurricanes approached within 100km of the island and six of those were very destructive. The cyclones cause significant physical and economic damage to the island, breaking communications with the rest of the world, damaging houses and crops as the sea rises and the winds blow hard. In the beginning of 2004, the island was hit by the cyclone Heta which killed two people and wiped out almost half of the capital Alofi. These regular occurring damaging weather events complicates and obstructs the islands efforts to implement plans of development since national efforts are forced to shift focus towards recovery (Pacific Climate Change Science Program partners, 2011). Recovery from a cyclone takes between 8 and 18 months depending on the severity (Barker, 2000, p. 196). New Zealand has spent a lot of money rebuilding the island, especially before Niue became independent. Too keep the citizens and the Niuean government out of debt much of the rebuilding have been funded through aid rather than loans. This means that Niue’s standard of living has risen unproportionally to its economy (Barker, 2000, p. 198). Since Barker’s 2000 investigation on cyclones effects on migration from the island it has had its first deadly cyclone. Cyclone Heta, which struck the island in 2004, killed two people and wiped out large parts of the main village on the island (UNDP, 2004). Niue was also technically hit by Cyclone Gita, which passed the island in 2018 but no major damage was reported (Fieldwork). No company will insure the people, homes or business on the island (Fieldwork). When disaster strikes the options for the population is to rebuild their home from their own resources or to leave and build a new life somewhere else. With each severe cyclone, a significant amount of people has opted to leave the island contributing to the islands declining population (Barker, 2000, p. 201). All over the island there are houses that have been boarded up for cyclone protection and then abandoned.

3. PREVIOUS STUDIES

3.1 Factors of migrating

Migration has always been a part of island life. Living on an island with limited resources have always meant that one must be good at adapting to changes to continue to exist. The fact that Niuean citizens also hold New Zealand citizenship facilitates migration to New Zealand and Australia as the processes of relocating there is much simpler than moving to another country (Connell, 2008, p.1024). According to Connell (2008) most people migrate when they found there ‘was nothing left for them on the island’. Migration is a result of real and perceived inequalities in socioeconomic opportunities, primarily when it comes to income, but education and health services also play a role (Connell, 2010). The migrants driven by these factors particularly consists of the younger parts of the population seeking an easier life, higher income and a more social life. Unskilled Niueans tended to migrate when realizing they would not be able to secure a government job. As wages in New Zealand became higher than wages on Niue, skilled migration to New Zealand increased (Connell, 2008, p.1024). Migration is thus not only driven by necessity but also the temptation of finding a better life in New Zealand. Many young people expect to spend some part of their life overseas, but few cut their bonds to the island by relinquishing their land rights in Niue (Connell, 2008, p. 1032). It is common for those who have left the island to get an education to later return. But returning isn’t always so easy. Some returnees have experienced resistance to their return which is often welcomed in theory but despised in practice (Connell, 2008, p. 1027). Often those who have remained on the island see themselves as ‘true Niueans’ and view those who have migrated as having failed to recognise the value of and committed themselves to island life (Connell, 2008, p. 1032). Migration is seen to be individualistic and stayers are seen as committed to community (Connell, 2008, p.1034). Most commonly people return to raise their families or take care of their aging parents (Connell, 2008, p. 1034). Some return to avoid the stress of day-to-day life in New Zealand, for some the cost of living is too high and some enjoy the lifestyle and environment that Niue offers. People who are retiring are keener to move back to Niue if they still have a house there, money and a spouse who is willing to join (Norsa, 2099, p. 187). Even more common is to vow to come back but never following through (Connell, 2008, p. 1027). Even though wages are higher in New Zealand, so is the cost of living and some people end up being ‘trapped’ by having to pay high rent or mortgages (Connell, 2008, p. 1034). The Premier of Niue, Young Vivian, constantly tries to attract Niueans overseas to return home, several initiatives have been launched but they’ve mostly been unsuccessful (Norsa, 2009, p. 186). An example of such an initiative is the government offering financial aid to return migrants such as buying them a car, so far this doesn’t seem to have had any effect (Informant B). The perks of island life are described by Connell (2008) as the freedom, enjoyment of the land and fishing, living a relaxed life without the pressure of the everyday treadmill. Likewise the drawbacks are described as the food being expensive, the island being small and only

8 containing ‘the same old people’ and ‘the same old places’, their social life is limited, it is easier to earn money in New Zealand and life is more convenient there (Connell, 2008, p. 1034). When Gibson and McKenzie (2009) examined factors related to migration on Tonga, Papua New Guinea and New Zealand they found that the likelihood for people to migrate from the current country did not increase for people born elsewhere compared to people born in the country. They did find that risk seeking individuals are more likely to migrate and that people who have studied language and/or sciences have an increased likelihood of migrating. They found that gender had no significant impact (Gibson & McKenzie, 2009, p. 26). Most people migrate in their twenties and choose to migrate in part to increase their income, but more significance is placed on personal preference and career opportunities. Because of the limited impact of income, Gibson and McKenzie think more emphasis needs to be put on non- income components of the utility maximization decision. They also found that educational migrants are more likely to return if they have a parent who’s still alive in the home country, if they are attracted to the island lifestyle and if they have a strong sense of personal connection (Gibson & McKenzie, 2009, p. 28). Gibson and McKenzie (2009) sets precedence for people moving to study to be considered migrants since a correlation has been identified between studying abroad and later working abroad. This could for instance be due to the student attaining overseas qualifications or becoming overqualified to work in their place of birth. Bonded migration is defined as migration that contractually only is for a period of time, either due to scholarship or a fixed period contract. For bonded migration it is the bonds rather than the individual motivations that drive the return migration (Gibson & McKenzie, 2009, p. 21).

3.2 Factors of staying

To understand why someone chooses to stay Stockdale et al. (2017) view individual lives as biographies containing personal influences, events and experiences. All ‘stayers’ make trade-offs between different domains in their lives, prioritizing access to certain aspects of life (often family) over others (often career opportunities). The term ‘attached stayers’ refer to people who prioritize being close to family and friends and their experience of staying is different from those who are ‘tied to a place’ and would prefer to live elsewhere but don’t have the opportunity to go due to family of financial obligations (Stockdale et al., 2017, p. 2). In both cases, family is important but for different reasons. Stockdale et al. also state that some return migrants can be considered stayers even as they’ve physically spent time abroad if they’ve mentally remained at home (Stockdale et al., 2017, p. 2). Stockdale et al. (2017) have identified some factors important in the stay-migrate decision. One of them is community and research has shown that rural schools tend to informally sort children into low achievers (stayers) and academically bright (migrants) and consciously or unconsciously treat them different in the classroom (Stockdale et al., 2017, p.2). Another important factor is place attachment which can be important enough to out- weigh perceived negatives associated with staying. Attachment can come from family roots, memories, a sense of home, social factors, residential familiarisation, socialisation or the

9 physical qualities of an area. People identify with places in contrast to other places, this is called ‘identifying against’. People also attach to places at different scales such as the region, the area or the landscape. Stayers in rural areas also tend to place high value on natural beauty, air quality and peacefulness (Stockdale et al., 2017, p.3). Some identify with the place as a part of who they are, it is the area where they feel comfortable or they enjoy some specific aspects such as the bond they have to their football team. The young stayers tend to value the familiar, an attractive landscape and a strong sense of community (Stockdale et al., 2017, p.7). Staying is not a permanent decision but the longer one stays, the greater likelihood of staying in the future. As people grow more attached, they become less likely to leave (Stockdale et al., 2017, p.3). The most critical events associated with the decision to stay are thus the early ones.

3.3 Island culture and values

Migrating from one’s home often contributes to a certain loss of connection with ones’ culture, especially for second-generation migrants. When leaving a place, distance is placed between the person and the culture making it harder to participate, practice and remember. The clearest example of this is the use of language. The majority of Niueans born in New Zealand are monolingual English speakers and have little to no skill in Niuean (Starks, 2010, p. 125). The culture is not yet codified enough to get access to from literature so when Niueans living abroad want to learn more about it they turn to their community or their relatives (Starks, 2010, p. 136). For the people on the island it is engrained in their everyday life (Smith, 1983). Caring for others is an important part of Niuean culture. People not only take care of their own family, but the people in their village. The concept of family not only refers to the nuclear family but the whole extended family such as grandparents, siblings, aunties, uncles, nieces and nephews. Grandmothers are usually very involved in the caregiving of children. Since land is inherited rather than purchased, it is common for the whole extended family to live in very close vicinity as children ready to start their own families will be given a piece of land by their parents and build their house there. In the same way that the village is important so is the church, as each village has its own church which is attended by most people in the village (Smith, 1983) (Fieldwork). Farming is done not only due to necessity but as a part of the tradition. Land is viewed, not as a commodity but as identity (Levi and Boydell, 2003, p. 7). When preparing for important life events such as birthdays, funerals or coming of age ceremonies families and villages will gather to prepare the festivities together. This entails the men going out to the plantations, farming the taro and killing the pig while the women are responsible for decorations and cooking (Smith, 1983).

4. METHOD

4.1 Fieldwork

This thesis is based on fieldwork which was carried out in Niue during April and May of 2019. Fieldwork typically involves collecting primary data through a variety of means. For this thesis I have utilized interviews and observations. Human geographers have acknowledged the subjectivity of fieldwork inquiry since researchers play a defining role in the definition of the field, in the inquiry and in the analysis (Bosco & Moreno, 2009). My main motivation for utilizing fieldwork is Longhurst’s statement that knowledge is not out there waiting to be discovered, it is embodied in the individuals located in particular contexts. Humanistic geographers have attempted to understand how places are perceived by people, arguing that one cannot make sense of the world without examining the interpretations of those who live in it. One therefor needs to be very careful when selecting which people are invited to share their knowledge as to avoid discrimination of those outside social and historical norms (Longhurst, 2009). The challenge of gaining access to informants vary but many agree that being flexible and persistent is a winning strategy. Gaining access to public spaces are much easier than accessing private spaces, to do so one must often negotiate with a ‘gatekeeper (Walsh, 2009). In my case, the gatekeeper was the principal at the high school whose permission I had to obtain to speak to the students in the school. Field notes are an important part of the process as it is the primary way to keep information from informal settings. According to Walsh (2009) there are no proper instructions on how to write field notes, some argue that bringing a notebook disrupts the participations while others argue that notes written down later are distorted by time. During my fieldwork I have used both methods depending on what felt most natural at the time and my trust in my own memory. I agree that most people find the presence of a notebook intimidating and might become a bit closed-off, but it is also very challenging to remember every piece of information until the end of the day when one has time to write it down. During my work I have found most of the people in Niue to be very helpful and eager to tell their story. The main challenge of data collection has been the concept of island time, meaning it is not considered rude to not show up at plans previously made. This has resulted in several interviews being scheduled but not preformed. On the other hand, it is fine and often appreciated to visit someone’s house unannounced to have a chat. This has resulted in a lot of fruitless waiting around and has limited the number of interviews that I have been able to perform.

4.2 Interviews

According to Danielo (2017, p. 70) interviewing is the core of field research. They range from formal conversations in an office setting to casual encounter. The most common form being the individual semi-structured interview. It is a scheduled conversation where the researcher has a prepared list of topics and questions prepared. I have chosen this type of

11 interview as my main method for data collection as semi-structured interviews allow for follow up questions on interesting side-tracks while still maintaining the common structure needed for proper analysis (Dilley, 2000). More data have been collected through informal interviews, they are defined by Danielo (2017) as a casual conversation that results from an informal encounter. They take place without planning and are then transcribed into field notes from memory once it its over (Danielo, 2017, p.70). In this thesis, data collected through this method is referred to as fieldwork and includes informal interviews with both permanent residents and visiting tourists. Initiating conversations as informal interviews have contributed to breadth to the data and provided a greater understanding of the general situation on the island, while the semi-structured interviews have provided further depth. The topics that arose in the field have also contributed to setting the structure for the formal interviews as they gave insight into what could be interesting to dive deeper into. Since my fieldstudy took place just on the shoulder to tourist season, I have met with a few tourists from New Zealand who provided an understanding about New Zealand, life there and their relationship to Niue. Repstad (2007) writes that subjects rarely feel comfortable opening up to the investigator right away. He suggests layering interviews relevant to the research with lighter questions to build trust and make the subjects comfortable. Repstad also speaks on treading lightly at the start before the trust is established and to let the informants speak about what they believe to be important which I have tried to implement. This is a way to build rapport with the informant. It is the comfortable, cooperative relationship between two people as they both are feeling satisfied and empathic to each other’s situations (Keats, 2000, p.23). I felt that is was important to maintain good rapport with the informant during the interview, not only for the sake of the ongoing interview but also future ones. Since I was interviewing students from the same class, I assumed they discussed their interview experience with each other when I wasn’t around. To find answers to my research questions I have conducted interviews with adolescents which adds a new dimension to the challenge of interviewing. Adolescents go through a wide range of cognitive and personal development. Their linguistic ability is often well-developed although some have better ability to express themselves than others (Keats, 2000, p. 103). This has shaped my interview guide as some high-level concepts were more difficult to understand for some students. For instance, the concept of holding values confused many students so during later interviews I focused the discussion more around what they valued. The interview questions presented in Appendix 2 is the final, revised version that was used for most of the interviews. I also felt it was important to establish a good relationship with the young informants and make the interview room a safe space by making the students feel as comfortable as possible. Keats states that as the informant feels comfortable and as if they are participating in a worthwhile activity the interview will be more fruitful (Keats, 2000, p. 33). I believe this to be especially important when discussing delicate items that happen to come up during interviews. The lives of people are complex and why someone is in a certain place can often relate to intimate issues. Even though no questions had this level of intimacy subjects such as deaths of family members and struggling with mental illness emerged during some of the interviews. During such instances I tried to provide some comfort and listen to the student, not as a researcher but as a fellow human without diving further into the subject. After permission was granted by the high school principal, I met with the students from grade 13 and scheduled interviews. Grade 13 is the final year of high school in Niue and the

12 students interviewed in this project were 17-19 years old at the time. As I was granted permission just before Easter break, not many students came to school for the last days before break which led to many students not coming to their interviews. As the Easter break on Niue is two weeks this put a halt to the data collection but also allowed time for reflection and preliminary analysis. After Easter break my visit was ending and I didn’t have time to collect more data, this is unfortunate but judging from the similarities between interviews I believe I’ve learnt enough to draw the conclusions presented in this study. In the case of the high school students, interviews have been conducted at the facilities of USP Niue Campus. The campus is situated right by the high school and is a place which the students frequently visit. The interviews averaged to be about 30 minutes, ranging from 20 to 45 minutes. Most of the other semi-structured interviews have been conducted in the homes of the informants or in public spaces. Interviews were conducted in English, a language which neither the interviewer nor most of the informants held as first language. For some informants, English is their third language. The language barrier sometimes stopped the flow of the interviews but also led to further explanations. Informants have been selected from the graduating class on a volunteer basis. Since Niueans are very helpful I believe even people without interest in the subject have agreed to be interviewed. However, there might me a maldistribution in the dataset since those who are embarrassed about their future are unlikely to volunteer. Scheduling interviews during school hours also contributed to this as students not present in school were not interviewed and not attending school might be negatively correlated with pursuing further studies.

4.3 Data analysis

The semi-structured and unstructured interviews have been transcribed and formatted into a spreadsheet in order to identify commonalities and illustrative examples. The informal interviews have been collected as fieldnotes and haven’t been analysed with the same rigour as the other data but rather been used to provide contexts. To get the most out of the material I have conducted an iterative analytical process. A full list of informants is included in Appendix 1, the interviews with high school students are referred to by numbers and the interview done in the field as well as the interviews done with employees in the educational systems are referred to by letters.

4.4 Research ethics

Which opportunities a person considers themselves to have access to can be a very sensitive issue. I have therefor tried my best to provide anonymity and confidentiality of the informants that have so generously shared their stories with me. Since the population of the island is so small, I have opted not to use fictitious names when referring to the informants as to not give away the gender of the informant.

5. FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS

5.1 Planning for education

Seven out of the eight students interviewed plan to pursue further studies directly after graduating high school and most of them want to get full degrees. Five out of those seven want to go to New Zealand to study and all five of them intend to come back after they’ve gotten their degree. One has applied to study at the USP in Fiji and one is interested in carrying out their education in Niue (Informant 2) (Informant 3). All students who plan to pursuit education have applied for one or several scholarships to finance their education. The choices not to study in New Zealand seems to be primarily monetary, as Informant 2 is too young to apply for a scholarship in New Zealand but can apply for one to go to Fiji and Informant 3 does not want to burden their family with the expenses of living abroad. Even though the cultural traditions of the island are very gendered this is not reflected in the students’ choice of educational programs. In the class of 2019 8 out of the 12 female students have applied for programs in civil engineering (Informant B). According to Gibson and McKenzie (2009) these plans (of leaving to study on a scholarship and then being contractually obligated by that scholarship to come back) can be considered bonded migration. But according to the same authors the education they gain overseas also increases their likelihood to stay which might also motivate them to go back overseas once they’ve fulfilled their contracted years back in Niue. One student expressed that even after they move back to Niue after graduation, they will move back to New Zealand after the contracted years to gain more experience and live the New Zealand life for a longer period (Informant 2). Compared to New Zealand, Niue is a very isolated rural area and still under development. There aren’t many restaurants, clubs, shops or options for entertainment (Fieldwork). The main reason to pursue further studies is to become successful enough to be able to take care of and give back to their families and to make their family and community proud. One student explains: I want to be successful […] so that I can help my family, I want to pay back everything that they gave me (Informant 6) another share their relationship with their grandmother:

I really love my grandmother. Because she’s done the most for me, out of everyone in my family. She’s very significant to me, she’s taught me a lot of values. […] It’s always related to school and education; she’s always wanted me to have the best education and the best future (Informant 5)

The students aren’t giving up their academic interests to stay, if they found something that they want to pursue it doesn’t matter that it is off the island. Going overseas can in itself be a motivator as they are able to have new experiences. The fact that there isn’t any way to complete a science degree in Niue means that just as the Tongan students in Gibson and McKenzie’s (2009) study, the students of Niue who are interested in sciences are more likely to leave the island than students who aren’t. The Niue high school doesn’t offer any language courses so that doesn’t factor in.

Some have opted for degrees that would allow them to give back to their community such as midwife and architecture, professions that are currently missing on the island (Informant 5, Informant 7). It used to be that students were guided towards professions that the island needed but today, most of the students are encouraged by their parents to pursue whatever makes them happy. Even though studying what makes them happy might not lead to a job on the island (Fieldwork).

5.2 Planning to return

“I want to come back to Niue after university because I want to repay those who looked after me.” (Informant 1)

The students who plan to migrate and then return would be considered stayers by Stockdale et al. (2007), since they’ve always planned to come back and thus mentally remained at home. Due to being New Zealand citizens most students have the opportunity to go overseas at least for the first free year. This means that they aren’t ‘tied to Niue’ as Stockdale et al. (2007) phrases is and are instead classified as attached stayers. The students’ place attachment seems to come from their connection to family roots, memories, a sense of home and the natural beauty of the island. The students enjoy the climate, the nature and the strong sense of community in the villages and on the island in general. All factors identified contribute to place attachment by Stockdale et al. Some of the students value the quietness and slow pace of the island while others long for the bright lights overseas. One student explains:

“When you stay in a village, it’s your village and the people there look after you. They help you and they teach you, that’s the way of life. They are so nice and kind, not like people around the world; mean, angry and aggressive. Over here you live in peace” (Interview 2)

All interviewed students who intend to leave the island talked about wanting to return to take care of and give back to their parents, which also can be linked to the Gibson and McKenzie (2009) study that states that students are more likely to return if they have a parent who’s still alive on the island. However, if all the students report that they want to come back to the island after their studies why do so few of them actually come back? I believe this is due to three major factors: what they’ve chosen to study, how they financed their studies, and social structures. Some of the students have purposely chosen education that they want to apply on the island, some have happened to choose an education which they will be able to apply on the island and some have chosen areas that will lead to them not being able to obtain a relevant job on the island. If it is the latter one, they basically have two options – stay overseas and work with what interests them or come back to the island and work with something unrelated which can be demoralizing. There are also social factors, such as relationships to others and family history, that go into getting a job on the island. One woman with an environmental degree states that she

15 won’t be able to get a job within the government in a relevant department because the department head position used to be held by one of her family members. She’s opted to stay on the island and make ends meet by working several smaller jobs that she’s overqualified for (Fieldwork). The second factor, how students have chosen to finance their studies also affects what their options are for coming back. If they’ve gone on a scholarship that contracts them to come back they are of course likely to come back, but they can also go back overseas once they’ve completed their stay if they want to get more education or feel as though they’re not ready to stay. If they haven’t gotten a full scholarship they probably have some New Zealand student debt to pay off. That is much easier to do in New Zealand as wages there are higher than in Niue. The third option for them is to pay for their schooling out of their own pocket, its not common but if one does, they would have the choice to go and stay wherever they want. The third factor is the social structures, some of the students feel they have to come back to take care of family members or similar and some settle down in overseas and then feel as though they can’t leave their new home. They might have settled down with a partner or started a whole family that doesn’t want to come back and live on a small island. It might also be that they can’t afford to uproot their entire family or that they want their children to be educated in New Zealand. The education is perceived to be good in Niue but it has been difficult for me to assess how it holds up compared to the one in New Zealand. The school, as everything else on the island sometimes suffers from the island isolation, at one point during my stay the primary school run out of paper which unarguably affects the level of education. Through living in New Zealand during university studies the students might change their perception about the education in Niue. Having children can also be considered an important life event which might trigger reconsideration of the stay or migrate decision. The students interviewed in this project wants to raise their potential children on the island so that they can have the same childhood experience as themselves, and learn the language, traditions and values of the island. One student share:

If I have kids, I want them to grow up here because this is the good life. I want them to learn the culture and the traditions. Because I wasn’t born here, I still don’t know the language – that’s useless (Informant 2)

Previous research has shown that people are more likely to return to the island when they are about to retire than while they are still young (Connell, 2008). Perhaps this is because they are ready for life to slow down. Waiting until retirement might also lead to people never coming back to the island as many elders that are in need of or think they will be in need of medical attention have to stay where there’s good access to medical treatment. Even though they are fulfilling their plans of returning to the island, I argue that they can’t be considered stayers as the elderly population moving back at the end of their life in general won’t contribute as much to the development of the island and its society as younger people who are still looking to build their life.

5.3 Factors and values at play

Niue still holds very traditional values such as respecting the elders, modesty and commitment to the community. Due to its small population everyone knows everyone and do their best to take care of each other (Informant 1, Informant 5). Houses and cars are often unlocked since major crime is not present on the island. The flip side of this is that people are very involved in others business and gossip and judgement is not uncommon. It is a very open and warm community where people take care of each other and show up for each other. One is expected to participate, to contribute and to follow the traditional value system. If someone doesn’t, or if one is going through something difficult, people are likely to talk about it and to judge the person. Three of the interviewed students brings this up as an issue and believe the environment can be quite harsh. One student exemplifies:

The worst thing about Niue is the fear of having people look down on you. […] For example, if you were to get pregnant at an early age you would have a lot of people talk about you and look at you in a different way. (Informant 7)

The fact that the community is so small also means that there is no social option for people who have a fallen out with someone in their vicinity. For instance, there is only one school on the island which means that the children and their parents have all interacted with each other since the children started school (Informant 5). The students who have experienced the less pleasant side of this culture are motivated to move off the island while the students who haven’t are motivated to stay. Many students report that they want to return to the island to give back to their families and communities, to give back to those who have given them everything (Informant 6). Often this leads to the person wanting to be present on the island but sometimes it leads to the person wanting to stay overseas to hold a high paying job and support their families. Besides living up to cultural expectations of giving back, the choice of staying or leaving I think comes down to what is considered a good life. For some, that’s having a high paying job and living with all the comforts available in a big city but for 7 out of the 8 interviewed students its living in Niue and being close to the things that have been important during their childhood. Such as living a slower life with access to nature, fishing and plantations. The students want to raise their children in Niue to instore the same values in them as they themselves have learnt during their upbringing. They feel as if the children in New Zealand are too affected by technology and don’t have enough respect for their elders (Interviews). One student points out however, that if the education that her children were receiving in Niue wasn’t good enough, she would rather want them to move to New Zealand where she believes the education holds a more constant high level (Informant 8). It is also not uncommon for children to live with their grandparents while the parents stay where they are, this is true for both ways as parents in New Zealand send their children to live in Niue to get better access to their roots and cultural heritage and parents in Niue send their children to New Zealand to get access to better education.

Many Niueans identify with their dual identity as both Niueans and New Zealanders, and the benefits associated with belonging to New Zealand such as access to student loans and free mobility is valued and appreciated (Fieldwork). However, there’s also a resistance towards the life in New Zealand, not so much among the students but in the older population. Once woman expresses her wish to stay in Niue as: I’d rather live in Niue and be a first-class citizen than move to New Zealand and become a second-class citizen (Fieldwork). Even though the Niuean population carry full New Zealand citizenship, 23% of the pacific population living in New Zealand experience racial discrimination (Harris et al., 2012, p.404).

5.4 Dealing with the risk of cyclones

“Cyclones don’t affect my want to stay here. It’s just one season of the year and the rest of the time it’s fine. I think if there were heaps constantly, I would worry more but they are not that frequent” (Informant 2)

“I think cyclones are scary. When it hits, I think it’s going to be the end of Niue and that I’m going to lose all my stuff and my loved ones. But it doesn’t affect my plans to stay. I don’t want to leave, and the cyclones are natural. If God wants them to happen, they will happen” (Informant 4)

Since there is no insurance on the island, if one loses their house in a cyclone, their options are to invest in rebuilding it or invest in starting up a new life somewhere else. It makes sense that this has been shown by Barker (2000) to be a catalyst for migration for people who’ve been considering leaving the island. People already live with rather little money, relying on their plantations to make ends meet. When cyclones hit and ruin both houses and plantations it becomes a double financial burden, having to both invest in rebuilding their accommodation and having to spend extra money on food from the supermarket since their crops are ruined. Few people have large savings accounts to cover these costs but historically aid has been provided, primarily by New Zealand, to finance rebuilding. The students interviewed in this study were too young to remember cyclone Heta, they do however experience cyclone season each year, and many have been told about previous cyclones by their parents. Four out of the eight interviewed students find cyclones scary but all view them as a natural part of life and their decision of staying or leaving isn’t affected by the risk of cyclones. This might be impacted by the fact that they are raised by parents who have opted to stay on the island even after the cyclone and therefor are indoctrinated with the idea that it is more important to stay. However, this too is a part of deciding what a good life is. As one student phrases it: I’d rather stay here and have a cyclone than go to New Zealand and suffer the many other things happening right now, like the shooting in Christchurch1. (Informant 1) No area is completely free of dangers, but one can decide what risk to expose oneself to by choosing where to live.

1 The shootings in Christchurch refers to two sequential terrorist attacks at mosques carried out in Christchurch, New Zealand in March of 2019. The gunman killed 51 people (The Guardian, 2019). 18

The students rely on what they have learnt to do during a cyclone warning and trust the cyclone protocol to keep them safe. They do however worry about the time and effort it will take to rebuild what the cyclone destroys and think it is reasonably for parents with small children to want to leave the island.

6. CONCLUSION

This thesis has investigated the spatial intentions of graduating high school students through a qualitative study. It has described where they are planning to go and analysed the driving factors in this decision. This thesis concludes that students who plan to leave the island to get an education also plan to return to it after they have done so. They are motivated to leave the island in part because it lacks the opportunity for them to pursuit their interests and in part because they want to broaden their horizons. The students utilize the scholarships available to them to finance their education and the fact that a requirement for the scholarship is to return to Niue after graduating university makes the migration for these students bonded migration. This also points to the fact that the way the students chose to finance their studies has a big effect on their spatial future. The students interviewed in this project are motivated to get an education so that they can provide for their family and community and give back to the people who have taken care of them. They are motivated to return to the island because they are attached to the place. Since they have planned to return before they left, they can be considered to be stayers, and since their motivation to return is attachment they can be considered attached stayers. Their attachment stem from their connection to family roots, memories, a sense of home and the natural beauty of the island. The most frequent values held by the students were family, friends, church and education. Other common values included health, respect for others and personal development. As explained above, these valuing these things seems to have a great impact on how the students choose to plan their lives. This thesis also concludes that the risk of cyclones has little to no effect on the students spatial plans even though half of the students regularly worry about cyclones. The students interviewed in this thesis were all too young when the last serious cyclone hit the island, which might contribute to their attitude in the matter. I think an interesting area for further studies would be to look further into return migration, what factors are at play when students decide not to return and what challenges arise when they try to do so.

REFERENCES

Barker, J. (2000). Hurricanes and socio-economic development on Niue Island, Asia Pacific Viewpoint, 41(2), 191-205. Bosco, F. J. and Moreno C. M. (2009) “Fieldwork”, Elsevier Ltd Connell, J. (2008). Niue: Embracing a culture of migration, Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 34(6), 1021-1040. Connell, J. (2010). Pacific islands in the global economy: Paradoxes of migration and culture, Singapore Journal of Tropical Geography, 31(1) Danielo, D. (2017). The field researcher’s handbook. Georgetown University Press Dilley, P (2000). “Conducting Successful Interviews: Tips for Intrepid Reasearch”, Theory Into Practice, col 39, no. 3, pp. 133-137 Gibson, J., & McKenzie, D. (2009). The microeconomic determinants of emigration and return migration of the best and brightest: Evidence from the Pacific, Journal of Development Economics. Government of Niue. (2012). Niue Census of Population and Households 2011. Statistics Niue, Government of Niue 2012. Harris, R. Cormack, D. Tobias, M. Yeh, L. Talamaivao, N. Minster, J. Timutumu, R. (2012) The pervasive effects of racism: Experience of racial discrimination in New Zealand over time and associations with multiple health domains. Social Science & Medicine. 74(3), p. 403-415 Keats, D. (2000). Interviewing- a practical guide for students and professionals. Open University Press. Buckingham Philadelphia Levi, A. Boydell, S. (2003). The roles and responsibilities of absentee land owners in the Pacific – A Niue case study. The International Association for the Study of Common Property, Brisbane. Longhurst, R. (2009) “Embodied Knowing”, Elsevier Ltd Nosa, V. (2009). Migration and Transnationalism. ANU Press Repstad, P. (2007). “Närhet och distans”. Malmö: Studentlitteratur Smith, P. (1983). “Niue. The island and its people”. Suva: University of South Pacific Starks, D. (2010). “Being a Niuean or Being Niue? An Investigation into the Use of Identity Labels”. Journal of Language, Identity, and Education, 9(10), pp.124-138 Stockdale, A. Theunissen, N. Haartsen, T. (2017) Staying in a state of flux: A life course perspective on the diverse staying processes of rural young adults. Population, Space and Place, 24(8). Pacific Climate Change Science Program partners. 2011. Pacific Climate Change Science Program (https://www.preventionweb.net/files/28164_12pccspniue8pp.pdf)

UNDP. 2004. ICT Damage Assessment and Recovery Plan after Cyclone Heta in Niue Islands. (http://www.undp.org.ws/PDF/Recovery_Niue/ict_recoveryplan_niue.pdf)

Internet

Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) (2019). The world factbook. CIA. Retrieved from: https://www.cia.gov/ [2019-05-19] City population (2011). Niue. City population. Retrieved from: http://www.citypopulation.de [2019-04-16] New Zealand Foreign Affairs & Trade (2019). Niue. New Zealand Foreign Affairs & Trade. Retrieved from: https://www.mfat.govt.nz [2019-06-02] Lyons, Kate (2019, 21 May). Christchurch mosque attacks: suspect charged with ‘terrorist act’. The Guardian. Retrieved from: https://www.theguardian.com/ [2019-05-27] UNDP (2018). Climate change. UNDP. Retrieved from: https://www.undp.org [2018-09-28]

USP (2019, 31 January). About the University. Suva: The University of South Pacific. Retrieved from: https://www.usp.ac.fj [2019-06-02]

Interviews

Ugatagitau, Jone. 2019-04-29, high school teacher Lolesio, Seone. 2019-05-01, Director of USP Niue Campus

High school student, (2019-04-11). “Informant 1” High school student, (2019-04-11). “Informant 2” High school student, (2019-04-12). “Informant 3” High school student, (2019-04-13). “Informant 4” High school student, (2019-05-03). “Informant 5” High school student, (2019-05-03). “Informant 6” High school student, (2019-05-06). “Informant 7” High school student, (2019-05-07). “Informant 8” Second-generation migrant from Niue to New Zealand, (2019-04-15), “Informant A”

APPENDIX 1 – Informants

Interview 1 Informant 1 High school student Interview 2 Informant 2 High school student Interview 3 Informant 3 High school student Interview 4 Informant 4 High school student Interview 5 Informant A Second-generation migrant from Niue to New Zealand Interview 6 Informant B Jone Ugatagitau High school teacher for grade 13 Interview 7 Informant C Seone Lolesio Director of USP Niue Campus Interview 8 Informant 5 High school student Interview 9 Informant 6 High school student Interview 10 Informant 7 High school student Interview 11 Informant 8 High school student

APPENDIX 2 – Interview questions

Do you have any questions before we start?

Background: Can you tell me a little bit about yourself? Have you always lived in Niue? What do you think life in Niue is like? Can you tell me about your family? Where do you live? How old are you? Do you like school? Do you have a favourite subject? Can you tell me about it? Do you have a job besides going to school? Can you tell me about it? Do you like it? Why do you work? Have you ever travelled off the island? Can you tell me about it? Where did you go? Did you like it? Where would you like to go?

Theme 1: Relation to migrants / stayers and other places Do you have any (older) siblings? Can you tell be about them? Where are they? What are they doing? Do you know anyone who has moved off the island? Can you tell me about them? Have any of them later returned?

Theme 2: Plans and aspirations (work and education) What are your plans after (high school) graduation? What makes you want to work/study? Has anyone influenced that decision? What does your parents want you to do? Get a job? What do you want to work with? What would the process of finding a job look like? What happens if you won’t be able to find a job? Further education? What do you want to study? Where do you want to study? Where do you want to be in 3 years? Why? Where do you want to be in 5 years? Why? Where do you want to live? Why? What do you expect from that place?

Do you want children? Where would you want to raise them?

Theme 3: Climate change (cyclones) Do you remember the last cyclone? Can you tell be about it? In the last 100 years, Niue have been struck by cyclones every 7-10 years so statistically it would be time for one soon. Does that worry you? Do you think about it often? Does this affect your plans for the future? If so, how? How do you think living in a place frequently hit by cyclones effects people?

Theme 4: The meaning of a place Is there a place that holds special significance for you? Why? Is there a person who is the most important to you? Why? What do you think motivates people to stay in Niue? What do you think motivates people to leave? If you could live anywhere, where would you live? Why would you want to live there? What do you expect from that place? What are the biggest challenges of island life? Your personal struggles? For people in general? What are the biggest perks and opportunities of live in Niue? What are five things that you value? Why are those things important? What are three things you think the people of Niue value? What are three things you think the people of [place you want to move] value?

Final questions: Is there anything that hasn’t come up during this interview that you want to add? Have I missed anything that you believe to be important about this topic? Do you have any questions for me?