Vanuatu

Waet Pepol (aka White People aka Foreigners)

So, there's this guy who I work with and he lives in village very close to the city; in Novemeber-ish, he invited me over for dinner with his family and all. He's super nice and makes all efforts possible to be as hospitable and mindful of me as possible.

But I've noticed something: he's nicer to the "waet pepol' (aka white people aka foreigners) more than he is ever to his own people. This is a super nice guy and I know he's not being extra-nice simply because he wants to be like the "Waet man" but it frustrates me to see that lighter-skinned people still get priveleged-treatment EVEN when they are not in their own communities. It's somewhat explainable when white people favor other whites, but I can't fathom when people of color would rather be nicer to whites than those of color.

Am I simply reading too much into the sitaution? Is he simply being nice because the "waet pepol" are outsiders, and so, require more assistance and hospitability than the locals? Am I looking into situations from a pair of "race-colored" glasses? Probably, Maybe, and Definately. But still, can't seem to shake the feeling of sense of hopelessness in the world-power-structure ever changing!

posted by faa-T @ 6:20 PM