Quote by Sia Figiel: “The ocean remembers. It carries the history of our journey, our people.”

Figiel attributes a living memory to the ocean, portraying it as a vessel of ancestral stories and collective history. This idea highlights the deep spiritual and cultural connection Samoans have to the sea.

Figiel’s work often situates the ocean as a central element of Pacific Islander identity and narrative. This quote encapsulates the deep mythological and historical role the sea plays in her characters' lives, particularly in 'Where We Once Belonged'.

Samoan novelist and poet whose debut novel Where We Once Belonged won the Commonwealth Writers' Prize for the South East Asia and South Pacific region in 1997. Her work explores the lives of young Samoan women navigating tradition, sexuality, and colonial legacies. She is one of the most prominent Pacific women's voices in literature.