Page 4 - IB Nov 2017

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WE SAY SPORTS Islands Business

Managing Director / Publisher
Netani Rika
Netani Rika
Group Editor-in-Chief Publisher
A story of woe
Netani Rika

THE story of the people of Vunidogoloa in timber to a local sawmiller in return for
Design consultant Ilaitia Turagabeci Cakaudrove, Northern Fiji, cannot remain building material.
untold. Today the new Vunidogoloa Village
Main Correspondents Until now, many individuals, organisa- – known as Canaan after the Biblical
Fiji Priya Chand tions and governments have put them- Promised Land – is testament to a people

selves forward as the saviours of this who stared climate change in the face and
Australia Nic Maclellan community, the first in Fiji to be relocated remain to tell the story.
Cook Islands Helen Greig due to climate change. Their struggle is a story from which the
Kiribati Taberannang Korauaba But the painful truth is that the people Pacific and the world can learn valuable
of Vunidogoloa have been left largely to lessons.
French Polynesia Nic Maclellan
their own devices to deal with a calamity The accompaniment of the church in the
New Caledonia Nic Maclellan of proportions their forefathers could not journey from the old village to the new
New Zealand Jason Brown have imagined. was key. Without the advice and guidance
An entire village has been uprooted of Fiji’s Methodist Church, villagers may
Niue Naea Michael Jackson
from the land it has occupied for genera- well have chosen to remain and face the
Papua New Guinea Sam Vulum tions. rising waters.
Patrick Matbob A whole community has moved from It is important for donor organisations
Samoa Taina Kami-Enoka subsistence fishing to agriculture because and governments which fund climate
it has no option. change resettlement to ask hard questions
Solomon Islands Priestly Habru
And a generation has ripped thousands of Pacific nations who seek emergency
Tonga Iliesa Tora of cubic metres of timber from native assistance in the name of threatened
Vanuatu Bob Makin forests in order to build homes which will communities.
withstand the ravages of time and the Those questions include whether the
force of nature. vulnerable – especially the elderly, the
When and as required, village elders are young and women – will receive special
Islands Business is published monthly by paraded before visiting dignitaries to tell treatment, how the church has been
Front Page Limited the supposed success story of their reloca- engaged to assist in the spiritual and
Editorial & Advertising Offices tion with the help of the organs of state. psychological lives of communities and
117 Amy Street, Nothing could be further from the truth. whether governments have truly spent
PO Box 12718, Suva, Fiji Islands.
Tel: +679 330 3108 Fax: +679 330 1423 Fiji’s government provided trucks to money on the relocation.
cart the villagers’ belongings about one And as world leaders gather for COP 23
Emails kilometre from the old to the new site. in Bonn, Germany this month we dare to
Editorial: editor@islandsbusiness.com But the funding for the village so proud- ask them on behalf of the people of Vuni-
Subscriptions: subs@islandsbusiness.com ly displayed for all to see is the hard work dogoloa – Have you listened to their story?
Advertising: marketing@islandsbusiness.com
of a rural community who have shown the This is not a story which can be told
Printing: resilience of the Pacific people when faced by a minister, a head of government or a
Universal Printing Press, Lautoka with a problem too big to handle. functionary.
The homes cost $FJD286,000 – money Real people are being affected by cli-
REVEALED NAURU’S POLITICAL DEALS P12 SOLOMON AIRLINE’S COMPLIMENTARY INFLIGHT MAGAZINE www.flysolomons.com
Solomons the villagers did not have. So they took mate change and global warming – listen
ISSUE 68
to the forest, cut their trees and sold the to them.
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•Australia AU$4.00•Cook Islands NZ$4.50•Federated States of Micronesia US$4.00•Fiji Islands F$4.60•French Polynesia CPF300•Hawaii US$4.50•Kiribati AU$4.00•Marshall Islands US$4.00•Nauru AU$4.00
•New Caledonia CPF300•New Zealand NZ$4.50•Niue NZ$4.00•Palau US$4.50•Papua New Guinea K5.00•Samoa T4.00•Solomon Islands SL$8.00•Tonga P4.00•Tuvalu AU$4.00•Vanuatu Vatu300•
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4 Islands Business, November 2017