Grief-stricken Samoans poured into churches on Sunday to mourn the victims of the devastating tsunami that killed more than 170 people in their nation and surrounding Pacific islands.
About 600 people packed into the Congregational Christian Church in Lalomanu, one of the worst-hit villages on the south coast of the most heavily populated island of Upolu.
Lalomanu village chief Tavaga Failauga Gase said that 46 people — including 25 children — from his village had been killed when the tsunami swept ashore last Tuesday following an 8.0 magnitude quake.
“This is the first time so many people are filling this building,” Tavaga said. “We are all here together to witness what’s happened in our place for the first time in our history and the first time in our generation.”
Tavaga said the emotion-charged service marked the first time since the tsunami the community had been able to come together to express its grief.
“This is a time to thank God not only for those who are lost, but the rest who are still alive,” he said.
Among the congregation were members of the Taufua family, who lost 13 relatives in the disaster.
The emotional services were repeated by devout Christians throughout Samoa and Pacific island neighbors American Samoa and Tonga, which shared the destruction brought by the tsunami.
The earthquake and resulting tsunami left 135 dead and eight missing in Samoa, 32 dead in American Samoa and nine dead in Tonga. Samoan Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi attended a televised national memorial mass for survivors and victims of the tsunami in the capital, Apia.
“We feel the grief and sorrow, we feel the sadness in our hearts,” Reverend Oka Fauolo told the mass.
“We do what we can, those of us who belong to people who have passed away. It is God alone that heals the troubled hearts of those who will never forget this time,” he said.
In American Samoa, most relief work stopped on Sunday, except for feeding and comforting about 3,900 people in temporary shelters, Homeland Security spokeswoman Betty Ahsoon said.
New Zealand officials said yesterday the number of its citizens confirmed killed in Samoa had risen by two to seven and in Canberra, officials said the number of Australians confirmed dead was five. New Zealanders and Australians were among foreigners holidaying at popular beach resorts on the south coast of Upolu, which bore the brunt of the destruction.
Australia has sent 88 medical and search personnel to Samoa and a New Zealand Air Force Boeing 757 landed in Samoa Saturday carrying police dog search teams and medical experts.
New Zealand Prime Minister John Key saw the devastation in Samoa for himself on Friday and said restoring water and sanitation were priorities.
“The early indications I have are that the total rebuild could be more expensive than first thought, maybe in the order of 200 million New Zealand dollars [US$143 million],” Key told Radio New Zealand.
Samoan government spokeswoman Vaosa Epa said planning was going ahead for a mass funeral and burial for up to 100 of the victims on Thursday in Apia.
The Samoan Red Cross said some village groups fled as many as 3km to 4km inland following the tsunami.
“I heard of an assessment team that asked 25 different settlements whether people were planning to head back to the coast and 24 said emphatically ‘no way,’ and the other one said they would think about it after the New Year,” spokeswoman Rosemarie North said.
In Tonga, where the government said nearly 300 families were left homeless by the tsunami on the three northern Niua islands, an Australian aircraft arrived on Sunday with relief supplies and more were due to arrive yesterday.
A beauty queen who pulled out of the Miss South Africa competition when her nationality was questioned has said she wants to relocate to Nigeria, after coming second in the Miss Universe pageant while representing the West African country. Chidimma Adetshina, whose father is Nigerian, was crowned Miss Universe Africa and Oceania and was runner-up to Denmark’s Victoria Kjar Theilvig in Mexico on Saturday night. The 23-year-old law student withdrew from the Miss South Africa competition in August, saying that she needed to protect herself and her family after the government alleged that her mother had stolen the identity of a South
BELT-TIGHTENING: Chinese investments in Cambodia are projected to drop to US$35 million in 2026 from more than US$420 million in 2021 At a ceremony in August, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet knelt to receive blessings from saffron-robed monks as fireworks and balloons heralded the breaking of ground for a canal he hoped would transform his country’s economic fortunes. Addressing hundreds of people waving the Cambodian flag, Hun Manet said China would contribute 49 percent to the funding of the Funan Techo Canal that would link the Mekong River to the Gulf of Thailand and reduce Cambodia’s shipping reliance on Vietnam. Cambodia’s government estimates the strategic, if contentious, infrastructure project would cost US$1.7 billion, nearly 4 percent of the nation’s annual GDP. However, months later,
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un renewed his call for a “limitless” expansion of his military nuclear program to counter US-led threats in comments reported yesterday that were his first direct criticism toward Washington since US president-elect Donald Trump’s electoral victory on Oct. 6. At a conference with army officials on Friday, Kim condemned the US for updating its nuclear deterrence strategies with South Korea and solidifying three-way military cooperation involving Japan, which he portrayed as an “Asian NATO” that was escalating tensions and instability in the region. Kim also criticized the US over its support of Ukraine against a prolonged Russian invasion.
Texas’ education board on Friday voted to allow Bible-infused teachings in elementary schools, joining other Republican-led US states that pushed this year to give religion a larger presence in public classrooms. The curriculum adopted by the Texas State Board of Education, which is controlled by elected Republicans, is optional for schools to adopt, but they would receive additional funding if they do so. The materials could appear in classrooms as early as next school year. Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott has voiced support for the lesson plans, which were provided by the state’s education agency that oversees the more than
RSS