Tongans take cyclone problems to the King

Press, 20 April 1982, Page 21

Tongans take cyclone problems to the King

From

PENNY HODGKINSON

in Nuku’alofa

Heartening proof is now being seen that the weeks of top-level thinking and planning in Tonga are crystallising into a firm and broadly-

based recovery-action programme, in the wake of the recent disastrous Cj'clone Isaac.

It began with the announcement of a bold and ambitious plan to provide 2000 low-income families with locally prefabricated, earthquake and cyclone-re-sistant, two-room “core houses" over the next two years (1400 in Ha’apai, 500 in Tongatapu, and 100 in Vava’u).

Then, at a meeting with some 600 heads of homeless or evacuated families, the Minister of lands (Baron Tuita) announced that an 80acre site had been allocated east of Nuku’alofa to provide registered land ’ allotments for. those who formerly lived in the swampy area, in and behind hard-hit Sopu, to the west of the capital. The Minister said that the offer applied to registered Sopu landholders on a straight swop basis, and also to squatters who had built homes on land actually held by relatives. The senior public health officer (Dr T. Puloka) told

the meeting that his department would ensure a high standard of drainage and sanitation in the new residential area.

Those eligible were given two weeks in which to make firm applications for land allocation and warned that they would have no furtherclaim for Government consideration if they chose to return to their old home sites.

On the morning of Saturday, April 3, the first distribution of stockpiled emergency food supplies was made to the people in the various tent-towns.

The distribution timing coincided exactly with a peaceful, pre-arranged march to the palace by 100 citizens, led by Catholic Bishop Patelisio Finau in full episcopal regalia, to present a petition signed by 6500 directly to the King. In view of th.e popular groundswell of. impatience and discontent in recent weeks, and the determination to bypass the normal hierarchical channels of communication with the

monarch, the authorities were clearly concerned to nip any possible eruption of violence in the bud.

In addition to timing its food distribution to keep the tent-people out of town, the Government cancelled all leave for defence forces and police over the week-end; the Palace Guard was substantially increased and equipped with fixed bayonets; and numerous large beefy policemen were deployed along the march route and in the palace grounds. As it turned out, the precautions were totally unnecessary. The 100-strong delegation strolled quietly to the palace — no banners, no chanting, no slogans. They filed through the indicated gate and seated themselves quietly in rows on the grass opposite the palace veranda, sent in their petition, and then waited, melting under a blazing sun for 40 minutes, until the King appeared on the veranda, accompanied by his brother, the Prime Minister, and his “talking chiefs." A murmur of deep appreciation ran along the seated

rows as the Royal brothers seated themselves crosslegged on the veranda floor in a symbolic fifakatonga gesture of goodwill and togetherness. The petition itself was also a model of fakatonga correctitude. Three-quarters of it was taken up with a eulogy of gratitude to Taufaahau, King of Tonga, Head of the Kingdom, Defender of the. Faith, Conqueror and Forgiver, Fountain of Justice, Sovereign of Chiefs and Matupule, Guide of Church Leaders, Image of Education and Law, and Joy o ’’onga, Our Representative to e Nations, and Our Pride to all the World.

The nitty-gritty was in the final paragraph, in which the thousands of signatories petitioned his Majesty to help then? by:— • Filling and raising our lands or resettling us. on dry lands Jose to Nuku’alofa because of our children’s education and our employment;

• Enabling some of us to go and work in other countries like the work schemes that were in effect before;

• Enabling us to get an annual quota from a foreign country or countries to permit us to reside permanently

in that or those countries; • Helping some of us to be accepted in a foreign country or countries in pursuance of their refugee resettlement programmes. In a 20-minute address (taped for rebroadcasting to the nation) the King Agreed that efforts should be made to enable, as many as possible to work overseas for a period so that they could remit funds to help in rebuilding the country. On refugee status, he said this was reserved for people displaced by war, and that cyclone victims could not expect to qualify.

In Tongan terms, the whole thing had been an epoch-making success. They felt that the. run-up, signa-ture-gathering period had had a positive, accelerative effect on Government action. They were proud and deeply moved that they had overturned the traditional barrier between the monarch and his subjects, and been received with courtesy and kindness. And they were impressed that they received support from a handful of influential commoners; Bishop Finau, the former president of the Free Wesleyan Church, Amanaki Havea, a former M.P., Papiloa Foliaki, tne former Crown Prosecutor, now in private practice, Laki Niu, and Professor Futa Helu of ’Atenisi University. At the same time, they have noted, and will re-member,-all those who were not prepared to stand up and be counted — the other church leaders, the town and district officers, and above all, their elected M.P.s.