Transcript
ITU JOSAIA: we got a letter for assistance that people were still living in makeshift homes and tents so when we got in it was visible, yeah, that people were still waiting and were in need of tarps because the tarps that they received was in the first assistance right after Winston, so those tarps were actually leaking or worn out and they really need the extra tarps to put over their roofs.
SALLY ROUND: What were people eating because obviously crops were devastated in the storm? How are they getting on food-wise?
IJ: In regards to food-wise, Sally, people are heading back to their plantations and eating from the wild, in the forest etc. What we also actually ate also with our team, it was surprising because even though they were going through hardship, they are still surviving, heading back into their plantations and doing extra farming so, yeah, they could look after their lives and move on.
SR: You say they were eating from the wild. What were they eating?
IJ: You've got yams, taro, dalo that's not ready to be harvested. These are all stuff that they are harvesting and uprooting and eating for survival.
SR: Did you sense that they were going hungry at all?
IJ: I wouldn't say people are going hungry. I'd say people are surviving. They're being so resilient. The last wave of assistance in regards to food rations came in May, so they've been waiting and I think assistance in regards to food has stopped, so people are looking at other options, like going back to fishing, going back to their farms to plant whatever they could plant and whatever they are able to harvest at earlier dates.
SR: And do they have the seedlings? Are they able to replant?
IJ: Yes, yes seedlings have been distributed to villagers by other organisations that are trying to assist in any way.
SR: We understand fishing has been a problem in some communities because fishing boats were smashed, nets were washed away. How are those people on Koro managing in terms of fishing?
IJ: You will be surprised. They have gone back to their old cultural stuff. Like how to make local nets and all that stuff using vines from the forest which they could get and make a local net. You will be surprised.
SR: Before the cyclone was it quite a self-sustaining community? Did they rely on many imports from the main islands?
IJ: Not really Koro before the cyclone is a well known island for anything they grew in their plantations and they were well taken care of.
SR: Just turning to people's psychological health. How are they coping six months on?
IJ: I'd say the need was still there. They found it very hard to talk about what happened during Winston. I actually interviewed a policeman, a handicapped lady, a blind lady, a couple of kids. I could tell they still needed to ... they needed the assistance, someone to talk to about what happened during Winston. I could tell they still live in fear. They're still scared to talk about this.
SR: So what else do they need do you think?
IJ: What these people in Koro need, is ... for example this village called Nasau in Koro ... this was the village that was seen a lot in the media, the pictures where the tsunami and the cyclone actually hit, these people were actually going to the forest to cut trees and to rebuild a hundred houses. They plan to cut timber for a hundred houses. I think in regards to materials and all that, it's been five months and the whole of Fiji actually tried to buy stuff off the hardware stores, to get stuff to build their houses. I think these people have been waiting too long and decided to move on and rebuild their village with whatever resources they have.
SR: You said they were using just one saw to saw up these massive trees.
IJ: Yes, Sally there's no machine. The only machine that I've seen there, and I've actually given them a hand in lifting, is this portable sawmill. Everything's being done manually. People dragging rocks with their bare hands, just using a rope. Yeah it just really touched me.
