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Efforts to bring relief to victims of Cyclone Ian in Tonga could be split over membership of the Ha’apai Relief Committee.
With 10 containers of goods collected by the HRC ready to be shipped to the kingdom, the committee’s assistant chair, ‘Amelia Schaaf, has announced that she will organise another committee made up only of people from Ha’apai.
Schaaf said a meeting with the people of Ha’apai would be held in Lotofale’ia in Mangere tomorrow, Tuesday, January 28 to set up a new committee.
Kaniva News has been told that a number of Auckland-based Tongans who are from Ha’apai were unhappy that people not from the island group were on the committee.
Schaaf said the Ha’apai Relief Committee only had a mandate to collect donated goods from Aucklanders and ship them to Ha’apai.
The people of Ha’apai wanted to work on “a long term plan” to rebuild their community after the cyclone, Schaaf said.
She said her committee would help the whole of Ha’apai, including those islands unaffected by the cyclone.
Schaaf said her proposed committee would work with the HRC if it wanted to come under the umbrella of her organisation.
She claimed she was still a member of that committee.
However, HRC said Schaaf had often missed the cyclone relief committee meetings that ran almost every day last week.
Speaking at a press conference last week, Latu Salesa denied there was any tension over selection of the committee members.
“We just want to concentrate on our work and to make sure these donated goods are shipped to Ha’apai as schedule,” Latu Salesa said.
“This committee is still operating according to the purpose it was set up with and we are still here at Lotofale’ia.
“We are afraid people might be confused when they hear there is more than one committee.
“If they will still want to work together with us they are welcome, but things will depend on people and what they want us to do.
“The most important thing for me and our committee now is to make sure these 10 containers of donated goods go to Ha’apai as scheduled.
“Rebuilding of Ha’apai is a huge task to do and it will take months even years, but we have to do what is urgent now.
Leave the rest. We will take them as the next steps.”
About the relief committee
Cyclone Ian caused massive destruction to six islands of the Ha’apai group when it struck on January 11.
At least 1,000 people are homeless and almost all housing was either destroyed or damaged.
According to Tonga’s national emergency management organisation, Ha’apai’s immediate need is food and water.
After the cyclone Labour Party Parliamentary Services Staff member Makalita Kolo and lawyer ‘Amelia Schaaf called a meeting to organise relief.
Hundreds of Tongans attended the meeting at the Methodist Church of Lotofale’ia.
The meeting formally elected the Ha’apai Relief Committee to organise relief for the islands.
The meeting chose Jennifer Latu Salesa, the only Tongan member in the Auckland Mayor Len Brown’s Disaster Fund Advisory Committee, to head the committee.
The main points
- The assistant chair of the Ha’apai Relief Committee, ‘Amelia Schaaf, says she is going to form a separate relief committee.
- Schaaf says the HRC is only dealing with those islands affected by Cyclone Ian. She says the relief committee should also contribute to those islands that were not affected.
- Schaaf said a meeting with the people of Ha’apai would be held in Lotofale’ia in Mangare on Tuesday, January 28 at 7pm to set up a new committee.
- The motive behind the breakaway group seems to be the presence of non-Ha’apai people on the committee.
- HRC chairwoman Jenifer Latu Salesa said her committee wanted to concentrate on its work and make sure the 10 containers of donated goods were shipped on schedule.
- “This committee is still operating according to the purpose it was set up with and we are still here at Lotofale’ia,” Latu Salesa said.
- “We are afraid people might be confused when they hear there is more than one committee.”
