Lack of materials sees Fiji villagers living rough

FIJI – Victims of Cyclone Winston in Fiji are struggling to rebuild their lives six months after the category five storm devastated large parts of the country.

Villages along the north coast of Fiji’s main island Viti Levu were hit hard by Winston, but a shortage of building materials means people have been unable to repair their houses.

In Narakoso village, the chairman of the local disaster committee Asipeli Navatayali said people would like to be doing more repair work, but they cannot get their hands on building materials.

“The only thing we need is the materials from the hardware just to bring it as early as possible so that we can rebuild our house and finish it,” he said.

Navatayali said people are becoming increasingly nervous and frustrated as the next cyclone season draws near.

“Now people are worried because November is closer. The cyclone season in Fiji is November to April. Just last night there’s heavy rain, you can see there’s a flood down there,” Navatayali said.

“All the people are still living in the shed. What will happen if another cyclone will come?”

In nearby Nabukadra village the situation is even more desperate.

The villagers say that even if they could find a supply of building materials they do not have any money to purchase them.

Instead, many have salvaged pieces of old corrugated iron and other cyclone debris and are using a single chainsaw to cut pieces of wood from felled trees.

Nabukadra’s chief, Raivolita Malani, said the village is also running low on food after Winston destroyed their gardens and fishing grounds.

“We have been asking assistance from the government, it’s now six months after the after the cyclone but nothing they have done,” he said.

But there are some bright spots amid the devastation.

In Naocobau village, where only one concrete house was left standing after Cyclone Winston swept through, a South Korean Christian group has brought supplies and volunteers to build 25 new homes.

Naocobau elder Ratu Moape Liutaki admits his community is far more fortunate than the surrounding villages.

“I can just say that we were really lucky because this group decided to come and help us,” he said.

It is not just remote villages that are struggling to pick up the pieces after Cyclone Winston. The town of Rakiraki has several hardware stores but it is still dotted by damaged houses, many covered with tarpaulins to keep the rain out.

Resident Vinesh Naidu was luckier than most. It only took him two months to get the materials to put a temporary roof on his house but now he cannot find a carpenter to finish the job.

“I’ve already got the materials here but it’s very hard to get the carpenters here because the carpenters are still building houses and the price for carpenters is high,” he said. “What used to be $25-$30 a day has now turned to $40-50 an hour.”

Naidu lost his job as a fitter and turner after cyclone damage forced the closure of the Rakiraki’s sugar mill.

He says many people are still traumatised by the impact of Cyclone Winston.

“Wherever we sit down and if we are talking about something else but this topic of cyclone comes in, somehow it comes up,” he said.

- ABC