As Torres Strait Islands Go Under, Residents - Australian Citizens - Find Concerns Largely Ignored

[hatrack]

Ron and Maria Passi, who operate Murray Island's only taxi, were out driving the night the king tide struck. Neighbours flagged them down, asking for help, and so it was not until some time later that they saw their own grandchildren standing in the road. "They were shouting 'Granddad, stop the car, the water is coming in the house'," says Ron. "I just slammed on the brakes." The couple's son, Sonny, was outside his fibro shack with his five children, watching the monster surf, lashed by north-west winds, rise ever higher. In the commotion, everyone had forgotten that Sedoi, the baby, was still inside. They heard her crying and found her in her cot, covered in sand. Water had surged in after a wave picked up a big wooden pallet and flung it through the front wall.

No one on Murray had ever seen such a high tide before. Other islands in the Torres Strait, which lies between the far north-eastern tip of the Australian mainland and Papua New Guinea, have witnessed similar scenes in recent years. Houses, roads and graveyards have been flooded, and the locals believe they know the reason: climate change.

The low-lying islands that dot the sparkling waters of this region are facing similar challenges to South Pacific nations such as Kiribati and Tuvalu. But while the plight of those countries is well known and is regularly discussed in the international arena, few people outside Australia have even heard of the Torres Strait. Even Australians would have difficulty locating it on the map, and the remote islands – accessible only by light plane – receive few visitors.

EDIT

There was an exodus from Saibai after a major flood in 1948 but elders of Mr Waigana's clan decided to stay on, in the place where their ancestors are buried. Their descendants feel it would be disrespectful to move – and some people cite God's promise to Noah never again to flood the Earth. Politicians from Canberra and Queensland occasionally fly into the islands and fly out. The locals call them seagulls. Asked whether the government is doing enough to help, Mr Day replies: "Most of the time they play deaf." The islanders, he says, "need to make ourselves known to people in the global village". Dr Green says: "It's been said to me by some islanders that they're very happy that the Australian government is investing in the Pacific, to help their brothers and sisters deal with the impact of climate change. But they wonder why the government is not more strongly investing in similar communities in Australia, and they feel a bit overlooked.

EDIT

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/sinking-without-trace-australias-climate-change-victims-821136.html

[izquierdista]

1. Enough to make atheists out of them?

There is no God, there was no Noah, and yes, your house will be flooded.

One thing everyone can do about global climate change is to get your ass out of the way BEFORE it becomes necessary to rescue you -- ancestors notwithstanding.