We Say 2
We Say 2
'What there was of Alofi is now rubble and there is speculation that half of Niue's remaining population will abandon the island for New Zealand, thus reducing it to well below the number of people needed to keep Niue in business as a politically sovereign country'
Are the 14 islands countries of the Pacific Islands Forum to become 13? We hope not, but this is the question arising after the pulverising of Niue by Hurricane Heta. For a long time before Heta, Niue had been wondering whether the decline of its population, not much above 1000, caused by migration to New Zealand, had driven it to the point of loss of viability as a country, and whether it should surrender independence by reintegrating with New Zealand.
Heta was a powerful hurricane but not an exceptional on. Due to a combination of unlucky circumstances, it piled up to crash exactly on Niue's seat of government, Alofi, which is hardly substantial enough to be called a village, let alone a town.
- ADVERTISEMENT -
What there was of Alofi is now rubble and there is speculation that half of Niue's remaining population will abandon the island for New Zealand, thus reducing it to well below the number of people needed to keep Niue in business as a politically sovereign country. That may or may not happen. It is too early to say yet. Niueans are still too dazed to think deeply about such a matter.
But another seat of government is to be built inland as a more protected location. Quite a lot of aid money is being offered to repair, rebuild and redevelop. Perhaps what remains of the population will decide not to abandon ship.
There are some sensible ideas for improving Niue's lot as a viable, Pacific Islands country. We hope so. What a tragedy it would be if the 14 were to become 13.
