BY BEN BILUA
Gizo
MEMBER of Provincial Government for Ward 3 [Nusa Simbo], Gideon Tuke said Simbo Island is not safe anymore.
He made the statement during Prime Minister Jeremiah Manele’s Solidarity Visit to Legana village on Saturday.
Tuke said Simbo is sitting on top of an active volcano and is now positioned on the new road of severe tropical cyclone.
“Like any others Islands, Simbo Island is not safe anymore. We are living in perilous times of our history. No where is safe when it comes to disaster,” he said.
Tuke said the recent tropical cyclone is an example of severe disaster that Simbo is now prone to going into the future.
He said the damage was enormous and a complete destruction of homes and livelihoods and social services infrastructures.
“The question we have today is where do we go from here?
“Our economic base is destroyed, sago palm leaves we used to build houses destroyed, fruits and vegetables we sell to meet school fees and household needs destroyed,” Tuke said.
He said families are now struggling to send their children to school as available resources have been destroyed leaving families with no avenue to generate income.
Tuke suggests that all children in Simbo and other communities that have been affected by the cyclone should be excepted from school fees.
He also calls on the government to prioritise young people of affected communities to engage in Labor mobility in Australia so that they can help in the recovery process.
Photo credit: Ben Bilua
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