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Jan 19, 2022
2:24:37am
Ikuna All-American
I served my mission in Tonga, and I’m awfully nervous to hear how bad it turns
out to be. Not so much in terms of casualties, although I imagine there will be some sad reports there. But in terms of devastation and loss of houses, crops, livestock, etc.

It seems like the primary attention is being paid to the main island Tongatapu. That island will certainly have the most people impacted. But there’s also more people and more resources there, including significant church resources. And Tongans are uniquely GREAT at sharing their resources. Tongatapu will rally together and hang in there. And they’ll be the first to get help when it comes.

The islands that I am really worried about are the Ha’apai islands to the north of the eruption. These are tiny islands. One example is an island I lived on called Tungua. It’s a little over half a square mile, with about 150 or so people. There is probably not a house on the island at more than 10 feet above sea level or more than 200 yards from the beach. And those houses are not exactly parade of homes builds. A significant storm surge destroys that entire village in no time, and those houses are gone. My only hope for that island in particular is that the town is on the east shore. So I can at least hope that the other side of the island gets the worst of it, and that it doesn’t go far enough in to reach their farms.

When I was there, there was one phone line on the island that worked maybe half the time. And getting there wasn’t particularly easy either. So nothing about how long it is taking to get information from Tonga is remotely surprising. And it should be noted ... these small island people probably heard a bang, and were probably just taking their best educated guess to what is going on. In terms of communication, at least early on ... they may as well be on Mars.

There are dozens of islands like this throughout Tonga with a few dozen to a few hundred people on each. They’re the ones I’m the most worried about. They’re the poorest of people in a poor country. They’re the most vulnerable to a situation like this. And helping them in a timely manner is a logistical nightmare, so they will probably be the last to get information from, and help to.

I very seriously doubt there is a better group of human beings on earth than the people on those tiny islands. All the cliches are true. They have basically nothing, and yet somehow seem to possess everything important. I have never fully been able to wrap my mind around their reaction to me, some first world white kid that temporarily left wealth to come get a small taste of their lives. Their reaction to me was always one of genuine love and gratitude, whether they were members of the church or not. Not an ounce of jealousy or resentment towards me for having been born with more than them. Only love.

Unbelievably upsetting to think just how bad it could be for some of them. I don’t pray that much. But they are definitely in my prayers. And I’ve never wanted to be wrong about anything more so than this. But frankly, I’ll be surprised if many of them haven’t lost everything.
This message has been modified
Originally posted on Jan 19, 2022 at 2:24:37am
Message modified by Ikuna on Jan 19, 2022 at 2:29:28am
Message modified by Ikuna on Jan 19, 2022 at 2:30:36am
Message modified by Ikuna on Jan 19, 2022 at 2:35:02am
Message modified by Ikuna on Jan 19, 2022 at 2:40:37am
Message modified by Ikuna on Jan 19, 2022 at 2:55:16am
Ikuna
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Ikuna
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