Vunidogoloa: The Clear and Present Danger

Before leaving for Vanua Levu, I had this picture in my mind; of great big ocean waves crashing into a helpless sea wall, breaking it into pieces before making its way to the village. These fascinating pictures, I suppose in a way, was my own attempt to prepare my thoughts on what I was about to do. But, I was to find out soon that thoughts are entirely different from reality.

The lonely walk

 The first reality check would leave an indomitable mark on my mind quicker than I could have imagine. I was made to realize that the sea, though a source of livelihood could also be a clear and present danger. As i immersed myself in the study, I discovered the reality of it all. People, in the general sense of word, find it extremely hard to accept the dangers around them, especially when they feel a sense of belonging to a place, a feeling of ownership that transcends culture, tradition and economics. For them, to even ponder on the thought of relocating from a place that has been part of their being would be something bordering on blasphemy. 

A lifetime of memory is slowly feels threatened

Hence, there is more one needs to understand before one begins to attempt to understand a peoples psyche. I must confess that I failed in this department miserably. But soon time and experience would alter my thinking and instill in me an appreciation of that which I had held so lightly.  Studying a community is never a genre, it has to be experienced and this is what I had learned.

The people of Vunigodoloa have a deep sense of respect for the sea. It is their source of livelihood and daily sustenance. The sea's wild and free character, and of of course, its unpredictability fascinates the villagers and from it sprouts their legends and myths. They feel a sense of warmth towards this giver of life.

Sunrise over the Natewa Bay

But lately, things have not been cordial between the two. The villagers have complained about the low yield in their fishing and the fact that their once strange friend is now slowly turning against them. One would like to add that, somewhere along the line, the sea has decided to go its on way.

I could feel that in their mind, their exist this deep reminiscing of time past, where things were just right, not perfect but just right. They would tell me stories of a time when you could only fish near the shoreline and expect to bag a huge one, if not many sizable ones. It would seem that the proverbial "fat lady" has left the building and leaving behind a depressed lover who will now pick up the pieces of a once amicable relationship.

Looking back

There are few significant signs that one will see firstly when considering the fact that sea level rise is a real threat to the villagers. One has only look at the entirety of the village itself, its physical state, its seawall (or what is left of it), its dying vegetation (as if some army had implemented "scorched earth" policy on it) and of course, the faces of the villagers as they tell their story. In this section, I will look at the physical evidence itself.

The Seawall

The sea wall is a sorry sight in deed. It is the one reminder of where the shoreline was a decade ago. But if you wish to measure the timeline of its degradation and the advent of this disaster than you only had to walk  60 meters in the sea, from the present shoreline to see the remnants of an earlier seawall, succumbed to the deep.

The villagers claim that the seawall is no longer able to prevent huge waves from coming into the village. Instead it is more than likely to harm them than assist them. This is so, when the waves go recede, the seawall prevent them from going back so, it plays a role in the inundation of the village for days.

The seawall is now more harmful to the village

It is clear as the summer sun that the village has been through a lot. The structure of the house seem to shout it at you. You would feel that these people seem to be leaving on borrowed time. The structure of the houses, after close observation seem to be leaning to one side or the other. The poles have been running their last laps and the land for which it sits on is quickly realizing that not even a strong foundation would sustain the constant barrage of the waves when it visits the village.

The foundation is slowly giving in

This is the first sign of sea level rise I witnessed when I first entered the village. My guide told me that whenever a huge wave enters the village it destroys this walkway. The next day, the villagers would rebuild it and this process has been going on for years. This defiant act is the best symbol of the villagers resilience. But I feel that they are slowly realizing the futility of this exercise. They claim that they are doing this because this is the fastest route to the main road and once they relocate, they will abandon this exercise for good.

The makeshift Bridge/walkway

We will look at other issues at our next discussion.