Wife Recalls Last Moments With Late Husband
Aseri Doidoi’s plans to build a comfortable home for his family proved futile after strong current ended his life on Thursday night last week.
The 51-year-old farmer, who is originally from Vaturu, Nagado in Nadi is the nation’s latest drowning victim.
Assistant Police spokesperson, Pawan Kumar said it was believed that the deceased, while crossing the river with six other people in the Nausori Highlands was swept away by strong currents. Merewalesi Sigavere, wife of Mr Doidoi, said that she didn’t bid her husband goodbye before he left because she was not happy with him for spending too much time drinking grog.
“Before he left that afternoon, he was in a jovial mood and called me Darling saying: I will see you again and he threw a kiss at me. I didn’t respond or say goodbye,” she said. “I had hard feelings for him that day because he spent the night before drinking grog with his friends at Vakabuli Village.
“The day I kept on calling and asking when he was going to come back home. He replied that they were waiting for the water level to go down to be able to cross the river.
“When I called again after 8pm, his phone kept on ringing. That was when I believe he got swept away in the currents.”
That night Mrs Sigavere went to look for him at a funeral function, but couldn’t find him. After she returned home, the Police were waiting for her to convey the incident that happened.
At first, she couldn’t believe it but when she saw the other men who went with him, she started to cry.
Mrs Sigavere didn’t want to tell her daughter the following morning about her dad because she wanted her to go to school.
“On her return in the afternoon she was crying and told me that all her friends in school were talking about it. I apologised to her and told her that her dad has been missing the night before and the villagers were still searching for his body,” the grief-stricken wife said. “We wept together that whole afternoon. I really miss my husband.”
Mr Doidoi is survived by his wife and three children. Assistant Police spokesperson, Mr Kumar, said a search was conducted and the body was later found at Navadrakula along the Nadi River. Edited by Susana Tuilau