Father’s will to survive

THE words of his distraught daughter, who told him they would all die together, gave Eroni Matairi renewed strength, drive and a will to survive as he pushed a building wall that had fallen over him.

Recounting the tragic events at the height of STC Yasa on December 17, the 42-year-old father of three said his children were tucked beside him and his wife was fast asleep when the incident happened.

Mr Matairi said they were lucky a piece of timber in the building they were in had cushioned the force of the heavy wall which covered his three children, wife and himself to the chest level.

Lying in the pelting rain and summoning his strength, Mr Matairi managed to push the structure just enough for his children to get out.

As the children scurried out from the mess, Mr Matairi instructed his eldest daughter, Ateca Naula, to take her siblings to safety, adding he and his wife, Reijeli Fatai, were ready to accept their fate.

Holding her siblings together in the destructive winds, the 13-year-old girl turned to her father and told him, “Ta, eitou na maqa ni laho datou sa na mate vata tauco’o ga ei (Dad, we will not go, we all die together here),” as she refused to leave the side of her helpless parents.

Sharing his experience, Mr Matairi said his daughter’s words moved him, adding that he could not explain what happened next as he felt a surge of pure energy coursing through his veins as he pushed the wall and freed himself and his wife.

The family later joined villagers who had sought shelter at the Yadua Primary School.

Mr Matairi said little did they know that a relative of his had been crushed to death under the same wall they were under.

Village headman Maleli Nawai said only three of the 22 houses in the village of Denimanu were spared from the wrath of STC Yasa.

Destructive winds from super storm Yasa hammered the island for eight hours that fateful day.