FIJIANS HONOURED FOR BRAVERY
Tawakedrau shares the heroic efforts of 45 men who rescued Australians in the Lismore flood
The courage of the 45 Fijian men who helped during the floods in Lismore, New South Wales, Australia, didn’t go unnoticed.
On February 28 as Lismore commemorated the one-year anniversary of the historic flood that wreaked havoc on the town, the Fijian men were also honoured with a medal each.
They were awarded their medals by Australia’s Governor-General, David Hurley, in Lismore.
The men come from different provinces. They were instrumental in rescuing about 60 elderlies from a nursing home, animals, and community members in the early hours of that fateful Monday morning as the floodwaters quickly rose.
They also played a pivotal role in ensuring that those they rescued were safely taken to evacuation centres.
Their acts of kindness also extended on the days after the disaster, as they came together, and in groups of five, helped cleaned homes, businesses and sang Eda sa qaqa (We have overcome) when completed.
Their heroic acts not only captured the hearts of those in Lismore, but were felt throughout Australia.
Recollection
They had only arrived in Lismore under the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) scheme to work in Australia’s meat industry on a three-year contract.
The group was the first batch of Fijians recruited to work in the meat industry in Lismore.
In less than three weeks of their stay, the natural disaster occurred.
They were penniless because they hadn’t received their wages. But this did not stop them.
They were not new to such disasters back home, and their first instinct was to help those they can evacuate.
Without hesitation, with the clothes they had on, they waded through floodwaters and provided reinforcement to the emergency responders.
Speaking in the iTaukei language, their team leader Josua Tawakedrau, recalled the moments they rescued the elderly people including their pets.
“Keitou curu yani i loma ni nursing home, era sa yali na cakacaka i kea, sa ra davo tuga ko ira na qase, nodra yabaki ni bula tiko na vitusagavulu kina ciwasagavulu. Era sa sega ni cakava rawa e dua na ka, ni ra sa malumalumu, qai sa tubu totolo tiko na wai. Na ka keitou cakava, keitou sa ologi ira vata ga mai na nodra siti era davoca tu, keitou sa kauti ira mai tuba, me ra sa kau ki vanua mamaca, wili talega kina na nodra pets, na koli, na me. Na ka e qai mositi keitou, ni keitou soli ira yani vei ira na first responders, era qai via vakasisila taki ira, ni ko ira na qase qo era vaka diaper tu eso vei ira. Sa keitou qai veisautaki ira. Keitou sega vakadua ni veisautaka na neitou sulu, na I sulu suasua ga keitou tokara tu, e mamaca ga e toloi keitou. Keitou qai tukuna ga vei ira na first responders me solia vei keitou e rua na waqa me draivataka e lewe rua vei keitou, ni sa vaka tu na wasawasa ko Lismore. E maca tu na waiwai ni neitou van ni cakacaka, keitou sa qai kerea vei ratou na timi ni SAS me ratou vakatawana me rawa ni keitou cicivaki ira na vueti mai ki na evacuation centre.
(When we entered the nursing home, the staff members had gone. The elderlies, ranging from 70 to 90 years old, were left behind. They could not do anything because they were weak and the water level was rising quickly. We wrapped them in bed sheets and evacuated them, and their pets. The sad part is the responders were reluctant to accept them because some of them were wearing diapers. So, we changed them. We did not change our clothes. They dried on us. We then asked the first responders to give us two dinghies to help us in the evacuation since Lismore was flooded. We also asked the SAS team to fill the fuel of our van to transport evacuees to the evacuation centre.”)
The days following the disaster, they’d received gifts in the form of clothes, food and even money from good Samaritans. Mr Tawakedrau said what they did was out of the goodness of their hearts, and because of how they were raised in Fiji.