Tonga is made up of 170 islands, many of which are either uninhabited or only have a few dozen people living on them, while the majority of Tonga’s population inhabits the main island of Tongatapu. Some of the smaller outlying islands faced the most devastation with waves reaching heights of 50 feet and completely clearing out homes and buildings. Due to Tonga’s remote location, there were initially difficulties with communication and aid reaching the islands.
Despite the five thousand mile distance between Aragon and Tonga, many Aragon students have a close connection with friends and family that have been affected by the tsunami.
“My mom’s side of the family lives on an island in Tonga and it’s a very small village called Siesia,” said senior and Polynesian Club Vice President Ane Taufahema. “My family has lost all of their belongings and their home as well. Other families are going through the same situation, if not worse.”
“My family has lost all of their belongings and their home as well. Other families are going through the same situation, if not worse”
Aragon Polynesian Club held a relief drive on Feb. 19 to gather donations to send to Tonga. With around 60 thousand Tongan-Americans in San Mateo County, there are many people with relatives who could benefit from the aid.
“The Polynesian club hopes to send support from the effects of the tsunami that hit Tonga,” said senior and Polynesian Club Vice President Beth Parangan. “Homes, schools and hospitals have been hit hard and the water supply is contaminated all over the islands.”
Due to the tsunami’s vast destruction, many residents of the smaller islands were forced to evacuate to the main island. Currently, there is still a shortage of many basic necessities, such as clean drinking water, for people in Tonga.
“The neighboring countries were able to arrive there right away with aid,” said Caroline Moala, Aragon’s financial aid and scholarship adviser and organizer of the relief drive. “It will take awhile for us to help because we are shipping [the donations], which can take about a month. It’s going to be a long process as far as rebuilding everything and everyone getting back to normal.”
Tonga’s remote location has made it difficult to deliver aid. The country was able to avoid the pandemic until last October when it had its first and only COVID-19 case up until the tsunami. Since the tsunami, there have been 1,058 more cases reported. The delivery of aid from other countries presents the problem of possibly spreading COVID-19 across the islands.
“Now that COVID-19 is there, we’re just hoping the numbers will stay down,” Moala said. “We’re just hoping it doesn’t get worse.”
In order to help loved ones back in Tonga, many organizations in the area have been putting together donations to send over.
“It’s going to be a long process as far as rebuilding everything and everyone getting back to normal”
“Our community and churches around the peninsula have been very helpful in sending aid, clean drinking water and food,” Moala said. “We have some Tongan non profit organizations in San Bruno. They are accepting donations everyday. There are a lot of locations accepting donations because that’s the only thing we can do right now.”
“Many people in Tonga do not have families in the U.S. or other countries, so it is definitely harder for them to have the opportunity to get any food or clothing at all,” Parangan said. “This drive that we’re having on Saturday is going to try to help those that are less fortunate.”
Although the relief drive was a success, Polynesian Club encourages the Aragon community to continue to send support to Tonga and spread awareness about the issue.
Updated on March 8
