Return To Tuvalu - A Peace Corps Story

my parents lived in tuvalu for three years from 1980 to 1982. they went to college got married and then they joined the peace corps which led them to nukuleila a tuvaluan island with about 300 people growing up they would speak to following language at home and in california it was like they had their own language for just the two of them [Music] our house was decorated with tuvalu and handicrafts [Music] they told us stories of tuvalu showed us pictures they always said they wanted to take us there someday [Music] oh tuvalu has nine islands their capital funafuti has a population of roughly 6 000 and the country as a whole has about 11 000. it's one of the smallest nations in the world formerly a british colony tuvalu became a fully independent nation on october 1st 1978. this was two years before my parents arrived to get to funafuti there's a two and a half hour flight from suva in fiji which flies three days a week but to get to nuku laila from funafuti you have to travel by boat the distance between the two islands is about 119 kilometers which is about 74 miles in 2019 my parents were now both retired so we decided it was finally time to go to tuvalu as a family during the christmas holiday we booked our flights nine months in advance so given our schedule we decided to reserve a charter boat to get us to new gulaila which we could plan our own departure day for and then we would ride a public more affordable vessel back on board the nivanga three we had 22 days on our trip to get to nuku-lai-lai and back to funafuti for our return flight [Music] it had been 37 years since our parents had been to tuvalu they were excited to visit old friends and their old home in ukulele [Music] we have a family of four our dad scott our mom myra my brother andrew and me the youngest nick after an 11 hour flight to nandy we stayed in fiji for one night [Music] then we were on our way to duvalu [Music] after we landed we were greeted by my parents old friends bikini and montana my brother and i had already met our host bikini on a trip to fiji back in 2012. it was good to see him again also from nuku-leilai bikini served as tuvalu's prime minister twice from 1989 to 1993 in 1996 to 1999 and he makes amazing curry we were eager to catch up with him we sat down with bikini and his wife voketi in their home so people can drink [Music] maybe it took a while for it to settle in we finally made it it was the thing we always knew we needed to do but had never managed to do it we embraced the peace of the island and the hospitality of our hosts funafuti is long and narrow on one side the ocean waves give distant thunder but inside the lagoon is stillness just south of the equator it's consistently hot and humid year-round and rain is never far it truly is paradise now that we had settled into bikini's home in funafuti it was time to check on our travel arrangements to new gulai after just one day into our trip we learned the unfortunate news that our charter boat was dry docked and needed repairs we had no way to get to new guilela my parents old home [Music] got a nice day today but we're still trying to figure out how and when we're going to get home originally we were going to charter a fishery vessel called the manawi but we learned today that the manawi is in the slip basically it's been brought up on land for maintenance and probably won't be available or active until january sometimes so that doesn't work another possibility is a i don't know if it's a fisheries vessel but it's called the manoa and that is supposedly going to fiji tomorrow and was possibly stopping to wiley and drop us off but i'm not sure what's going on with that yet either i know um leopold talked to his friend the captain and um i guess it's sort of up in the air so then there's a third possibility which is the manufu which is a catamaran that's coming up from fiji and then it's supposed to go to nubula but that would probably not be for you know maybe next week sometime but the closer it gets to our departure the more likely that we might have to just make a round trip to noogle island and not stay there for you know an extended period like we had hoped we hoped to be there for maybe 10 days but um anyway we'll see we'll just have to make the best of it but it wasn't over yet and we had a lot of support from our friends to help us find a way there so we decided not to let it drain our spirits and the next day we went to look up some old friends [Music] bikini's son leopold drove us into town he's close in age to me and my brother we became quick friends funafuti has one main highway that pretty much stretches the entire length of the island the first person we visited was tanu tanu was the eldest daughter of the family of maine say nuku lila's only police officer in 1980 she was probably 10 or 11 when they first arrived her family was a close neighbor to my parents in the government section tanu would always follow them around and talk to them and so they say she really helped their language development [Music] um were like parents to them at the time tanu was like their little sister foreign [Music] foreign um for vacations [Music] um [Laughter] [Music] [Laughter] next we paid a visit to liana who is more like an aunt to my parents [Music] liana couldn't believe it when my parents showed up she was the younger sister to their mother she would always support them when they needed it [Laughter] girlfriend [Music] oh [Music] these feelings were beyond our language it was incredible that after 37 years their connection was still so deep some things we can never be prepared for [Music] but there is a beauty in randomness we were on our way back to the house when i thought i recognized our friend jan on the motorbike up ahead [Music] sure enough it was her jan is tanu's younger sister who we all met in fiji three years ago [Music] this world is so small in the evening we were visited by toyobu who my mother considers to be her sister toyupu was educated in fiji to become nukuli's community worker together they worked closely on public health issues that educated women ranging from sanitation issues developing healthy recipes with local food building smokeless stoves and teaching basic sewing techniques they shared a common vision of a healthier nuka-lyla these weren't just renewed friendships these were spiritual unconditional bonds acceptance and empathy we still had no news on any available vessels that could get us to nukuli life and bring us back before our return flight to the us bikini was working hard to help us but all three of our prospects fell through it was out of our [Music] and you control tommy long has sent me a text it's almost like she's a little angry that we're not there yet and i said it's not our fault we can't do anything about it if there was a boat we would be on it but there is no boat so well we can [Music] is tuvalu's police boat if we could charter it we could get to nukulala in half the time but the cost would be immense so the monte di will check the price and the availability if it's available and if we can afford it then we'll book tickets to new lilac on deck or whatever whatever we can afford it started to seem like we might not make it to newfoundland after all [Music] we visited the ministry of transport to get more information about what vessels might possibly work for us we bought four tickets for a trip that could not really guarantee its schedule so nick and i went to the shipping office met with the head shipping guy and the schedule has been published and there's um what it looks like we could do is would be to take the um on the trip going down to suva and then they have one on the books now which he said we could buy tickets for now which returns the parliament representatives on the 27th and that's scheduled and i said is there any chance that's going to be changed he says well it's on the schedule the only thing that might change it is weather they're not sure when the boat leaving is going to leave whether it's it might be this afternoon but it might be later and what the reason it's not known yet is that they're waiting for the rotuman group that's chartered it to pay their deposit our plans were uncertain but we continue to appreciate our time in furafuti [Music] days passed [Music] we explored [Music] so leopold invited my brother and me to tour the islets of the lagoon more friends joined including tusella who i had learned was the son of makanga who was considered to be like a brother to my father therefore he is like a cousin to me [Music] it was only us and the land every view was breathtaking if we got thirsty we drank from the coconut when we got hungry we ate coconut the air in our face gliding on the water life all around us [Music] there was simplicity [Music] and faith [Music] that some elements would always be there the sun glistens [Music] the rain falls [Music] the trees bathe the tide wavers a breeze flows [Music] a father holds his daughter absolved of control [Music] luck would have it that a new vessel came to light [Music] a cargo barge was to transport materials to nukuli li and return to funafuti five days later it would take 11 hours to travel 74 miles we were determined to be on it [Music] i accompanied tusella to make sure everything was in order it was clear that our friends pulled some strings to make this happen for us we were indebted to their support we came all this way [Music] it was so important to our parents to revisit nukulei the barge had to leave the lagoon when the tide would allow it a sudden change in departure time meant we had to rush to board it it was three hours ahead of schedule we scrambled our things in 20 minutes my family was in the car up ahead [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] oh another change in plans so we just found out that this boat this part that we're gonna ride on is actually not leaving today it's leaving tomorrow morning maybe around noon we got all of our stuff packed we're here we have a boat and we're probably gonna have to come back here tomorrow with all the same stuff but it's all right all is good we were getting used to it and found humor the barge would now leave tomorrow where you going feed the pig oh nice [Music] the next day instead of us going to the barge the barge came to us [Music] we waited at sundown for it to pick us up [Music] [Applause] [Music] we boarded [Music] and dusk became night once we were away the moon lit up the clouds we each found a spot on the deck and tried to sleep [Music] i closed my eyes and waited it began to rain on my face we waited and waited [Music] the sun rose [Music] [Music] then we saw it [Music] that special place from the photograph on the wall calling out to us [Music] now we were in it [Music] [Music] um [Music] [Music] okay [Music] okay [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] first we were greeted by tangisya [Music] now you marry here i go and fine i finished find a girl for you [Laughter] just as it was here she was also one of the first people in nuku lila my parents met 40 years ago nice to meet you name for your grandma she is the eldest sister in her family and also like a sister to my father [Music] a lot had changed but many things were the same my mother was on the second boat riding into the lagoon mao is the younger brother my mother and tony sia were very close we were tired back after so many years do you know where our house was you know this is [Music] [Music] is [Music] [Music] on the right here is salah another younger brother in the toy matangi family her laugh is contagious [Music] now it felt good to relax after the trip on the barge [Applause] [Applause] had a meal prepared for us under the um [Music] oh we ate laughed and caught up on a generation of missed time together we went for a walk around the island visiting old places of memory there was history [Music] elements of the old and the new [Music] hello [Music] we finally made it to nuku lila and we are just walking around exploring and my parents are checking out uh different parts of the island to see how much it's changed over 37 years pretty tired from the the redeye barge trip so i'm probably going to take a nap and a hammock or something by the lagoon later i missed that it wasn't surprising that so much had changed over 37 years we paid our respects to family that was no longer with us the toy matangi family were gracious hosts each of my parents adopted siblings had children and grandchildren of their own and it was their parents toy and fakalay that once brought my parents in as children of their own when they lived here [Music] once again our transportation plans were out of our control we got news that instead of the barge staying for five days it would leave on day two the day after we arrived it meant we would have just a fraction of the time we wanted to spend a new gulai layer [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] a warm sunrise [Music] calm water air clear the lagoon sing to us with every color if it was our destiny to leave we would have [Music] but until then we lived fully [Music] jason and jerry were our guides they took us to my parents favorite swimming pool some things haven't changed [Music] i joined with mao and salao and the bush who were preparing a special meal for us coconut crab the population of the coconut crab has declined in several parts of the world due to over harvesting in fact a conservation area has already been set up in finofuti but with such a small human population in new gulilah there is more of an abundance it was a rare gift the young boy falata has found a coconut crab it is nestled under the roots of the tree jason and jerry try to create an opening he can finally reach it for tuvaluans the coconut crab is considered to be a distinguished meal reserved for special occasions and there were plenty of coconuts to quench our thirst jason climbed up the tree made an opening to drink from where have you been how do i breathe [Music] i splash floating and listening [Music] oh [Music] a [Applause] [Applause] sometimes we don't choose we are chosen it was salah who chose my parents to be assigned to nukulai life they were one of five couples of peace corps volunteers we visited the elakana tuvalu christianity memorial a monument where christianity first landed in tuvalu in 1861 a point of pride for nuclear life we received news the barge would not be leaving this day after all it was good news for us [Music] my parents took the time and reminisced in distant memories [Music] we visited the location of their old house which wasn't there anymore [Music] my father looked back on the largest project he undertook during his service where he helped construct ferro cement water tanks for every household in nukulela because of their geology tuvaluzatols do not have a reliable source of fresh groundwater therefore almost all of the water for drinking cooking and bathing comes from the rain [Music] luckily tuvalu has high rainfall but the challenge is to have sufficient capacity to catch and store [Music] rainwater [Music] [Laughter] they [Music] [Music] um and melee who is one of the eldest in nukuleila and a matriarch to a large and important family she also looked after my parents years ago reconnections and new friendships [Music] my brother had brought with him a supply of old glasses given to him by his boss in california which became a gift to our tofola and friends for whoever could use them salaw's youngest daughter lacey was one of these individuals disabled at birth she has been left with very poor vision [Music] [Music] [Music] and for the first time in her life she was able to see the food that she ate um andrew wants to take a picture of some of the people with her glasses on oh okay oh yeah that'd be great oh no andrew okay small things can make a huge difference the ever unpredictable barge was ready to depart and as usual we had to leave in a hurry we gathered our things our time in nuclear lie had come to an end it felt too short [Music] our friends rushed to say goodbye to us one last time [Music] it took one minute and 53 seconds to drive to the other side of the island [Music] we were just going with the flow [Music] i would take the first boat with the rest of our baggage my family would catch the second one we set off from the jetty then i looked up and heard one word tomorrow yeah so uh we're [Music] it was another last minute postponement for weather who knew when we would leave we didn't i don't think anyone did it was all too familiar [Music] but this time it was relief it meant we got to spend at least one more night in nuka lilie we attended a young lady's birthday party organized as a modern yet traditional tuvalu and fatele there was lots of food plenty of heartwarming speeches and dance [Music] it was a beautiful morning with clear weather the barge was ready to leave again or at least that's what we were told but this time something was different our departure felt more real friends and families came to see us and the other livens off [Music] the developments have a common phrase they say fatawi which means we'll meet again so not goodbye [Music] until next time [Music] fatality [Music] oh we will see you again [Music] and bring home memories we'll hold [Music] forever we will return [Music] the barge carried us once again over one present over one wave at a time we had been waiting our entire lives to be right where we were [Music] bikini welcomed us back into his home over the next few days there were many communal traditions we got to take part in there was shared food [Music] there were gatherings and there were speeches given by the elders expressing feelings and vision [Music] we spent christmas in funafuty [Music] we had made plans to visit the very popular affilita island resort located on a small private island in funofuti on christmas day while the weather was permitting we skipped through the lagoon [Music] once we arrived we were instantly met with grace and tranquility operated by afellay and his wife lita the afelita island resort has its own garden its own livestock and plenty of fish locally providing enough food to make itself sustainable [Music] however shortly after our arrival tropical cyclone sarai began to form nearby a category 2 it ended up moving south toward fiji instead of tuvalu but the wind and rain kept us under shelter so we just took it easy [Music] instead of paddle boarding or snorkeling we felt we got a more unique experience at afelita we spent almost all our time with our hosts and got to know them quite well afellay was a former ambassador to the united nations for tuvalu and had much wisdom to share so despite some heavy winds we were totally relaxed [Music] tuvalu is one of the most vulnerable countries to climate change as sea levels slowly rise it creates a number of compounding problems the islands face coastal erosion over time and when the storm surges of tropical cyclones impact waves more easily overtake the reef flooding the land and causing salt water to destroy deep-rooted food crops in the first couple weeks of 2020 a second cyclone formed this time tropical cyclone tino significantly damaged nukuleila and the whole of tuvalu the island was flooded [Music] roofs were torn off houses by wind and banana crops were uprooted and washed away some scientific opinion suggests sea level rise may make tuvalu uninhabitable in the next century or threaten to submerge the islands entirely their land their culture their lifestyle their identity are tied to it even with all the data it is impossible to know the future and most of the tavaloins i spoke with had hope for their grandchildren faith in god and the spirit of their people but it is a hope that other nations of the world respond with significant effort to nurture the earth's natural ecosystem then one morning at the affilita resort the sun came out and a pleasant surprise came to the shore a cow siva organized by toyopu an old tuvaluan tradition when a group goes out to one of the islets for an extended period a group from the village will mobilize a surprise visit sometime during their absence the kausiva is also social and ceremonial a reminder that their hearts are with us is it ever too late to reconnect with a friend or loved one is there someone missing in your life what would it take to see their face again as the end of our journey drew near we looked back at the rich culture and the humble traditions the tuvaluan shared with us we found warmth i thought about my parents peace corps service and why it was important i have today signed an executive order providing for the establishment of a peace corps on a temporary pilot basis i'm also sending to congress a message posing authorization of a permanent peace corps this call will be a pool of trained men and women sent overseas by the united states government or through private institutions and organizations to help foreign countries meet their urgent needs for skilled manpower it is our hope to have between five hundred to a thousand people in the field by the end of this year we will send americans abroad who are qualified to do a job we will send those abroad who are committed to the concept which motivates the peace corps it will not be easy none of the men and women will be paid a salary they will live at the same level as the citizens of the country which they're sent to doing the same work eating the same food speaking the same language we're going to put particular emphasis on those men and women who have skills in teaching agriculture and in health i'm hopeful that it will be a source of satisfaction of americans and a contribution to world peace i can't help but feel that their years in tuvalu deeply affected how they raised us in the united states [Music] they were only 25 years old when they left tuvalu and truthfully they didn't know if they would ever be able to return but they believed [Music] so [Music] [Music] oh [Music] oh [Music] [Music] oh oh me [Music] um [Music] um [Music] [Music] [Music] bye

Channel: Nick Erickson

Views: 322,326

Rating: 4.8939371 out of 5

Keywords: Tuvalu, peace corps, rpcv, pacific, island, culture, documentary, gopro, drone, climate change, atoll, lagoon, tuvaluan, funafuti, nukulaelae, Drone video, gopro video, nature, south pacific, pacific islander, travel, Island life, nick erickson, Return to tuvalu, Cyclone, coconut crab, sea level rise, Polynesian, Go pro hero, least visited country in the world, Tuvalu country, Pacific island nations, Asian pacific islander, South pacific islands, Off the grid living, Polynesian culture

Id: _01FoG52c0U

Length: 72min 15sec (4335 seconds)

Published: Wed Oct 07 2020