Members of the Samoan Red Cross visit people in their homes to assess the damage caused by Tropical Cyclone Gita. Photo / Red Cross
The people of the Pacific talk about climate change like New Zealanders talk about nuclear warfare.
It's the most frightening and uncontrollable threat to their existence and a very real factor in their everyday lives. In just one day in Samoa, the concern carried by its people was obvious.
Standing
on a mangrove walkway near Vailima, about 4km south of the country's capital, one man frowns deeply as he points out nearby homes. At high tide the water is level with them, he tells me. When he was young, it barely came within 5m of the house.
The walkway itself is no longer walkable, seeming to plough below the water's surface some way along. It was built not that long ago, and is now underwater most of the day. "A shame," another says. But it's not said with surprise.
At a meeting with the Samoan Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern promises $3 million more in aid. At a luncheon the Climate Change Minister James Shaw promises New Zealand will do everything it can to help the country brace for, and slow down, devastating climate changes. He says we can't do it alone; we need the world on board.
