Courtesy of the RNZN and its DEI policies, when King Charles visits Samoa this week, he and Camilla will have an exciting new tourist attraction to see.
Not that the locals appear all that excited about it.
Under clear skies Tuesday, shortly after sunrise in the beachside fishing village of Siumu, Samoa, a dozen men and children prepared their small boats for a day at sea. But underwater, a mile off the coast, a sunken New Zealand naval vessel is forcing them to travel farther away to fish than before, and worrying many in the area about the future.
The village, festooned with Samoan and British flags, is bustling with preparations to host King Charles III and Queen Camilla when the royals arrive on Wednesday for a biennial meeting of leaders from 56 Commonwealth countries. It is the first time a Pacific Island nation has hosted the event.
It’s been a jam-packed schedule for normally sleepy Siumu. Thanks to the totally not-a-diversity hire captain, New Zealand’s (formerly) largest naval vessel is entering a new era of service as a reef.
New Zealand and Samoan officials have been working for weeks along miles of nearby coastline to monitor and deal with environmental damage caused by the sinking of the HMNZS Manawanui, which ran aground on the reef, caught fire and sank earlier this month.
Hopefully the royal visit will rekindle the tiny island’s tourism industry, which has allegedly been in the doldrums since the Manawanui grabbed global headlines – or, more correctly, sparked global mirth. But not everyone sees the funny side.
Early fears of a catastrophic fuel spill were later quashed by officials who said oil had not gushed from the ship as it sank. But many who live in Siumu and surrounding villages are worried that damage to the reef from the wreck threatens their longer-term survival.
“I don’t know when it’s going to be good again and to (go) back to the normal,” said Netina Malae, who has temporarily closed her small resort at nearby Tafitoala. The colorful fales, or huts, lining the beach sit empty […]
Meanwhile, fishers who once spent their days where the boat foundered face longer and more expensive trips, they told the Associated Press.
“We doubled the amount of petrol to go far out to get fish,” said Faalogo Afereti Taliulu, citing advice from Samoa’s government that seafood from around the sunken ship should not be eaten. “That’s why that’s our concern. It’s financially affecting us” […]
Some in Siumu and surrounding villages are urging New Zealand’s government to pay compensation for their lost earnings, but a swift resolution is unlikely.
Will they accept a carved wooden paddle? The RNZN seems to have plenty to go around.
The disaster unfolded as Samoa prepared to host the British royals – who will stay at a resort near Siumu’s fishing village – and other world leaders at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. Meetings among civil society leaders have already begun, with an official opening ceremony scheduled for Friday.
Rumour has it that the royal couple declined an offer of a lift from the NZ navy.
