Disappearing Island Nation Forced To Buy Land Overseas To Save Citizens
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The entire population of the island nation of Kiribati could soon be forced to relocate to a 5,000-acre plot of land in Fiji, said Kiribati President Anote Tong on Wednesday, as rising levels threaten to swallow the entire country beneath the Pacific Ocean.
The entire population of the island nation of Kiribati could soon be forced to relocate to a 5,000-acre plot of land in Fiji, said Kiribati President Anote Tong on Wednesday, as rising levels threaten to swallow the entire country beneath the Pacific Ocean.
More than 100,000 citizens presently reside in the low-lying archipelago in the South Pacific, reported The Telegraph, with the majority of the citizens crammed on to the administrative centre of Tarawa, a chain of islets located close to the equatorial line.
But as many of Kiribati’s 32 coral atolls continue to disappear into the ocean, the government has had little choice but to come up with contingency plans in order to save its citizens from becoming a modern-day Atlantis.
Related: Kiribati Economic Statistics and Indicators
[quote]”This is the last resort, there’s no way out of this one,” stressed Tong worryingly. “Our people will have to move as the tides have reached our homes and villages.”[/quote]The government is said to be already in negotiations with Fiji to purchase up to 5,000 acres of land on the Vanua Levu island in order to move their citizens over.
In an interview with Fiji One television channel, Tong also said that Kiribati was likely to send over some skilled workers to the Fijian islands first, so as to integrate better with the Fijian population first and to make a positive contribution to Fiji’s economy.
“We don’t want 100,000 people from Kiribati coming to Fiji in one go,” said Tong.
[quote]”They need to find employment, not as refugees but as immigrant people with skills to offer, people who have a place in the community, people who will not be seen as second-class citizens.”[/quote]“What we need is the international community to come up with an urgent funding package to deal with that ambition, and the needs of countries like Kiribati.”
Accordingly, the Kiribati government has also arranged an Education for Migration scheme, which it hopes will be able to train its population with more skills that can be attractive for countries that might potentially take in their immigrants.
“They are already preparing quite well. They have educated their youth to be able to survive in the new lands that they want to go to,” said Dr Alumita Durulato of the Fiji-based University of the South Pacific, where Kiribati undergraduates take their degrees.
According to the office of the President of Kiribati, the government is also keen to emphasise on “migration with dignity”, especially as the need for relocation becomes more urgent.
“Kiribati migrants should be sought after by the countries to which they wish to relocate. For this to happen our people must be in a position to provide the skills that are needed in the receiving countries. This creates a ‘win-win’ situation, where both Kiribati and the receiving country benefit.”
Watch A Video on Kiribati’s Plight:
