General News
28 January, 2022
Cairns Tongan community unites after tragedy
It started with one Facebook post after another; Soana Thomsen, president of the Tongan Community, could not understand what was going on when she saw the first publications of the volcano eruption in Tonga two weeks ago.
“I found out through social media,” she said.
“The first thing I thought is that there had been a cyclone because this is cyclone season.
“But then the posts kept coming. That’s how I knew the volcano had erupted, and I saw all the tsunami alerts.
“It was terrifying. I have an auntie and many cousins in Tonga. I can’t imagine how they were feeling at the time trying to run for their lives.”
The calls and messages of other local Tongan families started flooding in; Ms Thomsen said the feeling of grief was collective.
“We were just talking, and you know, trying to comfort each other about what’s happening in our little nation of Tonga,” Ms Thomsen said.
The sentiment of pain and loss has been shared throughout the Pacific Islander communities.
President of the Pacific Communities Council FNQ (PCCFNQ), Dinah John, said all Pacific communities’ support was immediate and massive.
“We heard from friends what was happening and saw it on social media, and we knew it was going to be bad,” she said.
“The response was immediate, lots of calls and messages from people asking, what can we do to help? Where can we donate?”
Ms Thomsen and Ms John started planning to create spaces where the community could support Tonga.
“We had a meeting last week to decide what to do for fundraising, where to send the donations and what is the best way to connect the donations to the people of Tonga,” Ms John said.
“Our comfort is prayer,” said Ms Thomsen.
“I immediately started arranging a vigil, which will be announced soon so we can get everyone praying for Tonga.”
Ms John said that Cairns 89.1 FM jumped in to help the Tongan community, and they have organised a fundraiser called ‘10k in 10 Days for Tonga’.
“We will be using their platform for donations,” she said.
“The event will run from February 17 to 26. We will do a live broadcast from the 89.1 FM studio to hold a mini telethon on the last day.
“That day, we’ll have community leaders and ministers sharing their contributions on live radio.
“From February 17, there will be community groups performing, doing workshops and other activities around Cairns where people can donate to participate in this class or activity.
The PCCFNQ and Tongan community are encouraging organisations to support the fundraiser in any way they can.
“On February 26, we’re hoping we’ll be able to use the car park at TAFE to have a block party with community entertainment and bands, food stalls and any other businesses that are willing to join us,” Ms John said.
“We want the community to use us as their donation ground, you can donate bottled water, clothing, non-perishables, and we hope that the money raised can cover the shipping costs.”
Ms John said that many Tongans in Cairns have not been able to communicate with their families and having the community listen to them is the support they need.
“Right now, the best people can do for us is come together. No matter what nationality you are, it’s really comforting when we talk to the community and share our experiences, our thoughts, our feelings.”
For more information on supporting or donating email at pacificcommunitiescouncilfnq@gmail.com, or call 0474 098 222.
