THE PHOTOS YOU WERE NOT SUPPOSED TO SEE: Islands Business Magazine (Fiji) accuses regime of not releasing the damage Winston inflicted on Vanuabalavu - the home of deposed Prime Minister Qarase

23/2/2016

Photos You Were Not Supposed to See

By Samisoni Pareti
Islands Business Magazine

First pictures out of a remote island in north-eastern Fiji show utter destruction caused by super-cyclone Winston over the weekend.

Unconfirmed reports speak of at least four fatalities on Vanuabalavu, home to 17 villages of more than 2000 people. It is also the home of former Prime Minister, Laisenia Qarase.

Despite a Royal New Zealand Air Force Orion recon flight to the region last Sunday, no images -- for some unexplained reasons -- were released on Vanuabalavu. When asked, RNZAF referred all queries to its Foreign Affairs Ministry in Wellington which in turn said the identification of islands in the images was left with Fijian authorities.

These images were only released a short time ago through a pilot of a private plane that flew to the island today.

Images speak of utter destruction, of homes totally destroyed, and huge structures like churches reduced to rubbles. There is also no trace of the government built jetty, with a makeshift lake in the centre of the village of Lomaloma. It appeared from the photos that the island's east-line coast bore the brunt of the damage.

https://www.facebook.com/Islands-Business-290491571130816/?fref=photo

FLP stalwart Gaffar Ahmed in Ba: “I have seen no government officials or vehicles around. No attempt has been made by the PWD, the Roads Authority or the Fiji Electricity Authority to clear up the roads, remove fallen trees and debris or clear out fallen lines"

Fijileaks: We suggest get up, mobilize your 'legion' of FLP supporters to clear the debris, and ask your leader Mahendra Chaudhry to foot the bill from the $2million plus interests in Aussie and Kiwi bank accounts

The region most severely hit - along the northern coast from Rakiraki to at least rural Lautoka and its outer islands - is Fiji’s most prolific cane belt area and along with tourism, gold, timber and bottled water is economically the most productive. Most of Fiji’s top merchants have their headquarters in Ba.

Damage to infrastructure is substantial. Power poles and lines are down everywhere, cutting off communication with the town. The roads are still cluttered with fallen trees, blocking access to most areas.

“I have seen no government officials or vehicles around. No attempt has been made by the PWD, the Roads Authority or the Fiji Electricity Authority to clear up the roads, remove fallen trees and debris or clear out fallen lines.
“The way I see it, damage to infrastructure is so massive, it will take 2-3 months to fully restore power and water,” said Gaffar.

What about the human suffering? No relief of any form has gone out to the victims of the cyclone in the area, three days after Winston.

BROKEN TRUST: "I am struggling to convince potential Fijian and non-Fijian donors in the United Kingdom that whatever donations they make to us will go to the people and NOT into Mahendra Chaudhry's private bank account or in the FLP's "Cyclone Winston Fund" if one has been set up - for many here are very wary of me, wrongly assuming that I was part of the financial scam Chaudhry and his FLP entourage inflicted on them during his 2001 trip to London, and also when we raised and gave him thousands to help the 2003 Cyclone Ami victims" - VICTOR LAL

In solidarity: Heathrow airport, London, 2001

CYCLONE AMI RELIEF FUND
Where did thousands of dollars end up?
Victor Lal had based his "Cyclone Ami" article from the following bank statements and had sent Mr Chaudhry a copy for comments but as usual, Mr Chaudhry did not reply to the questions.

19 Comments

Dekho

23/2/2016 09:22:31 am

If this is true than its a very low down thing to do . But I wouldn't put it pass this regime. It's small mindedness and vindictiveness is well known.

Conspiracy theory

23/2/2016 09:31:31 am

There you go again with your conspiracy theory. Hundreds of other islands and thousands of other people are affected and most probably they also don't have photos taken or displayed of destruction. What is so special about former PM Qarase. Are u saying that the absence of photos from the island was deliberate and by extension the island and its people will be deprived of assistance. There are many other stories of destruction, desolation and survival to be told but you pick up this one. It appears that you will stoop down to any level to make this govt look bad even in the time of calamity that it is not responsible for. Can we see a pattern here?

Dekho

23/2/2016 10:00:52 am

The pattern is very clear for those prepared to see. You obviously are not for reasons best known to you. This government has looked bad by its own doing . There is no point in providing you with examples, is there?

Stick to the facts

23/2/2016 11:03:33 am

It would be good if u stick to the facts rather than be blinded by your preconceived preduices. What evidence is there that this omission was deliberate and there is an ulterior motive on the part of the govt. You are passing judgements even before this saga is yet to be played out. It is pointless reasoning with a feeble minded dolt who shoots first and asks questions later.

Fact

24/2/2016 03:51:51 am

The Fact speaks for itself. The photos were taken by the same NZ Defense force at the same time that they did the reconnaissance flight. The Fiji Govt. website, a communication tool for all Fijians, still at the time of this post does NOT show the photos of Vanuabalavu. Anyone watching the cyclone path while it was happening live could see it impacted Lau. That is where Winston entered into Fiji waters and was the 1st of the Fiji islands to be impacted. Yet no report from Fiji govt. For people like Samisoni who has family on the island or myself who has been waiting for news on Sawana, there has been no report. So if its not a conspiracy, it surely is incompetence. This govt can spent multi-millions on Russian arms but can't plan for its own disaster despite the PM giving lip service to climate impact. And now, the bloody govt has officially begged for HANDOUTS from international sources as it has admitted it doesn't have what is needed to take care of its own people. FF has admitted their own failure!

Stick to facts

25/2/2016 10:04:39 am

Hi boso before you get too far carried away and add your spin to the story can u or Samson or Fijileaks confirm how many photos were taken by the NZ Orion, what proportion of the photos were released at the Fiji govt website, how many of the devastated Islands were omitted, was it only Vanuabalavu and other pro Qarase or pro SODELPA Islands that were omitted from the photos and was the omission deliberate. Nobody is denying Samson to express his opinion but the insinuations are a bit far fetched..

Fijileaks Reader

23/2/2016 09:38:58 am

Conspiracy

You are right and wrong. Fijileaks is not accusing the Government; it is Islands Business which made the claims - Fijileaks is right to reproduce it but let us hope the Government will explain it away. Nothing from SODELPA so far!

Samjha

23/2/2016 10:36:10 am

No conspiracy theory here, boy. The Bainimarama regime has a history of doing the dirty since day one of coming to power through armed thuggery.
The most recent one is the devious attempt to get rid of Prof. biman Prasad as PAC chair.

Simi

23/2/2016 01:07:48 pm

Samisomi Pareti is an avowed Bainarama government opponent and staunch SODELPA supporter. So am I. But if I was a journalist I would not allow my biases to form the basis of my story. It's the surest way to lose journalistic credibility. This type of sloppy unverified reporting is becoming a hallmark of Pareti. To use cyclone victims to score political points is stooping rather low, taken right out of rajen chaudhry's book.

Concerned family member not Journalist

24/2/2016 03:57:43 am

Not every writing by a journalist is under a professional capacity. What kind of an idiot are you to judge a man gravely concerned about his family on his island and stating his personal opinion which he has every right to as a private citizen to be an indication of professional downfall. Samisoni is not a PM, who on the other hand, is 24x7 a public figure and one who should not be hitting journalists, female or not, and name calling Opposition leaders, female or not. Direct your criticism to where it belongs.

Simi

24/2/2016 10:35:05 am

Pareti as far as I can see is writing under the islands business magazine banner. There is no disclaimer that he is writing in a personal capacity or that there is a conflict on interest with his family involved, so how are we to know? Are we mind readers? Why is so much space in the magazine devoted to pareti's family interests, that is on what journalistic basis? Is islands business now a Pareti family enterprise? Is Pareti being objective here, mixing journalism with family business and affairs? Are we now going to see Fiji journalists starting to focus their reporting on their family concerns? What a pathetic and poor example set by a so-called veteran of the fiji media scene. It's a sure sign that Pareti needs to go back to school to relearn the ethics of journalism, and the concepts of objectivity and conflict of interest.

Still Fact

24/2/2016 07:16:31 pm

Simi, yes Pareti wrote under the IB banner (I saw this after my post as I was thinking instead of his personal FB posts). But even under the IB banner, what has he actually said that it so offensive? He is stating facts in the content and his headline is an Opinion. So take it as an Op-editorial. Another way to look at it is the content is investigative. He's not just reporting on something. He is working out a puzzle to raise questions.... important questions. He is not lambasting anyone, he is not name calling, he is not being condescending to anyone in particular. He is just putting 2 and 2 together --- for those who can't do it themselves. You could even argue that his article may have even prompted DISMAC to officially announce their plans to Lau. This was the 1st report that came from Inia Seruiratu and right after Pareti's piece. Why did DISMAC not send a plane of supplies right away to Lau? Why did a private plan with supplies get there faster?

I would much rather read Pareti's thoughtful pieces that makes some sense that the rubbish printed on Fiji Sun. Wouldn't you? At least thousands of people benefited from his piece and the photos he shared from the NZ site so the rest of us could know and plan for next steps. What did the Fiji Govt FB page or Fiji Sun report?

Alby

23/2/2016 11:29:45 pm

Any journalists like Samisoni Pareti who try to make political mileage out of something as pathetic as this are low life morons.

The likes of people like him will be there on Sunday practising his pseudo religion in Church but deep down their true self is reflected in the rubbish they write.

Pita

24/2/2016 09:08:14 pm

Standard practise requires that all Govt media releases on emergencies and disasters, including photographs, be approved by the Chairman of the National Disaster Coordinating Committee who happens to be the Prime Minister. He views the pictures and he makes the selections of which ones should be released to the media. Now there can only be three scenarios according to procedure. First, the PM wilfuly omitted the Vanua Balavu pictures presumably because of his well known.hatred for Qarase, second, he is too stupid to be aware of his actions and third there is no standard operating procedures in the NDMO. All three scenarios are equally plausible

Aaraam Se link

25/2/2016 04:22:23 am

Truth is bitter.The Samisoni Pareti article certainly did not go down well with FFP and its supporters.But the real beneficiaries are the people of Lau and the surrounding islands,some 2000 people in 17 villages who will now be more than happy to receive the much a waited relief supplies which left Suva early this morning....Now on the article.The article was indeed newsworthy,informative,factual and above all written by a seasoned Journalist carrying the weight.It is a fact:those pictures indeed were a first,and not released by the govt.,the damages,destruction and other fine points he pointed out were based on facts.What may have pissed off the authorities/and FFP supporters was the fact the mention of former PM Qarase and his home island.But this is a fact as well.What may have bitten off the authorities was the fact that Lau was hit first,it came in the news the last.And not by govt. sources but by an independent source (photographer in a private plane) and story picked up by Pareti. Making matters worse,they (Govt.) had put up a poor defense rejected by the readers.I for one am satisfied that Pareti had confined the write up to facts and no amount of arguments can change that.Can any one point one misleading sentence in that article?There is none.So accept the facts even it may be bitter.Not all Journos write crap/lies/or mislead their readers.....

Spin vs Facts

25/2/2016 10:21:36 am

Talking of facts can u or Samisoni or anyone else tell the public how many photos were taken by the NZ Orion plane, what proportion of these photos was released on the govt website, was it only Vanuabalavu and other pro Qarase Islands that were omitted from the list. And can u see a definite pattern in the omission and was this omission deliberate and calculated? What we want is facts, not insinuations, not hunches, not innuendoes, not spins and not imaginations.

King Rat

25/2/2016 11:00:52 am

Exactly. We have the likes of SODELPA apologist Pita spinning and weaving these half-truths and deceitful innuendoes about the Fiji First, yet their own Queen, Mrs Kepa, is nowhere to be seen!

That sound s like a useful little ditty that those in Kindergarten may wish to play out:

'When Winston came and went and in between
We saw nor heard of the SODELPA Queen'

Pita

25/2/2016 11:14:13 am

King Rat,
Just to correct u I am not and never have been a SODELPA supporter. People like u just don;t like to be contradicted

Simi

25/2/2016 03:05:06 pm

Pareti made out that only vanuabalavu was omitted which is errenous, if not deceitful. Picure of some other islands devastated by the cyclone were not up published either, but Pareti only had eyes for vanuabalavu apparently because he has relatives there. This is by his own admission. If Pareti was a capable journalist, he would have done his research and showed us a pattern, as pointed out by spin vs facts. Instead he wrote a shallow, halfbaked, unresearched piece full of innuendo, speculation, opinion and emotion, laying bare his political biases and loyalties. Very poor example from a so-called senior journalist. And someone has the nerve to describe the piece as 'investigative journalism'. What a joke. Read Victor Lals work. That's investigative journalism built on meticulous research and doumentation. Pareti has not produced a single document to back his claims. He just wrote an opinion piece and tries to pass it of as news. It is an example of lazy journalism, not investigative journalism.

PS: Victor, I am not sure why you denied me the right to repond by not publishing my third posting. I hope in the interst of fairness you will not withhold this reply. VINAKA.

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