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Port of Call |
LAST UPDATE January 10, 2006
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| site design imagesparkle.com |
| November 25, 2005 |
Papeete, Tahiti - Stand up and make a change – The work of Gabi Tetiarahi and Hiti Tau |
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| Anti-nuclear activist, Gabriel (Gabi) Tetiarahi |
Tahiti is regarded by many people as an island paradise. This paradise, however, was altered forever in 1963, when the French Government began nuclear testing in French Polynesia. Gabi Tetiarahi was just ten years old when he witnessed the mushroom cloud of an atmospheric nuclear test on Moruroa Atoll. After learning about the horrific realities of nuclear testing while studying in France during the 1970s, Gabi returned to Tahiti to dedicate his life to protesting the testing of nuclear weapons. |
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| Following a Tahitian custom, Peace Boat participants acknowledge their thanks to the earth for providing food, by pouring a little of their coconut juice over the stones of the Marae. |
When Peace Boat arrived in Papeete, Tahiti on November 25, a group of participants were able to meet Gabi, and the members of Hiti Tau, a non-governmental organization founded by Gabi, which promotes indigenous rights, sustainable development and the end of nuclear testing in the Pacific.
When Peace Boat arrived in Papeete, Tahiti on November 25, a group of participants were able to meet Gabi, and the members of Hiti Tau, a non-governmental organization founded by Gabi, which promotes indigenous rights, sustainable development and the end of nuclear testing in the Pacific.
On arrival at the Hiti Tau headquarters in Taravau village, participants were greeted with Tahitian flowers and coconut juice. They then gathered around the Marae – a meeting area integral to Polynesian culture. Gabi described the Marae as the central place for education to be passed down from ancestors, which gives direction to indigenous (Maohi) people. Here, participants from Peace Boat were welcomed into their new community. |
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| Peace Boat participant Keita Tomi carries a heavy load of bananas at the Hiti Tau plantation in Aohi Valley, Tahiti. |
After a lunch of fresh food common to the Pacific including raw fish, taro, banana, pineapple, and coconut, participants went to the Hiti Tau plantation in the Aohi Valley. The plantation is the result of years of hard work involving hundreds of volunteers. Locals and members of Hiti Tau grow a range of fruit and vegetables for their consumption on the land, to encourage a self-sustainable lifestyle. The self-sustainable center is a place for locals to plant, relax and connect with nature. “We want to leave the message that we can take our future and our land in our own hands. We think if an NGO can do this, then the country – the government – the people – should be able to follow this model, said Gabi.”
At Aohi Valley, Peace Boat participants were taught how to uproot taro and cut bananas. They spent a few hours carefully harvesting food, some of which had been planted by participants from Peace Boat’s 48th voyage earlier in 2005. This food provided everyone with lunch the following day. |
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| The Peace Boat participants show gratitude to their hosts with traditional Japanese dance. |
Back at the Marae, the group was treated to a lively performance from people from the Pacific Island of Wallis and Futuna, who are now residents in Tahiti and have been warmly welcomed to their new community within Hiti Tau. Peace Boat participants reciprocated the welcome with a traditional Japanese dance. |
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| Participants learning how to make headbands using coconut leaves. |
Peace Boat guests then met their home stay families and went their separate ways to experience the way of life for local Tahitians. They rejoined the following day with similar stories of warm hospitality and new friendships. They then watched a display of traditional Futuna weaving of leaves, and attempted it themselves.
The experience was completed with yet more delicious local food, and a demonstration of the making of monoi coconut oil – a special oil produced by Hiti Tau which has provided thousands of Tahitians with a source of income since it was initiated ten years ago. Like much of Hiti Tau’s work, the production of monoi oil is a source of income that relies on local people using local resources, to benefit locals. There is no dependence on the state for income – a stark contrast from 20 years ago when most of Tahiti’s working population was employed by the state at nuclear testing sites.
Participants farewelled new friends and families, and returned to Peace Boat with Gabi, who, as a guest speaker until Fiji, talked in depth about his motivation for a nuclear free world, and his thoughts on a peaceful future: “Peace doesn’t just mean to not make war – it is human beings in partnership with the environment. And it can not happen with nuclear testing in the world,” he said. |
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