Hopefully the following link will open for you and you can see the absolutely eerie pictures of the Princess Ashika at rest 300 feet below the sea... also at rest are the 93 people who never escaped when the boat suddenly capsized and sank in the middle of the night. Tongans can now begin their mourning process ... any recovery is way beyond the financial ability of Tonga.
May those aboard rest in peace and hopefully all of Tonga will take safety to heart and develop attitudes that insure the public safety
the link:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/image.cfm?c_id=1&gal_cid=1502757&gallery_id=107011
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
LOAD limits and car safety
Maybe you can remember "back in the day" ... when american made station wagons ... the precursor to the VAN.. they had a rear seat that KIDS LOVED... they were the only ones that could fit back there. The seat faced backwards.
However after numerous deaths and injuries ... it was deemed an unsafe feature.... soon all seats faced forward and seat belts became mandatory.
Step back in time ... omg .. you are in TONGA ...
here seat belts i think are used only in Peace Corps vehicles and for towing disabled cars. As for seating arrangements, well it's everybody get into the back of the truck ... there is NO load limit.. and the first ones in get to sit on the standard Tongan truck seat. It is a 4x6 piece of lumber laid out from side to side of the back of a truck bed. The rest of the people ... AND there are always plenty ... they happily stand and let the wind blow onto their faces.
My record sighting was a fork lift going down the street holding in front of it, a 4 foot by 4 foot pallet ... on that pallet were 12 Chinese workers.... ohhh were was my camera that day !!!!
However after numerous deaths and injuries ... it was deemed an unsafe feature.... soon all seats faced forward and seat belts became mandatory.
Step back in time ... omg .. you are in TONGA ...
here seat belts i think are used only in Peace Corps vehicles and for towing disabled cars. As for seating arrangements, well it's everybody get into the back of the truck ... there is NO load limit.. and the first ones in get to sit on the standard Tongan truck seat. It is a 4x6 piece of lumber laid out from side to side of the back of a truck bed. The rest of the people ... AND there are always plenty ... they happily stand and let the wind blow onto their faces.
My record sighting was a fork lift going down the street holding in front of it, a 4 foot by 4 foot pallet ... on that pallet were 12 Chinese workers.... ohhh were was my camera that day !!!!
Free Public Health Care
One day my counter part @ work complained of a toothache. She left at the lunch hour and came back later with a bit of a swollen jaw. I asked how her tooth ache was and she said simply it was "GONE" ... GONE as in "no more pain???"... NO "gone" as in yanked out and thrown away!!!!!
Tonga has free medical care.
HOWEVER, due to budget and staff restraints it is a very simple system.
For any thing that aches you get a PANADOL ... our TYLENOL ... and NO it is NOT extra strength .... and for all tooth aches ... well it's just simply pulled OUT.
It all gives new meaning to wide open spaces when Tongans smile!!!!
Oh and IF you have the $$MONEY$$.... another personal dental routine that is NOT free .... is GOLD etching of the teeth .... now this gives new meaning to a bright golden smile ... especially if the light hits it just right.
Tonga has free medical care.
HOWEVER, due to budget and staff restraints it is a very simple system.
For any thing that aches you get a PANADOL ... our TYLENOL ... and NO it is NOT extra strength .... and for all tooth aches ... well it's just simply pulled OUT.
It all gives new meaning to wide open spaces when Tongans smile!!!!
Oh and IF you have the $$MONEY$$.... another personal dental routine that is NOT free .... is GOLD etching of the teeth .... now this gives new meaning to a bright golden smile ... especially if the light hits it just right.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Sai pe
If you follow Steve's adventures from Tonga ... then maybe you saw his blog ... titled ... sai pe .... which means in Tongan "it's kool".
Sai pe IS a wonderful social tool. It allows for a day to day allowance of each other's SHORT comings.
Well as Steve said "it isn't sai pe in Tonga"!!!!
Not since the sinking of the Ferry boat. A boat that is the life line between islands. Steve lives on a smaller outer island and he has a more personal relationship with Tongan's than i do.
I work at the Department of Civil Aviation in the capital of Nukualofa.
What i do have is ..... a greater conflict to SAI PE then maybe Steve does.
As a pilot... Sai pe is "the kiss of death".... just as it was with the ferry boat!!!
"It's Kool" ..."SAI PE"
KILLS!!!!!
Whether at sea or in the air ....complacency is NOT to be tolerated.....
"No you can't do that" ...is based on a history of tragic events. Tongan's have a hard time saying "NO" to anyone ; much less for a relative... they might just want to BEND the rules.
"SAI PE"
Investigations take months ... i don't want to speculate .... but when a boat's manifest originally says 47 people were on board ... AND in fact there were close to 127 OR MORE... it isn't sai pe .... Tongans need to take personal responsibility.
It would be a dishonor to those that died; if Tongans simply blamed any one individual and then went back to SAI PE.
When it comes to safety and security ... it requires a pro activism where SAI PE is NOT to be tolerated.
Personally ... having been in Tonga 10 months already ...I feel someone will take the heat for the ferry boat disaster ... and after a period of time; that person will be forgiven ... it IS the beauty of TONGA and it is also their cross to bear...
Maybe just this one time people will awake from their deep sleep and take responsibility for "cause and affect" ...it's a big step... can the Tongans do it ... as they are fond to saying "GOK" ... GOD ONLY KNOWS!!
Sai pe IS a wonderful social tool. It allows for a day to day allowance of each other's SHORT comings.
Well as Steve said "it isn't sai pe in Tonga"!!!!
Not since the sinking of the Ferry boat. A boat that is the life line between islands. Steve lives on a smaller outer island and he has a more personal relationship with Tongan's than i do.
I work at the Department of Civil Aviation in the capital of Nukualofa.
What i do have is ..... a greater conflict to SAI PE then maybe Steve does.
As a pilot... Sai pe is "the kiss of death".... just as it was with the ferry boat!!!
"It's Kool" ..."SAI PE"
KILLS!!!!!
Whether at sea or in the air ....complacency is NOT to be tolerated.....
"No you can't do that" ...is based on a history of tragic events. Tongan's have a hard time saying "NO" to anyone ; much less for a relative... they might just want to BEND the rules.
"SAI PE"
Investigations take months ... i don't want to speculate .... but when a boat's manifest originally says 47 people were on board ... AND in fact there were close to 127 OR MORE... it isn't sai pe .... Tongans need to take personal responsibility.
It would be a dishonor to those that died; if Tongans simply blamed any one individual and then went back to SAI PE.
When it comes to safety and security ... it requires a pro activism where SAI PE is NOT to be tolerated.
Personally ... having been in Tonga 10 months already ...I feel someone will take the heat for the ferry boat disaster ... and after a period of time; that person will be forgiven ... it IS the beauty of TONGA and it is also their cross to bear...
Maybe just this one time people will awake from their deep sleep and take responsibility for "cause and affect" ...it's a big step... can the Tongans do it ... as they are fond to saying "GOK" ... GOD ONLY KNOWS!!
Friday, August 7, 2009
A sad DARK day for TONGA
On Wednesday in the dark of night, sometime around 11pm the NEW (to Tonga) ferry boat capsized while out at sea, between islands. To no one's surprise the actual number of people on board was not officially recorded .... sooo here it is 3 days later and the count of missing people continues to rise. As of this morning it had surpassed 70.
In a nation of less than 100,000 people ... where; in one way or another EVERYONE is related .... the impact has been numbing. It is as if the whole nation is holding it's breath, waiting to be told what will happen next.
Official news is spotty and most people rely on rumors. I work at the Ministry of Transportation which is the Ministry that will be ultimately responsible for the inquiry.
Although I'm at the department of Civil Aviation and somewhat removed, I can feel the tension growing as many Tongans will be turning their grief to anger. As i sit at my desk I'm painfully aware of just how close we always are to a tragic events !!!! I'm also ever so grateful that in spite of our many blunders as human beings we are most often blessed with a grace that keeps us from harms way.
In Tonga there are volunteers from several nations. We might not know each other personally, but we are held together in a common bond of service. I'm saddened to know that one of the Japanese volunteers is included among the missing. My heart goes out to his family and his follow Japanese volunteers who will need to cope with his tragic loss at sea.
In a nation of less than 100,000 people ... where; in one way or another EVERYONE is related .... the impact has been numbing. It is as if the whole nation is holding it's breath, waiting to be told what will happen next.
Official news is spotty and most people rely on rumors. I work at the Ministry of Transportation which is the Ministry that will be ultimately responsible for the inquiry.
Although I'm at the department of Civil Aviation and somewhat removed, I can feel the tension growing as many Tongans will be turning their grief to anger. As i sit at my desk I'm painfully aware of just how close we always are to a tragic events !!!! I'm also ever so grateful that in spite of our many blunders as human beings we are most often blessed with a grace that keeps us from harms way.
In Tonga there are volunteers from several nations. We might not know each other personally, but we are held together in a common bond of service. I'm saddened to know that one of the Japanese volunteers is included among the missing. My heart goes out to his family and his follow Japanese volunteers who will need to cope with his tragic loss at sea.
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