Synopsis: In a recent trip to Aotearoa, I was able to view, first-hand, the devastation caused by Cyclone Gabrielle back in February of this year. After six months of digging out of the mud, there is still a massive amount of work to be done. Numerous acres of orchards have been ruined and there are piles of silt along the sides of most roads, silt that is unusable for farming. But the people are resilient and are on the road to recovery.
Aloha mai e nā hoa heluhelu. Ho‘omaopopo a‘ela paha kākou i ka hao mai o ka makani pāhili ‘o Gabrielle ma Aotearoa i Pepeluali a‘e nei. Ua luku wale ‘ia kauwahi ‘āina o laila ‘oiai au ma ka maluhia o Hawai‘i nei. Ua maopopo na‘e, ‘a‘ole lawa ka lohe ‘ōlelo iā Kalehuawehe, aia ka pono ‘o ka ‘ike maka iā Kuaokalā. No laila, i Aotearoa aku nei nō au he mau pule aku nei, a i laila au i ‘ike maka ai i ka hopena o ia luku ‘ana. O ka nui o ka ua, pi‘i a‘ela ka wai o nā kahawai a hālana akula ma luna o nā kapa kahawai. Uhi ‘ia ka ‘āina mai ‘ō a ‘ō i ka wai. Piholo nā hale, nā alanui, nā ka‘a, a me ia mea aku ia mea aku. Ua make ho‘i he 11 kānaka. Aloha nō ka po‘e e noho ana ma nā ‘āina ha‘aha‘a, a ‘o ka hapanui o lākou, he Māori.
I ko‘u māka‘ika‘i ‘ana i ia mau ‘āina, ua mao ‘ē ka ua a me ka makani, a ua emi loa mai ka wai a ahuwale hou maila ka ‘āina. He pohō nō na‘e a lohe mai i ke a‘o. A i loko o ka ho‘oikaika ‘ana o ka po‘e i ka ho‘oma‘ema‘e a ho‘oponopono ‘ana i ka ‘āina, ua mau nō kona pulu a hiki i kēia wā. Maika‘i paha ke kama‘ilio ‘ana no ka ho‘omanawanui ‘ana o ko laila po‘e i ka ‘imi i ola hou, eia nō na‘e, no kēia wahi mo‘olelo, e kau ka mana‘o i ka pohō o nā kīhāpai hua ‘ai, kekahi māhele nui o ka pō‘aiawaiwai o ia ‘āina. Ua lawe ‘ia a‘ela au, e kekahi hoa, he kama‘āina o laila, i ka ho‘omāka‘ika‘i aku i ia wahi a puni. Nui nā kīhāpai e waiho wale ana ko lākou mau lālani kumulā‘au ma ia ‘eka ‘āina aku ia ‘eka ‘āina aku. Nui hewahewa ho‘i nā hua pala e waiho ana ma luna o ia mau lā‘au a oki loa ka nui e waiho ana i lalo o ka honua.
I nānā aku ka hana, mana‘o ihola au ē i mea ‘ai maika‘i paha kēlā mau hua e piha ai ka lua o ka inaina. Wahi a ka lohe, he 10,000 a ‘oi ka heluna o ka po‘e i pau ka pono o ko lākou mau hale, a i ne‘e aku i kahi ‘ē e ‘imi ai i ke ola. No ke aha lā ho‘i e waiho wale nei ia mau hua pēlā? ‘A‘ole anei ia he mea e pau ai ka ho‘omanawanui ‘ana i nā lā makapehu? ‘O ia māka‘ika‘i aku nō ia a ‘ike au i nā pu‘u nui, kahi i pahu ‘ia ai ka okaoka lepo a ka wai i halihali mai ai. Kainō a he lepo momona maika‘i ia e kanu hou ai i nā hua ‘ai a me nā lau ‘ai. Eia kā na‘e, i ko‘u hāpai ‘ana i ia mana‘o i ko‘u hoa, wehewehe maila kēlā i ke ‘ano ‘ino o ia lepo. ‘O ia ho‘i, i ka halihali ‘ia mai e ka wai hālana, ua halihali pū ‘ia me nā kemikala ho‘omomona lepo o nā pāumu o uka, nā kemikala i ho‘ohana ‘ia no ka ho‘oulu ‘ana i nā kumu lā‘au nui (no ko lākou mau paukū lā‘au), a me ke kaekena a nā holoholona. I mau mea ia e ‘ino ai ka lepo a pau ai ho‘i kona pono.
Aloha nō ka pohō o ia mau mea. Ua kākāpila ‘ia kēlā okaoka a kū ka paila. I kēia manawa, eia nō ke waiho nei ia mau pu‘u lepo ma ka‘e alanui. ‘A‘ohe ona waiwai i kēia manawa koe wale nō paha ka ho‘ohana ‘ia no ka ho‘opa‘a ‘ana i mau winihapa no ke kūkulu ‘ana i hale, i alanui, i uapo, ia mea aku ia mea aku. Pēlā nō paha e ola hou ai ko laila po‘e. I ko‘u mana‘o na‘e, ua ‘ike ‘ia ke ala o ka wai, a no laila, ma ia kūkulu hou ‘ana, e aho ka hō‘alo ‘ana i nā ‘āina ha‘aha‘a a e kūkulu aku na‘e ma nā ‘āina ki‘eki‘e.
E ho‘ouna ‘ia mai na ā leka iā māua, ‘o ia ho‘i ‘o Laiana Wong a me Kekeha Solis ma ka pahu leka uila ma lalo nei:
>> kwong@hawaii.edu
>> rsolis@hawaii.edu
a i ‘ole ia, ma ke kelepona:
>> 808-956-2627 (Laiana)
>> 808-956-2627 (Kekeha)
This column is coordinated by Kawaihuelani Center for Hawaiian Language at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa.
