A survivor’s story shared in Parliament

As silence dominated the atmosphere inside Parliament’s Big Committee Room, diminishing sounds of laughter and stories shared among those present, the testimony of Fiji’s unity stood obvious in the midst of a painful and emotional account shared by sea ordeal survivor, Lakeba Health Centre charge nurse Mr Livinai Namami.

And as he stood by his colleague survivors, the Vesidrua, Macuata lad who was among the seven lost in the Lau waters for 36 hours, could not conceal his emotions as his voice trembled in what he described were raw scenarios of the ordeal that continued to flash through his mind.

“I can still taste the salt. I can still feel the terrifying weight of the dark and the crushing realization that we were completely helpless. Standing before you today is a miracle.”

As he uttered these words in describing last month’s incident, tears flowed in the eyes of many who, for the first time, heard from the survivors.

“As I look around this August House today, I see light, I see warmth and I see life,” he said.

“But if I close my eyes for just a second, I am instantly taken back to a few weeks ago—out in the middle of the cold, vast Lau Ocean.

“As members of the Lakeba Medical Outreach Team, we spent our lives trying to save others.

“But out there, drifting for hours that felt like lifetime, we couldn’t save ourselves.

He remembers watching the huge waves splash over them as they hung onto a driftwood, hoping for dear life.

“We watched the sun go down, we watched the waves get bigger, and in our hearts, we began to say our silent goodbyes to our children, our spouses, and our parents.

“But even when the darkness closed in on us, a quiet blanket of peace kept us from giving up.

“Today, I want to say this clearly to everyone listening; we did not survive because we were strong.

“We survived because an entire nation fell to its knees.

“To the citizens of Fiji here at home, the coastal villagers who walked the shores looking for us, and our families and friends weeping and praying across the globe—your cries reached heaven.

“When our bodies grew numb and we were too weak to hold on, it was the overwhelming spirit of your prayers that kept our heads above water. We survived on those prayers.”

For these survivors, God answered those prayers through ordinary people who did extraordinary things and rescued them.

“We owe our lives to the brave men and women of our national rescue teams, the Fiji Navy, The Fiji Police Force and our local heroes in Lau,” Mr Namami said.

“You did not give up on us when time was running out. And then, when hope felt like a fading ember, the silhouette of the Lomaiviti Princess 12 broke through the horizon.

“To the Captain and the incredible crew of LP 12—when your hands reached down into that water to pull us up, you weren’t just pulling bodies out of the sea.

“You were bringing mothers, fathers, daughters, and sons back from the dead. You gave us back our lives. We will weep tears of gratitude for you until the day we die.”