The first climate migrants to leave Tuvalu, a remote Pacific island nation, have arrived in Australia, hoping to preserve their ties to their submerged island, foreign affairs officials said Thursday.
More than a third of Tuvalu’s 11,000 residents have applied for a climate visa to migrate to Australia, as part of a deal struck between the two countries two years ago.
Entry is limited to 280 visas per year to avoid a brain drain in this small island nation.
Citizens selected in the first wave of climate migrants include the first woman to drive a forklift in Tuvalu, a dentist and a pastor keen to preserve their spiritual lives thousands of miles from home, Australian government officials said.
Tuvalu, one of the countries most threatened by climate change due to sea level rise, is made up of a group of low-lying atolls spread across the Pacific, between Australia and Hawaii.
Manipua Puafolau, from Funafuti, the main island of Tuvalu, arrived in Australia two weeks ago. A pastor-in-training at his homeland’s largest church, he plans to live in the small town of Naracoorte in South Australia, where several hundred Pacific Islanders work seasonal jobs in agriculture and meat processing.
“For people moving to Australia, it’s not just about their physical and economic well-being, but also about spiritual guidance,” he said in a video released by Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs.
Tuvalu Prime Minister Feleti Teo visited the Tuvaluan community in Melton, Melbourne, last month to highlight the importance of maintaining strong and cultural ties across borders as citizens migrate, officials in the island nation said.
In Funafuti, the terrain is only slightly wider than the road in many sections. Families live under thatched roofs and children play soccer on the airport runway due to space restrictions.
By 2050, NASA scientists predict that daily tides will submerge half of Funafuti Atoll, home to 60 percent of Tuvalu’s people, where residents cling to a narrow strip of land up to 20 meters deep.
Forecasts predict a sea level rise of one meter, while in a worst-case scenario, double that figure, 90% of the country’s main atoll would be submerged.
Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said climate migrants would contribute to Australian society.
The visa provides “dignified mobility, providing Tuvaluans with the opportunity to live, study and work in Australia as climate impacts worsen,” Wong said in a statement to Reuters news agency.
Support services are in place across Australia to help Tuvaluan families gain a foothold in the coastal cities of Melbourne and Adelaide, as well as the northern state of Queensland.
Kitai Haulapi, the first woman to drive a forklift in Tuvalu, recently got married and will move to Melbourne, a city of 5 million people. In a video released by Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs, she says she hopes to find a job in the country and continue to contribute to Tuvalu by sending money home to her family.
Dentist Masina Matolu, who has three school-age children and a sailor husband, moves with her family to the northern Australian city of Darwin. She plans to work with indigenous communities.
“I can always bring the new things I learn in Australia back to my home culture to help me,” she said in a video statement.
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