| Tonga: A lost hideaway

Tonga is still in a state of communications disruption and I am afraid that the Government has now ceased to function. It is said that it will take two weeks to restore contact with the outside world, as the repair of submarine cables will require time and external assistance. After the two eruptions of the volcano, sporadic news came, some people reported safety, and some people confirmed that they were killed, and the victims were swept away in the tsunami caused by the volcanic eruption. The eventual casualties and damage cannot be determined, as this once hideaway is now mired in an information island. Mushroom clouds rising into the air and volcanic ash spreading everywhere are still covering and enveloping this fragile country in the South Pacific.

Before the eruption, people's impression of Tonga may be limited to the shirtless flag bearer at the opening ceremonies of three consecutive Olympic Games, wearing an Oceanian indigenous grass skirt, covered with coconut oil, sexy muscular muscles and sunny face can attract cheers on and off the screen every time. It wasn't until the eruption that it was remembered as a small country with a population of only 100,000 and the only kingdom in the South Pacific that preserved a monarchy. The king who rules Tonga, now Tupu VI, fled with his family like the common people when the catastrophe struck. The beautiful pearl-like island was covered with a thick layer of gray, the red-roofed palace was estimated to have lost its former luster, and the king and his subjects might now be huddled together to pray for the apparition of the heavens, praying that the flames of anger would subside as soon as possible.

For generations, the subjects of Tonga revered nature, were simple and simple, and although they did not have much, they were willing to share. In tiny villages, the echo of women pounding the bark of hibiscus trees is heard from time to time, and wooden huts are hidden in the red and sweet trees, and the stove outside the huts emits cooking smoke early in the morning. There are no factories, no machines, three weekly prayers, and foreign tourists are not allowed to type even if they come here on Sundays, because the noise breaks the silence of the idyllic city. Even at night, the street lights cannot be seen, and people are accustomed to working at sunrise and resting at sunset, and everything follows the laws of nature. Nature gave the Tongans everything they needed, eating potatoes, cassava, bananas, coconuts, taro, livestock, fish from the sea, umbrellas made of palm leaves, baskets, roofs, and coconut-extracted oil and soap, even if the palace was relatively luxurious, it was only a three-story villa.

2,000 kilometres south of New Zealand and 3,000 kilometres west of Australia, The Tongans do not envy the bustling industrial civilization of the metropolis. This sacred land has been a state since around 950 AD, and the current king is said to be a descendant of the firstborn son of Tonga's ancestor, and the people here are all descendants of this ancestor. Blood relations made the Tongans regard the king as a father and brother, and whenever the king went out with the guards, the people would stop and stand on the side of the road, humbly watching, and the children playing in the sea would also drill out of the water and cast a respectful look at the king. The Tongans knew that their king was not supernatural, and that he would be helpless in the face of disasters, and that he would flee in the wilderness, but they loved this lovely and lovely mortal man with all their hearts.

The beautiful and simple Kingdom of Tonga, which has no quarrel with the world, is content and happy, and cannot help but remind people of Tao Yuanming's Tao Yuanming's Taohuayuan, where the Wuling people live in the world, and the governance model of the small country and the widow is surprising to the outside world. This string of pearls floating in the South Pacific has historically had the privilege of escaping the colonization of the imperialist powers, but now, its pastoral, its peaceful and contented work, is facing the infestation and threat of natural disasters. Volcanic ash poured in, the sea broke through the door, the eruption of 1,000 atomic bombs was so fierce, the lava flow of 700 West Lakes was so tragic, the Tongans had no choice but to flee, in addition to prayer, in addition to reverence for nature, I am afraid that only the end was left to clean up the mess.

Tonga, Tonga! The first aerial photographs after the disaster recorded the gray of the eyes, the country's small population, the economic strength is also weak, and the post-disaster repair work is bound to be extremely arduous. Fortunately, however, it is not Pompeii, built under a volcano, and it will not be completely submerged. Pearls will one day shine, as long as the volcano releases all the uneasy energy and returns to calm. Nature has never been the only one that is good at wind and rain, nor has it ever been a gift that only brings gifts to human beings. At least 14 million people around the world are left home each year by natural disasters, which cost the world an economy of $520 billion a year. The earth's environment is an organic whole, the state of constant movement and change will sometimes be presented in the face of disasters, today here is shaking, tomorrow is there to transform into extreme weather, human beings can only through scientific observation, information sharing, do a good job of early warning, through material and medical assistance, technical cooperation, hand in hand to deal with.

Tonga, Tonga! The first place in the world to see the sunrise. The new year has just begun, but nature has revealed its hideous face. "Volcanic winter", "summerless year", all kinds of dusty memories and ominous speculations come to people's minds, will the volcanic eruption of the "Sunrise Country" play the prelude to more disasters around the world? The sea level of the Maldives is worried about rising, the lava of Mt. Fuji is worried, and in the winter when the new crown epidemic has not yet left, no one wants to see the disaster worse in the societies of all countries, let alone see the former Taoyuan lost in the disaster. In the face of the unpredictable nature, human beings are so small, and how precious the civilization created by human beings is! May the sun shine on the heart, and may the disaster be only a temporary vent, and human beings will be more united because of this!

Source: Thoughtful Shanghai