‘Our people’s suffering is unbearable’: Ditoka

Pacific communities are already paying the price of an increasingly harsh climate reality, with crops failing, water shortages disrupting daily life and children being forced out of school, Minister for Foreign Affairs Sakeasi Ditoka says.

Speaking at the Pre-COP31 side event on the Pacific Resilience Facility (PRF) at the Sofitel Fiji Resort and Spa on Denarau yesterday, Mr Ditoka warned that an El Niño of extraordinary scale was ravaging the region.

“Crops are failing, and food security is under threat. Severe water shortages beyond living memory are affecting islands and highlands alike, forcing schools to close early,” he said.

Mr Ditoka warned that the current crisis could only be the beginning of El Niño events intensified by global warming.

“Our children are suffering, our communities are being forced to endure an exceptionally harsh reality. Overshooting the 1.5 degree Celsius guardrail threatens the very existence of many of our communities. And this is not a message for political gain, and it is not a soundbite.”

He said those bearing the consequences of the crisis were often absent from international climate discussions.

“Infants sickened by contaminated water have no voice in this room. Children missing school because of water shortages have no voice in this room. You do. I do. We speak because our people’s suffering is unbearable.”