Rotuma Is Paradise: Tausia Tells Of Isolated Life

Lusiana Tausia of Matuku in Lau says Rotuma is a piece of paradise.

She has been living on the island for more than 15 years after she got married to a man from Oinafa Village.

Ms Tausia discovered that the island was rich in untapped re­sources the moment she set foot there in 2007.

She is 61 years old and her hus­band is 41 years old. Their house is built by the beach.

“I’m from Lau and we are well known for our fishing habits. I was shocked when I came to know about how easy life here is,” Ms Tausia said.

“Crops and vegetables grow eas­ily on the island and we don’t re­ally have to cultivate the land like we do in Fiji in order to safely grow crops.” She said Rotuma was better isolated.

She made the comment after a recent tension erupted between people on the island and Fiji in turning what she calls a piece of paradise into a tourism attraction site.

“Rotuma should be left the way it is now,” she said.

“We do not get much outside in­fluence here because we prefer our own way of living. What has changed is the increase in pro­cessed food in our stores.”

Paramount chief of Rotuma, Ga­gaj Maraf, echoed similar senti­ments and said it was important the cultures and way of life be kept the same.

“It should promote peace and se­curity,” he said.

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