April 18-24, 2011
Church Ministry News
Another forgotten group of typhoon victims and Aborigine tribe plead for aid and justice
Reported by Chiou Kuo-rong
Written by Lydia Ma
“We Hagay Aborigines are the forgotten Aborigine tribe who still live in prefab housing!” claimed Atayal Aborigines from Hagay community. They assembled in front of the Executive Yuan on April 14, 2011, to remind the government that Morakot victims weren’t the only ones still waiting for fulfillment of promises about new homes.
When Typhoon Aere made landfall in Taiwan in August 2004, flash floods and landslides triggered by heavy rain flooded and swept away Hagay community, leaving everyone homeless in its aftermath. The typhoon claimed some lives and would’ve been more devastating if those living in Hagay hadn’t been evacuated beforehand.
Though the government at the time provided temporary shelters and prefab housing for evacuees so that Aborigines would have a place to live for the time being, not a word has been heard since then about rebuilding permanent housing and a new community for these people.
Hagay community representative Tai Li-chuan explained that many years ago, Water Resources Agency had built Baling Dam for the purpose of prolonging the life span of Shihmen Reservoir and controlling sediment. As result of this project, the riverbed and landscape in the area changed dramatically and what used to be a safe haven to live turned into a dangerous place whenever there was a typhoon. Eventually, both Hagay community and Baling Dam were washed away by a typhoon.
The Hagay community presented a letter of appeal to the Executive Yuan on that day. They called on the central government to provide them with permanent housing and to assume responsibility for the damages to their land and the ecology of the river caused by the construction of the Baling Dam.
“We feel like a forgotten tribe,” said Tai, adding that her people live in prefab housing that originally was supposed to accommodate them for 3 years at the most according to initial plans.
Though Church of the Nazarene is the only existing church in Hagay community, PCT Atayal Presbytery’s Church and Society Committee is determined to help Hagay Aborigines claim government compensation. They visited this community and gave them advice on becoming better prepared when claiming compensation.
