Article December 15, 2003 Issue

Prayer for the Pacific islands

By Beverly Goldsmith

When I Visited The Islands Of The South Pacific as a singer on cruise ships, I expected to bring home memories of golden beaches, palm-fringed lagoons, scented frangipani flowers, and islanders without a care in the world.

Instead, the most vivid picture I gained is of how vast and daunting the Pacific Ocean is—and how tiny and vulnerable the islands are in comparison.

Recently the 7.30 Report program on Australia's ABC television reminded me of this when it featured comments by Reverend Tofiga Falani of the Tuvalu Congregational Christian Church. Visiting Australia to highlight the plight of the 12,000 citizens in the tiny Pacific nation of Tuvalu, Falani explained that islanders are concerned that their very survival is being threatened. Global warming, they believe, is causing a rise in the sea level.