Two months ago, the house of De Andre Takahashi, his pregnant wife and their one-year-old baby went up in smoke. A whirlwind, life changing ensued. And the dust still hasn’t settled. On this sunny Tuesday, the young man jumped on a plane to go to Honolulu, the Hawaiian capital, to request the postponement of the reopening of his region to tourists.
“We don’t hate tourists. We just don’t like how things have been going so far,” says Mr. Takahashi. The neighborhoods devastated by the Maui fire, the deadliest in modern US history (98 confirmed deaths), rub shoulders with luxury hotels which are taking up all the available water. These green ones were not prey to the flames.
Lahaina, a historic town of 13,000 inhabitants at the heart of the storm, still sees thousands of victims relying on hotels made available by the Red Cross for accommodation. Others live with friends and family. Suffice to say that the residential stock is completely saturated; and the price of housing, exorbitant. Hence the idea, carried by a few dozen demonstrators to the Hawaii State Capitol, to wait before welcoming visitors again.
“With the return of tourists, victims who live in hotels and condos will be evicted,” fears Blake Ramelb, one of the organizers of a petition asking to postpone the reopening of the western part of the island of Maui to tourists, scheduled for Sunday. As of Wednesday, more than 15,000 people had signed it.
With the return of tourists, victims who live in hotels and condos will be evicted
Let us note that the center of Lahaina, ashes and concrete, is not about to reopen. It is absolutely unlivable. Even residents of decimated neighborhoods cannot venture there freely. The reopening of October 8 rather concerns certain areas more than 10 kilometers north of the blaze, where we find in particular the Ritz-Carlton Kapalua. Enough to revive the dormant economy of Maui, the second largest island in the Hawaiian archipelago.
Mr. Takahashi and his family were lucky: they already found an apartment available for long-term rental in Kula (40 km east). In fact, it wasn’t entirely a stroke of luck: the water in this home, located near another burned area, was not drinkable when they moved in. “We didn’t know how long it would be contaminated, but we had no choice,” he says. For three and a half weeks, the family drank, cooked and washed with jugs of water.
Unlike the Takahashi family, most of the victims are unable to find rehousing at a suitable price, underlines Kekuulani, a smiling young woman who only gives her first name. To rent a studio in the town of Kapalua (15 km to the north), you must provide a deposit of $3,000, then pay rent of $3,200 per month, she gives as an example. “Most people can’t afford it. Some have to continue paying the mortgage on their destroyed house,” said this mother.
Following the filing of the petition on Tuesday, Hawaii Governor Josh Green said he was “extremely sensitive” to the suffering expressed. However, more than 8,000 people have lost their jobs since the fire, the Democratic politician said on Hawaiian television. “As governor, it’s my job to support them and look out for everyone and make sure Maui survives — otherwise people will go bankrupt and have to leave the island,” he said.
“I have no doubt that Maui will be able to get back up,” Noelle Bali said a little earlier at Duty, in front of the government headquarters. “We haven’t had the chance to catch our breath yet,” added this young woman who has put her advertising career on hold since the disaster. Last weekend, she attended the funeral of her uncle who, due to a disability, was unable to escape the fire. Why doesn’t the government provide additional income to victims, as it did during the pandemic lockdowns? asks M.me Bali.
Mr. Takahashi — a freelance videographer who until recently produced promotional footage for Maui businesses — lost 60 percent of his clients in the fire. The disaster, which spared golf courses and leafy hotels, forced him to reconsider the merits of his career. He let go of his last clients and now devotes himself, camera in hand, to documenting Lahaina’s efforts to rebuild itself differently.
“Rather than inviting tourists to get drunk on our beaches to participate in fake lūʻaus [fêtes traditionnelles], they could participate voluntarily in reforestation activities. People go to Thailand to brush elephants; people could come to Hawaii to help rebuild Lahaina. »