A group focusing on Filipinos in Lahaina recently released a report on the community’s experiences and needs following the Aug. 8, 2023, Maui wildfires. The report was released last Sunday at an event at the Lahaina Civic Center.
It featured 16 months of research on recovery, including one survey with nearly 800 responses from Filipino community members in the weeks following the fires.
Nadine Ortega is the executive director of Tagnawa, the organization behind the report. After the fires, she found out she had Filipino relatives living in Lahaina. She connected with them, and their conversations inspired her to found the organization.
The survey showed that Filipinos faced challenges in obtaining recovery access — as many didn't know where to look for resources.
"We are essentially seen and treated as a labor source, and we are in the bottom of the social hierarchy in Hawaiʻi — there's also research about health disparities. So the condition of Filipinos is not the best — and you throw in a disaster on top of that. So that disaster exacerbates the conditions of Filipinos," Ortega said.
She said a large portion of the Filipino community on Maui have children or are elderly. Ortega believes there was a lack of attention to how children were affected following the fires.
"I think when we think about disaster recovery, we really need to pay attention to different needs, or else it's going to be inequitable, and there's going to be people that fall through the cracks. I think there are things we can do now, moving forward, knowing these things from the findings —possible ways that we can address that," she said.
She hoped that the report sheds more light on the Filipino community in Lahaina.
"We invite people to think of more — dream about a Lahaina that will allow Filipinos, Native Hawaiians, immigrants and undocumented folks to thrive in Lahaina because the Lahaina that was there before didn't work for so many of our communities," Ortega said.
To view the report, click here.
This interview aired on The Conversation on Dec. 23, 2024. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m. on HPR-1.
