ID :
203279
Wed, 08/24/2011 - 15:10
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/203279
The shortlink copeid
Three generations lost in Brisbane fire
SYDNEY (AAP) - They came to mourn in the traditional islander way, with songful prayer and a bounty of food.
The dulcet tones of 150 voices, raised to God, carried down the street to the ears of emergency crews braced for a harrowing task.
Inside the remains of the charred home at their backs, 11 bodies from two Pacific Islander families lay waiting to be recovered.
They were a matriarch, her two adult daughters, and eight of her grandchildren, the youngest a little girl, just three years old.
The inferno that took their lives has left three men, who managed to escape, suffering terrible grief.
Jeremiah Lale lost his wife, three sons, and two daughters, aged seven to 18.
He'd battled to save them, hurling mattresses from a second-storey window and leaping out.
But when he stood and opened his arms to catch his children and wife they didn't come.
Misi Matauaina had also leapt from the blazing home, believing his partner and their two daughters, aged three and six, had fled before him.
But when he reached the ground, he realised they were still inside and there was nothing he could do to save them.
An eighth grandchild, a 16-year-old girl, also died.
The family patriarch, who is a religious minister, also escaped but without his beloved wife, 47, who perished alongside so many members of the family they'd raised together.
The members of the Samoan and Tongan communities who gathered near the Slacks Creek home, south of Brisbane, had little to offer but prayer.
Tongan Uniting Church Reverend Sione Afu, a cousin of the matriarch, said a prayer on behalf of the community, before singing a traditional song of love and farewell.
Prayers were also conducted in Samoan by another minister.
As more mourners joined the gathering, plates of food were passed around and arms offered in comfort.
Rev Afu's wife, Onaita, who is also related to the family, said she would keep a vigil at what was once a happy home.
"We will stay here until the last body is taken away," she said.
Among those keeping the vigil was Elma Hiddleston, an aunty and cousin to the dead, who said she could not yet comprehend the loss.
"I watched them grow up," she sobbed.
"Eleven people, it is just too much for me."
The dulcet tones of 150 voices, raised to God, carried down the street to the ears of emergency crews braced for a harrowing task.
Inside the remains of the charred home at their backs, 11 bodies from two Pacific Islander families lay waiting to be recovered.
They were a matriarch, her two adult daughters, and eight of her grandchildren, the youngest a little girl, just three years old.
The inferno that took their lives has left three men, who managed to escape, suffering terrible grief.
Jeremiah Lale lost his wife, three sons, and two daughters, aged seven to 18.
He'd battled to save them, hurling mattresses from a second-storey window and leaping out.
But when he stood and opened his arms to catch his children and wife they didn't come.
Misi Matauaina had also leapt from the blazing home, believing his partner and their two daughters, aged three and six, had fled before him.
But when he reached the ground, he realised they were still inside and there was nothing he could do to save them.
An eighth grandchild, a 16-year-old girl, also died.
The family patriarch, who is a religious minister, also escaped but without his beloved wife, 47, who perished alongside so many members of the family they'd raised together.
The members of the Samoan and Tongan communities who gathered near the Slacks Creek home, south of Brisbane, had little to offer but prayer.
Tongan Uniting Church Reverend Sione Afu, a cousin of the matriarch, said a prayer on behalf of the community, before singing a traditional song of love and farewell.
Prayers were also conducted in Samoan by another minister.
As more mourners joined the gathering, plates of food were passed around and arms offered in comfort.
Rev Afu's wife, Onaita, who is also related to the family, said she would keep a vigil at what was once a happy home.
"We will stay here until the last body is taken away," she said.
Among those keeping the vigil was Elma Hiddleston, an aunty and cousin to the dead, who said she could not yet comprehend the loss.
"I watched them grow up," she sobbed.
"Eleven people, it is just too much for me."
