This article is
placed in Jon's family beach Lalomanu.
Jon's wife's family is the Taufua clan and they have
been hardest hit with 14 dead
Lalomanu was written about in
most beautiful beaches. Terence and I surfed there but the surf was
pretty sketchy
just reef pound. We almost could
not make it back in
Some pictures of the
surf nearby Lalomanu Jon and his daughters.
The surf pictures are of secret spots that only Jon surfed with close
friends.
I have a feeling they will remain uncharted for
many years to come
I just don't want
this to become forgotten........so f'ing sad.
Stan
From: Stanley Chew
To: ralph@adlantic.com , kirby
terence
Sent: Friday=2C
October 02=2C 2009 10:15 AM
Subject: FW:
My Nephew Jon lost
his daughter in the tsunami in
email below......you can feel the density of this event.
While this is a
crushing blow to his family (and the entire Chew family)
it is just one more degree of how we are all
related on earth.
Terence and I spent
time there and the camp at Salani which is now wiped
off
the face of the earth. The camp management sounded the alarm and
virtually
saved the entire village along with the surfers
at the camp. My memories
beyond the surf were of a culture still grounded in tradition, kids singing in
dug
out canoes Samoan songs, everybody living in open Fale
houses with gardens
around them, people that loved the Samoan way of life.
Just a beautiful
place that is now so sad.
Fa'a
Stan
Date: Fri 2 Oct 2009
11:36:01 +0000
From:
chew46@comcast.net
To:
stanchew@hotmail.com
Subject: Fwd:
From: Dorrance Subject: Samoa Events
Talofa to Everyone
I thank everyone for
their prayers and thoughts during this surreal
time. To update everyone-
Moanalei my 9 yr old daughter was trapped in a
truck while trying to
escape the tsunami
with her mother)Mepa) and
sister Galo 5 yrs. Mepa
and Galo were
outside the truck when it hit them and were seperated.
Galo wash up amongst a number of bodies the
only one alive walked up
and found her mother. Mepa
found a kayak and held on to it until a boy
grabbed her from the top of a coconut tree and
pulled her out of the
water. Moanalei in the
truck was dragged 300 meters underwater and
into the mountain and then back down into a
whirlpool with the truck
being upside down underwater. I retrieved her
body fromt he truck when
I arrived from
out. We also lost 14 members of the family in Lalomanu with 2 still
missing. 7 children- most under
5 yrs old and 7 adults. The entire
Moanalei's service is today at 5pm our time and she
will be buried
Friday am next to her
grandmother in The Green House where she always
wanted to go back to.
Galo has cuts and abrasions and a concusion but is fine today. Mepa
has cuts and bruising on her legs but is ok.
Tai and Sili are badly
cut and bruised Tai had surgery yesterday but
still requires more
along with one surviving sister.
Some
things to mention to ease transition.
Numerology- 9/29/09 9 years old and
the 99 victim in
powerful number in
always been and is now helping even more people
Galo accounted her time underwater as feeling a
hand grap her after
being in a " not breathing dream" she
opened one eye and saw Moanalei
smile and say she is OK and pushed her to the
surface. This before she
knew Moanalei was
gone. Weds morning she woke up and the first thing
out of her mouth was Moanalei
is OK.
Mepa in the morgue was consulting another man
whom had lost 2 kids and
she was lost in emotion with him she looked at
the phone in her hand
and a draft text was ready to be sent sayin "I arrived safely!". This
one helps me to transfer to this new time in
my life.
Please pray for
everyone for safe transitions.
Love for you all!
Jon Long, Moanalei
Long, Galo
Long, and Mana
Long
Please pass this on
to others I have missed. Thank you!
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33136749/ns/world_news-asiapacific