More pain from the rain

 By DOROTHY MARK

VILLAGES along the Sepik River in Marrienburge LLG of Angoram district, East Sepik, have been severely affected by floods caused by heavy rain in past three months.

Singrin, Mapuk and Bin villagers have been forced to continue selling and buying and doing other daily survival activities in water on canoes.

Singrin community leader Alfred Mira said his people had to adjust themselves to the situation for the sake of survival.

“Water had covered the river banks and there’s no land for us to walk on so we cut trees to use as bridges to walk from one house to the other,” Mira said.

Villagers feared that dead bodies buried could float as the cemeteries were all covered under water.

Leaders from Pangin, Arango, Akayan, Umbos, Binam and Jetta villages in Porapora area of Black Wara said gardens have been flooded and in some areas, people eat only sago without other garden foods. 

“Our animals like dogs and pigs are swimming to survive,” said Kennedy Asuak, a youth from Pangin village.”

He said the Porapora people could not excess Angoram station to buy rice or seek other services as there was political difference between them and others after the death of Angoram MP Ludwig Schulze.

Community leaders said with flooding affecting them, they found it difficult to go to Angoram to get  assistance from East Sepik government.

Many of them are now paddling through Keram in Middle Ramu to Ramu base camp in Bogia and onto Madang to buy goods.