President Lionel Aingimea laid a wreath at the foot of the cross at the Chuuk Memorial in Aiwo in a memorial service on Monday as Nauru commemorated the 88th Angam Day.
“Today is a day we remember and celebrate life,” President Aingimea said as he acknowledged the survivors of exile and those that remained on Nauru and endured the harsh conditions of war.
A report in the Nauru Bulletin said the story of Angam is about Nauruan people’s struggle, resilience and triumph over hardships of hunger, illness, greed, the cruelties of war and the threat of extinction-twice.
Angam Day is commemorated on 26 October.
Jubilation, triumph, celebration and homecoming are words that describe Angam.
The year 2020 is also the 75th anniversary of the return of Nauruans that were exiled to Chuuk during the Second World War by Japanese forces.
The two events are intertwined.
Angam came about following the 1920’s Spanish flu which prompted a nation-wide population recovery effort.
Several survivors of the war who are affectionately called Young at Hearts attended the Angam memorial on Monday.
President Aingimea said both the events that led to Angam devastated the population of Nauru.
“Both events call into question whether we as a people will survive.”
“By God’s grace,we’ve survived,” he said.
President Aingimea described the global COVID-19 pandemic as having the ‘same destructive force’ as the Spanish flu and WW2.
‘But in that and through this, we still remain strong.”
President Aingimea acknowledged the hardships faced by WW2 survivors and wished them a life without harm and the protection and guidance of God.
The survivors were also gifted with food hampers.
Photo file source SPTO