U.S.A.
Everyone Else
Health
Science
Business
Technology
Sports
Video Games
Entertainment
Future
Humour
NEWS > EVERYONE ELSE > FIJI ADJUSTING TO A NEW LIFE WITHOUT WATER
FIJI ADJUSTING TO A NEW LIFE WITHOUT WATER
December 21 2010
Suva, Fiji – When most people hear the word Fiji, thoughts of white sand beaches, bikini-clad women, and crystal clear water immediately comes to their minds. Fiji is one of those rare places in the world where the reality more than lives up to the fantasy. 
The island is home to all of things and more, a true paradise in a world that is often long on promises and short on delivery. For vacationers, Fiji is the dream, but for inhabitants life isn’t always so dreamy.
Like many tourist economies, Fiji has seasonal success for the most part. Though the country does boast some domestic production and natural resources, its relative isolation from major markets limit the profitability of those industries. Combined, those factors contribute to a struggling economy and a struggling populace that not only causes issues day-to-day, but also brings about social and political instability, best displayed by the 2006 coup which has helped isolate the nation from much of the rest of the world. Despite these challenges however, the people of the country soldier on, a spirit that will likely aid them in the coming months and years as they deal with an ongoing water shortage, a shortage that has now reached epic proportions and will result in the ironic island having virtually no moisture at all.
“We consider the government’s current action as a taking of our business, and one that sends a clear and unmistakable message to businesses operating in Fiji or looking to invest there: The country is increasingly unstable, and is becoming a very risky place in which to invest,” said John Cochran, President of Fiji Waters which has recently shut down production on the island due to massive tax hikes. “Tax hikes are reasonable and expected, but a 45 times increase is something no company can bear. This action shows that the Fijian government has little regard for the people of the country and thus we have reluctantly been forced to close our facilities and take all our water with us.”
The closure of the plant also puts 400 people out of work, a small number when compared with the number of deaths expected in the coming days.
“Death by dehydration is likely as painful a death as is possible. Symptoms of 
dehydration can occur in only hours. It begins with headaches, muscle cramps, dizziness, and decreased blood pressure. This occurs when only 2 percent of normal water volume is absent, which happens with relatively ease in warm environments,” said Scrape TV Medical analyst Dr. Phillip Waites. “From that point on symptoms become more dire and start to affect things like respiration and heart rates. From that point on, medical treatment is usually necessary and if it is not gotten, then death is assured. By the time the body loses only 15 percent of water volume, a person will likely succumb. Particularly in the young, it is a very painful way to die.”
Fiji has a population of a little under 850,000 people, most of whom will likely die.
“In a case like this with so little precipitation it’s likely we will start to see widespread rioting and many people will die in that way before the thirst gets to them. Many will also likely try drinking sea water which of course will result in even more painful deaths,” continued Waites. “This is really bad news for all the people on the island, though with the coup and other instabilities on the island it is perhaps the best thing in the long run. Clearing out the population will allow a new regime to take charge and once again make the island the paradise it once was.”
The Fijian government, a military dictatorship, has reportedly been stockpiling the remaining supplies of water across the island.
Emil Uliya, International Correspondent
NEWS > EVERYONE ELSE > FIJI ADJUSTING TO A NEW LIFE WITHOUT WATER
LINK IT! http://scrapetv.com/News/News%20Pages/Everyone%20Else/pages-8/Fiji-adjusting-to-a-new-life-without-water-Scrape-TV-The-World-on-your-side.html |
TWEET IT! http://bit.ly/hArfmG |
BOOKMARK IT!  
|
|---|
Scrape Store
