Villagers paying up to $1,500 to heat homes for a month, $400 for groceries a week
Some families say they have run out of food, others eat only one meal a day
Resident: "We have remained quiet, cried and suffered in silence"
Early winter, devastating fishing season, high fuel prices crippling economy
Emmonak resident Nicholas Tucker wondered if others were feeling the impact, so he broadcast an inquiry via VHF radio, one of the common ways to communicate in the village.
Tucker said many residents sobbed as they radioed him back.
"His family has been out of food for quite some time now," Tucker wrote about one resident in a letter sent to legislators and the media. "Their 1-year-old child is out of milk, [he] can't get it and he has no idea when he will be able to get the next can."
"There are days without food in his house," Tucker wrote.
A single father with five children choked back tears as he told Tucker of his struggle to help his kids.
"Right now, we can't eat during the day, only at supper time," Tucker wrote of the man. "If there had been no school lunch our kids would be starving."
Many of the tribal leaders said they are begging the state and federal governments to do something to help.
George Lamont, tribal administrator in Tuluksak, Alaska, said because of the crisis and villagers' inability to pay their utility bills, he fears many may have their electricity shut off.
Some families say they have run out of food, others eat only one meal a day
Resident: "We have remained quiet, cried and suffered in silence"
Early winter, devastating fishing season, high fuel prices crippling economy
Emmonak resident Nicholas Tucker wondered if others were feeling the impact, so he broadcast an inquiry via VHF radio, one of the common ways to communicate in the village.
Tucker said many residents sobbed as they radioed him back.
"His family has been out of food for quite some time now," Tucker wrote about one resident in a letter sent to legislators and the media. "Their 1-year-old child is out of milk, [he] can't get it and he has no idea when he will be able to get the next can."
"There are days without food in his house," Tucker wrote.
A single father with five children choked back tears as he told Tucker of his struggle to help his kids.
"Right now, we can't eat during the day, only at supper time," Tucker wrote of the man. "If there had been no school lunch our kids would be starving."
Many of the tribal leaders said they are begging the state and federal governments to do something to help.
George Lamont, tribal administrator in Tuluksak, Alaska, said because of the crisis and villagers' inability to pay their utility bills, he fears many may have their electricity shut off.
No comments:
Post a Comment