A Moment of Silence for Maui
Floor Speech
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Ms. TOKUDA. Mr. Speaker, at this time I invite all of my colleagues who have ties to Maui, who have been to Maui, or who stand by our community to join me here in the well of the Chamber.
Louise Abigail was 97 and an active grandmother that lived in the Hale Mahaolu Eono independent living complex. Tony Takafua was just 7 years old and was with his mother and grandparents.
They are the youngest and the oldest victims of the wildfires; the difference in their ages spanning almost a century, yet connected by one cruel fate.
On August 8, Maui and Hawaii Island were ablaze with 11 separate fires. Spurred by 80-mile-per-hour winds, fire ripped through our town of Lahaina in just 17 minutes, tragically taking the lives of 115 people with dozens more still unaccounted for and thousands displaced and grieving.
It would be easy enough to speak of our pain and our grief; the hands I have held, the stories I have heard. I have come to know all too well what death and destruction smells and feels like and how the sadness continues to cling with you long after.
Instead, I will focus on something just as important: Hope.
When I first went back to Lahaina, the absence of color, of structure, of anything familiar is what hit me. As I returned there, including with the Speaker and other Members of the House, whom I want to thank for the support made clear by their presence, I noticed something amidst the rubble: Life.
Sprinkled throughout the burn zone, I saw one plant in particular that has survived: banana trees. They are one of the original canoe plants brought to Hawaii from Polynesia because of their ability to feed and to heal people. How fitting to see these trees come to life as we prepare for the most arduous journey ahead of us.
Our people are strong and resilient. They have a gracious grit that has both inspired me and moved me to tears in the face of this unthinkable tragedy.
They also feel justifiable anger and frustration that they are even in this situation, and we feel an overwhelming sense of urgency to provide the help, the support, and yes, the answers that they so desperately need.
This is a national disaster that will require a national whole-of- government response. Our strong support of our Maui ohana will send a clear message to every American: No matter where you live in this great country, you will not be left behind.
Mr. Speaker, we will need all of our colleagues as we set sail for what must be a better future for our people, determined by our people.
The asks we will make will not be insignificant, and the support we need will span generations, but today, I simply ask for your humanity.
Hawaii has so often shared its aloha, its people, whatever we can give, with the world. Now our people need your kokua, your help.
We have been tested, but we are not broken. We will rise again, and we will be stronger than before. I have said this once, and I will say this again: If there is anything you can always count on, it is that aloha always wins.
Mr. Speaker, on behalf of Congressman Case and myself, I humbly ask for a moment of silence so that we may lift up in honor our Maui ohana as they grieve, as they recover, and as they rebuild.
Mahalo.
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