Life in rural Alaska always has been treacherous. But last year's dramatic escalation in fuel prices, combined with a disastrous fishing season, plunged the ramshackle villages of America's frontier into one of the worst crises in decades, prompting calls for humanitarian aid and demands for pricing reform.
"Holy Jiminy Christmas, what we're going through," said Dora Napoka, 49, the librarian at the village school. "It's like we have to choose between six gallons of stove oil or six gallons of gas to go out and get the firewood -- or does my baby need infant milk? Which one is more important?"
The public alarm first sounded from Emmonak, a town of about 800 people near the mouth of the Yukon River, when Nicholas Tucker polled fellow villagers and found many in a state of desperation: They were running out of food after paying up to $200 a week for fuel oil to heat their homes.
"Help is needed and cannot be delayed," Tucker wrote in an open letter to state authorities that was published in several rural newspapers this month, requesting a "massive airlift" of food.
"What is mind-boggling about the whole situation is that they have remained silent, anonymous, suffered, and cried," he said.
As word of Emmonak's troubles spread, donations from across the country poured in. On Wednesday, a shipment of 5,300 pounds of food and other basic supplies was delivered by plane.
A typical home here is a small, primitive cabin without running water that may shelter more than a dozen people. Even a family with a modern, efficient stove will spend $185 a week for heating.
"The oil is drilled right here in Alaska, and yet we're paying $8 a gallon? Something is amiss here. The oil companies are making billions of dollars, and people here can't afford to eat," said Pat Samson, social services director for the Assn. of Village Council Presidents in Bethel, about 35 miles southwest of Tuluksak.
The price for heating fuel and gas is only the beginning of the story. Groceries must be flown in at ever-higher freight prices. A pound of hot dogs in the village store costs $7.39, and a two-pound loaf of domestic cheese runs $17.49. A loaf of Wonder Bread is $5.85.
(Please click the title to read the whole amazing article by the Kim Murphy of the LA Times. They did a good job with their research and they really seem to get how bad this situation is for the native villagers.)
Wow! The LA Times! This is great news for these people and for the future of rural Alaska. The more people outside of Alaska that know about this situation, the louder the chorus will be for our Governor to do something substantial about it!
We know she will not listen to us, however she does seem much more attuned to the opinions of those in the lower 48.
It's about time one of the outside news media picked it up. Geeze.. there has been enough written about it...lol
ReplyDeleteI keep hoping Keith and/or Rachael
ReplyDeletewill bring it up - fingers crossed.
I live in Los Angeles - it was great to see it in The Times!