Ex-pat Survivor loses all in Samoan Tsunami

Travel websites described Daniela Brussani's resort as:

“...just 45 minutes from Apia township, Iliili Beach Resort offers comfortable and stylish accommodation at great rates. Located on the edge of the National Park at Togitogiga village, overlooking the uninhabited Nu’usafe’e Island, Iliili Resort is equipped with an open restaurant/bar featuring authentic Italian cuisine and unobstructed ocean views. It is a great base from which to discover the South Coast and the wider Upolu Island.

Owner Daniela, from Roma, Italia, brings a touch of Italian taste to the property. Attractions such as waterfalls, diving, snorkelling and trekking opportunities can be found a short drive away from the Resort.”

Daniela says, "I moved to Samoa because this is Paradise. I found an authentic lifestyle, great culture and good warm weather. The local people are very hospitable. All the people that come to Iliili Resort and Campo de' Fiori Restaurant, can taste and enjoy delicious Italian food...”

On September 29^th 2009, the biggest earthquake and tsunami in the history of Samoa struck the sleepy islands and killed 150 people. Three people died from Daniela’s host village of Saleilua and dozens more were swept away from her neighbouring village of Poutasi.

Miraculously, Daniela was amongst the fortunate survivors in the worst hit villages of southern Upolu.

She relates the horror she experienced that morning, when she only survived by jumping into her car and fleeing her beach cottage while a 7 metre wave chased her car more than 3 km inland and onto the main road.

“When the earthquake hit us, I was still in bed. I couldn’t stand and the shaking felt like a long-time. My partner and I ran outside after the shaking. From my veranda I saw the water go back... gone from the reef and exposed all the coral. I never saw anything like this before and my partner said it wasn’t good. The church bells were ringing and we quickly realised that it was a tsunami coming.

Still in my pyjamas, I grabbed the first “lavalava” I found and my bag. We jumped in the car to escape but the resort gate was 200 metres from my cottage. When we arrived at the gate I turned around and saw a massive wave of brown water following my car. Shaking, we tried to speed-up on the gravel road, the water had almost reached us but my partner went faster. The main road was about 3 kilometres from the resort. I still can’t believe I’m alive!”

After 20 minutes of watching panic-stricken people scrambling to find their missing loved ones, Daniela went back to the resort with her partner to inspect the damage. What she saw was her nightmare unfolding...

“Everything was gone, destroyed and covered in boulders and rocks. Half of the resort was still 2-3 metres under-water. I just cried and tried to look for my things.”

Daniela said she had hoped the villagers would help find her belongings but sadly they were too busy looting the remains of her treasures.

“I couldn’t believe these people who know me and how hard I worked to help their village; they were stealing my things. I screamed but no one helped me. That was the moment my heart broke. I realised that I had nothing left, no insurance on my investment and I felt alone.”

Daniela’s heartache may seem trivial compared to many others who lost their lives, families, homes and livelihoods that day, but to fully appreciate the extent of her loss, one must understand the complicated love-affair Daniela had with Samoa.

“The first time I visited Samoa was 6 years ago when my husband and I spent a beautiful holiday in Savaii. I fell in-love with both islands instantly and wanted to open a small resort on the beach. The people in Samoa were so friendly, their beaches flawless, police with no guns, no army; this peaceful occidental culture was everything I’d ever wanted.”

After these romantic visions of Samoa, Daniela spent the next 6 years chasing her dream of creating “her own” paradise. In her search she faced many challenges as a single, “palagi” business woman wanting to build a slice of Rome, in patriarchal and third world Samoa. To add pressure to her cause, she struggled with the basics of English and Samoan languages but her perseverance and passion to succeed, over-powered her short-comings and fate.

“...when my resort opened in late 2007, I gave employment to 14 villagers. The staff turnover was very high at first due to lack of Hospitality experience of the locals. Most villagers had never been in the work force before but I gave them some training and mostly trust. Being a “palagi” business woman in the village, I gained very little respect from local men. I had to fight for everything... but little by little, I got things done.”

The earthquake and tsunami destroyed Daniela’s livelihood, her dreams and has perhaps ended her 6-year love-affair with the islands. For now, she is homeless, scared and penniless.

“I invested $200,000.00 Euros in Samoa and whenever I made a profit I reinvested into the business by improving facilities or employing more villagers. It was pure luck that when the tsunami hit I had no guests for 10 days because the “Survivor” company, had just left and I closed my resort to do major repairs and clean-up.”

Just days before the tsunami, “Survivor” booked-out Daniela’s resort for 4 months to shoot the popular American game show, “Survivor Samoa”. They chose Iliili beach because of its unique lava-dominated terrain, wild bush land and isolation from the nearest villages. Daniela was very grateful that there were no casualties involving tourists on her resort and felt she could not have coped with that responsibility as well as losing everything.

Daniela had 3 guests booked to arrive at her resort on the Tuesday evening of the disaster. She quickly had to move them to another resort while she tried to come to grips with the loss of her business and home. In the meantime she has been staying with friends in Apia.

Since her ordeal, Daniela finds it difficult to sleep and when she does, she would wake up at 4/5am to the piercing sound of her own screams.

“When I wake up I ask myself; “what am I doing here?”. I hear the powerful noise the water made on that Tuesday morning and I wake up crying, always with the painful image of my life and home, swept away by the waves.

My reality is that I have lost everything. I have been waiting for the Samoan government to offer me some good news of assistance but none has arrived so far. Someone from the hotel association group said maybe they might offer us a loan without interest but this is not yet confirmed.”

Daniela contacted the Italian embassy in New Zealand and they offered her $180 Euros to stay in a hotel for 3 nights after the tsunami. However, no other assistance was offered and she has since spent the 3 nights in the hotel and now has nowhere to live. Her family in Italy are very worried about her but she can’t go back until she decides what’s going to happen with her business. Daniela does not wish to re-build at Iliili beach. Sadly that dream is over for her.

“I’m still very confused about my future in Samoa. What can I do without money? Someone else offered me accommodation for 1 week but where do I go after that?”

Daniela’s mother in Italy is almost 90 years old and she would like to visit her mother and all her fretting family, but has no funds left because of the repairs she did on the resort just 10 days before the tsunami.

Unfortunately, Daniela had not taken out insurance on her cottage, 4 bungalows, a restaurant and bar, a clothing boutique and the contents of her resort. She said she was still building up the business to a stage where she could afford the insurance because of her high overheads and other expenses. The distraught Italian was further distressed that:

“...my own government haven’t even offered to fly me back home as a victim of this disaster. I have never asked anyone for anything before but this time, I need to swallow my pride and ask for some assistance.”

Daniela feels the great loss of Samoa and Samoans everywhere. At the same time, her own pain is just as real; the knowledge that everything she had and built with passion, love and pain, is washed away forever.

(If you wish to assist Daniela in any way possible you can contact her directly on Daniela.brussani@gmail.com or info@iliiliresort.com or phone +685 7516492)