It is now going on 4 months since fire tore through our beautiful Lahaina town. The devastation is beyond comprehension. The death toll is 100, but even that enormous tragedy is only a part of the story. Most of Lahaina was reduced to ash, and as I write this today there are significant parts of the town where residents and business owners are still waiting to be allowed to re-enter.
Words fail.
Lahaina had a way of leaving its mark in the heart of everyone who had the good fortune to visit too. Even a casual scrolling through social media posts shows the love visitors had for the town and its people as well. Even if you have never actually lived there, but only visited, losing the town feels like losing a good friend.
The resort areas themselves that are north of Lahaina, including Papakea, were thankfully untouched. But housing has always been a tough proposition on Maui – it is an incredibly tight housing market, and now another 2000 homes have been lost. Where are those left homeless by the fire going to live? A number of initiatives have been started – Hope Village over in Central Maui, a stipend program offering financial support for those with extra housing space to help house displaced residents, a database to try to connect property owners with those looking for housing. There’s been talk of the government buying one or more properties to house Lahaina residents. But the numbers fall short of meeting the need. A number of hotels and resorts initially signed contracts with the Red Cross to provide interim housing, but some of these are now serving notice that they will not renew their contracts with the Red Cross, and there are many stories of Maui residents leaving the island.
Maui’s legendary aloha is still here, but underneath there is pain, and uncertainty, and frustration, and fear. Overcoming that is not going to be easy. The people of Lahaina are incredibly resilient, and care deeply for one another, but there is a long road ahead.
Why do I tell you this? I am not kanaka – not even a local resident – and so I thought long and hard about whether to write this at all. I’ll be honest – it feels pretty presumptuous. I’m afraid I’m going to get it wrong. But I can’t be silent and act as though this didn’t happen either. So I’ll blunder my way here and hope that it gives anyone coming to Maui a little more to think about.
Let’s be clear – we’re not doing Maui and its people a favor by visiting. Being able to visit is a gift we are lucky to receive, and it costs the people of West Maui a lot to give us that gift. Let’s be grateful, humble recipients. I hope that when you come to visit Maui, you will bring extra aloha along with your shorts and swim gear. Consider volunteering during your stay. Do NOT ask people to share their stories – but be open to quietly listening and offering your compassionate empathy if they do. Spend freely, tip generously, but please do not assume that just spending tourist dollars makes things ok. It doesn’t. It can’t. Ok is going to take a really long time.