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Iglulik suffers hunger crisis

Jeanne Gagnon
Northern News Services
Published Monday, July 18, 2011

IGLULIK - Some Iglulik residents ran out of food as the community freezer broke down and old- age security cheques were late due to the postal strike, and lockout said the community's social service worker.

Margaret Sweet said the cheques arrived late Friday July 8.

"The cheques were late, so that created a crisis. We kind of raised the alarm," she said. "People were getting pretty hungry. They hadn't received those cheques. That was because of the postal strike. Whatever held them up for two weeks, people were getting pretty hungry."

What aggravated the problem, said Sweet, is that the community freezer broke down earlier this month.

"The community freezer had broken and then they lost 20 caribou and more than 700 pounds of fish. And, also, people had personal stores there and that was lost as well," she said.

Most of the community was affected by the freezer breakdown, she said.

Trying to help the community, Sweet sent an e-mail July 8 to income support worker Leah Maliki in Iglulik, asking to access the emergency fund.

"The nurses are seeing people with emaciated faces and hungry children. We have many people asking for food for their children," wrote Sweet in an e-mail to Maliki. "Even people not normally on income support are finding themselves extremely short of food."

Maliki forwarded that e-mail to her boss, Harry Dialla, in Pangnirtung, adding "FYI."

Dialla, the territory's regional supervisor of income support, replied: "FYI, not our problem; people get emaciated after two weeks without food."

Celestino Uyarak, the hamlet's assistant senior administrative officer, confirmed many people were affected by the community freezer breakdown.

"Margaret Sweet simply asked local income support worker Leah Maliki to see if they can find ways or solutions to help others. She didn't reply to her," he said. "She just sent an FYI to her boss in (the) Pangnirtung office. That's the regional income support supervisor Harry. His reply to the e-mail was very unprofessional."

According to the string of emails sent to Nunavut News/North, Maliki then forwarded the response to Sweet, who replied to the mayor and others, asking for help.

"Children are starving. Prenatals are dropping weight. Elders are being harmed. Diabetics are dropping weight. People that cannot get out on the land are starving. The community freezer broke down and there is no food available," she wrote in the e-mail.

Nobody from the Department of Economic Development and Tourism, which is responsible for community freezers, or the Department of Education, which oversees the income support program, was available to speak to the issue.

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