Most Tuvaluans and I-Kiribati on Nauru should be repatriated by end of July
Several hundred I-Kiribati and Tuvaluans and their families should be repatriated from Nauru by the end of this month.
The former Nauru phosphate company workers and their families had been stranded on the island for years waiting for
outstanding wages to be paid.
That bill, around three and a half million US dollars, has been met by Taiwan, while another million dollars from
Australia, New Zealand, Kiribati, Tuvalu, Nauru and the European Union has paid the costs of shipping the families and
their belongings home.
The Pacific Islands Forum is assisting with the disbursement of the funds and Secretary General, Greg Urwin, has thanked
countries for their help.
A group of Tuvaluans left Nauru last week, the first of seven groups heads to Kiribati this week, with the remainder
expected off the island by the end of July.