Nauruan President David Adeang has described the arduous journey that his Chinese ancestors undertook more than a century ago, leaving China for the remote Pacific island nation of Nauru, as an inspiring story for him and his family to learn from.
On July 6, Adeang began a four-day visit to Jiangmen City in south China's Guangdong Province, accompanied by his family, to trace their ancestral roots.
After verification by relevant authorities, it was confirmed that Adeang's great-grandfather's ancestral home is in the ancient Chikan town of Jiangmen. Over a century ago, Adeang's ancestors left China for Southeast Asia in search of better livelihoods, before eventually settling in Nauru.
"Understanding the journey that they (my ancestors) took out of the homeland here in China, making their way to the remote, our remote region, which is Oceania, to make a livelihood, contribute to those remote places, the journey could not have been easy. To somehow be able to understand that and reconnect with those who still cherish the homeland, it's a special moment. We, Nauruans, understand the connection that people have with their land, and I admire that very much," Adeang said in an interview with China Media Group (CMG) while in Jiangmen.
During his visit to Chikan, Adeang and his family participated in a traditional ancestral worship ceremony, honoring the customs of their ancestral home. He also planted a banyan tree, a symbol of family prosperity, and was presented with a handful of soil from his ancestral land.
"I really wanted to understand the circumstances in which my family came from, the circumstances in which they felt they needed to leave their homeland, take very difficult, very long journeys to countries that were really quite remote, and also, perhaps very difficult places to live. I wanted to understand the spirit and their motivation. And I think that's a wonderful story for me and my family to learn from," said the president.
Nauruan president says he hopes to draw inspiration from his Chinese ancestors' emigration journey
