Who is Daniel Kalahiki? Food truck owner blasts Jason Momoa for asking tourists not to visit Maui amid wildfires
MAUI, HAWAII: Hawaii resident Daniel Kalahiki is not happy with Hollywood star and native Hawaiian Jason Momoa for urging tourists to stay away from the island.
In the wake of the devastating wildfire in West Maui, which decimated the historical town of Lahaina, many tourists have been encouraged to abort their plans to visit the island of Maui.
Kalahiki, however, opined that a restricted influx of tourists can actually cause harm rather than good, as per Business Insider.
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Who is Daniel Kalahiki?
Daniel Kalahiki - the owner of a food truck ‘Like Poke’ doing business in Wailuku - recently posted a series of Instagram videos saying the celebrities' plea to not visit the island might be misguided.
While Lahaina was mostly devastated and the nearby Kula was impacted too, Wailuku was not affected much. Kalahiki said that while entry to Lahaina should be restricted to only the residents and the builders, the rest of the island should be open to all in order to carry on with their livelihood.
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Kalahiki said, "Lahaina's closed. We grieve for them, we cry for them, we do everything we can for them, and it will never, ever be okay or be the same.”
However, he added simultaneously, "But we still need the rest of the island to be open so we can continue to live." He opined that the rest of the Maui needs tourists for the residents to carry on with their lives.
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He added, "Kihei, Wailea, open. Wailuku, Kahalui, open. Paia, Haiku, open. Hana, open. All of those places are still open.”
Kalahiki continued, "All of those local businesses — hundreds of local businesses that depend on at least a little bit of tourism, as do I. Although my business is based on locals, I still need that little bit of tourism."
In another video too, Kalahiki became vocal about the subject saying that many people of Maui are losing their jobs and are getting financially impacted due to the low influx of tourists. Adding to that, several influential celebrities are also asking people not to visit Maui now.
Specifically pointing out the ‘Aquaman’ star, Kalahiki said, "Jason Momoa, have fun on your late-night shows throwing spears with your buddies, but what're you guys going to do for us now?"
Kalahiki encouraged tourists to visit the island on its east side and the areas which are not affected by the fires. He also urged visitors to support local businesses citing, they “still need to survive.”
He was found saying, "We all still need to pay our bills so that we can contribute to helping the people in Lahaina and Kula that have lost everything. We still need to survive.”
He added, "It will be the worst day of my life, if I lose my house to the bank because of Maui being 'closed.'"
What did Jason Momoa say?
Just after a few days after the devastating fire, some tourists were seen surfing and snorkeling in the water. Jason Momoa, a native Hawaiian, took to his Instagram to let his displeasure known.
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He wrote on his Instagram, "Maui is not the place to have your vacation right now,” before adding, "Do not travel,” according to BBC.
He added, "Do not convince yourself that your presence is needed on an island that is suffering this deeply."
The 44-year-old star shared a video and said that the Hawaiian community "needs time to heal, grieve and restore".
"That means the less visitors on the island taking up critical resources that have become extremely limited the better," added the ‘Game of Thrones’ star.