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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
World
Prianka Srinivasan

As climate crisis threatened her home, Alolita was offered a chance at a new life in Australia

The Teikale family have moved to Melbourne under the new agreement signed between Australia and Tuvalu to accept 280 refugees annually. Clockwise from back: Aloita Tekapu, one-month-old Philip, Alesana Teikale, Lomelisi, 6, Tekapu, 3, and Jack, 7.
In late 2025, the Teikale family moved to Melbourne under an agreement that allows people from Tuvalu to migrate to Australia. Clockwise from back: Alolita Tekapu, one-month-old Philip, Alesana Teikale, Lomelisi, 6, Tekapu, 3, and Jack, 7. Photograph: Christopher Hopkins/The Guardian

On a suburban street in eastern Melbourne on a cool summer’s day, Alolita Tekapu sits on the couch feeding her one-month-old son, Philip, while her three older boys play outside. Her husband folds laundry nearby, pausing occasionally to check on the children.

It’s an ordinary domestic scene. But the reason this family are in Australia is far from ordinary.

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