18 June 2019
Solomon Islands national identity being questioned.
The Hon Member of Parliament for East Honiara, Douglas Ete, in an article quoted by the Island Sun newspaper today, 18 June 2019, believes the Solomon Islands does not have a common vision and identity following the ethnic conflict and political violence in the past.
Leaving aside the �ethnic conflict and political violence� for now, it was Prime Minister Solomon Mamoloni that once coined the phrase, �Solomon Islands was conceived but never born.�
Since those early years the concept of one nation, one people, one country, has undoubtedly been beset by the very fabric and nature of society and the vastness of the island chain that one lumps together to identify on the international stage as the Solomon Islands.
One gets a clear understanding of the great cultural diversity and issues of land ownership that still works as an impediment to real national identity if one reads the writings of many Solomon Islands academics and an excellent paper by the Norwegian Refugee Council in 2004.
Following the ethnic conflict, Jack Maebuta, a Solomon Islander, co-wrote a book entitled �Building National Unity, Reconciliation and Peace in the Solomon Islands� but an abstract from that book one read the following commentary�
This chapter contends that the local cultural dynamics of reconciliation were not featured in the design of the Solomon Islands TRC. Community reconciliation processes were therefore not utilised, and consequently the ambitious goal of the TRC to promote reconciliation was not realised.
Since that book was published much effort has been put into furthering reconciliation at home as means of achieving national unity, but can one say in 2019 it has still not been fully achieved?
National identity is often best seen with the success of Solomon Islands on the sports field, notably in football, and with the academic success of Solomon Islanders but more needs to be done to engender national identity and pride in the country despite the many cultural divides that exist and the isolation and distance of the many communities that tend to live in remoteness.
Improved national communications, better infrastructure, transport links, health services and a reduction in rural unemployment together with a real change in current poverty levels are priority matters that must be on the agenda for the DCGA.
Yours sincerely
Frank Short
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