Sayonara to Solomons
Here's a blog from Dean, our Kiwi communications officer on board the Esperanza
OK, so I admit it, I didn’t want to leave Honiara. Land itself had been such a welcome relief for me – but the big smiles, the new food, the busy markets, the curious people, the artistic talent - particularly obvious in weaving and carving), the smells – both intriguing and horrible, the multiple languages and tribal groups, the history and the sense of humour of local people had an unexpected intoxicating effect. I loved Honiara. And also it was quite a shock to be in a town that was incredibly poor with bad sanitation and air pollution (especially for 50,000 people) and to know that the ocean wealth and potential wealth of the country was disappearing. In fact, you could watch it happening from town, the wharf and along the foreshore. From there was my strongest first and last impressions of Honiara: the massive cargo motherships, with a smaller purse seiners each side with cranes lifting the tuna catch into the expansive hold of the motherships.
At night they looked like brightly-lit floating casinos. Then of course, the motherships leave, destined for the fish markets of Tokyo or another huge city. And in return, Pacific Island nations get 4-5% of the US$3 billion generated from catch in the region. There is obvious unemployment and they must to pay for their children to go to school from the time they are 8 years old. HIV/AIDs transmission has exploded as a result of increased contact with foreign fishermen and prostitution.
Fish – particularly tuna – is eaten almost daily by Solomon Islanders. It’s a main source of protein. In the markets, people sold shell jewellery, fruit, vegetables, coconuts, and a diversity of seafood. The fish lay out on the table and the sellers arms are constantly moving large leaves or small branches to wave away flies. It was obvious what catch was from the purse seiners. These fish were mangled from the nets to some degree and days old. When the local fishing boats came in, their catch was fresh and clean. The problem is that the unwanted damaged catch from the purse seiners is dumped cheaply on the market and locals (who are finding it harder to fish anyway) have to compete with these dirt-cheap fish. Solomon Islanders are losing on a regional, national and local level to these foreign vessels overfishing tuna.
Here’s some lasting memories of Honiara:
- Women who sit underneath a huge tree with their woven pandanus (a type of long-leaved plant) and bright crocheted bags hanging on the lower branches for sale.
- Big smiles you get when you smile at people on the street (don’t ever be stingy with smiles in the Solomons!).
- Chicken and pork that was stuffed inside bamboo and cooked on hot coals – and the rest of the feast the Greenpeace Wantoks (love you all!) put on for us on Sunday for our official first day off in 3 weeks.
- Shipload of giant clam shells (each about 1 metre long!) that I was told was heading to the US to become hand basins for the rich.
- Crocodiles, turtles, whales, crayfish, carved from wood with their shiny shell eyes.
- Music from a local band played on instruments I couldn’t name.
- Stories of a great local permaculture project (on Malaita Island?), and the various low-impact community forestry/logging projects.
I’ll be back.
Image Info: Dean Baigent-Mercer from New Zealand and Daniel Holland from Papua New Guinea hold the Solomon Islands flag as Honiara slips into the distance © Paul Hilton/Greenpeace
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Comments
FYI. The instruments played by the local band are contemporary panpipes. Probably made from PVC pipes or the traditional bamboo pipes.
Posted by: tahlee | May 5, 2008 2:41 AM