IT is not enough to establish law and order in the Solomon Islands without addressing the causes of the underlying ethnic tensions, says Marist Brother Martin Connell, who has experienced the trouble first-hand as a teacher.
Br Connell returned to Australia on June 10 and will celebrate 50 years as a brother with his classmates this month before resuming at the national Catholic high school at Tenaru, near the Solomon Islands capital, Honiara.
He spoke with The Catholic Leader during his stay in Brisbane as Australian Prime Minister John Howard announced plans to send Australian military and police to restore law and order in the Solomons.
Br Connell said the cause of the ethnic tension had not been addressed.
‘All they’ve done is try to sweep it under the carpet and say, ‘We’re back to law and order’,’ he said.
‘(The tension) was largely over land and the use of land.’
Br Connell said that because the underlying causes had not been addressed ethnic tensions would keep ‘bubbling away’.
‘The only people who can address that is themselves (the people of the Solomons).’
The instability stemmed from tension which had been brewing for many years between people from the island of Malaita and those of the main island, Guadalcanal, Br Connell said.
On Malaita, large tracts of land were not utilised because of the custom of the people.
‘As a result, lots of those people came over to Guadalcanal, while keeping their land secure,’ Br Connell said.
The Malaitans took jobs at the gold mine on Guadalcanal and in the oil palm industry, and gained an education on the main island.
‘Many of the best jobs are held by the Malaitans in Honiara, and the Malaitans have control of the Solomon Islands police.
‘On top of that, they then squatted on the Guadalcanal land.
‘As a result, Guadalcanal people have been angered over that but it’s no use going to the police because they’re the same clan as those doing the squatting.
‘So the Guadalcanals decided the only way was to drive them out … The idea was to chase the Malaitans home, back to where they came from.
‘But this is not a solution because the brains of the country and the energy of the people is with the Malaitans.’
Br Connell said there was no easy answer but he believed the first step should be to confiscate all the guns from civilians, because the fighters were armed with high-powered weapons.
Br Connell said the guns, once retrieved, should be destroyed on the spot so the people could see they were out of circulation.
Secondly, he said a new deal had to be negotiated with those in control of the gold mine and oil palm industry, so those income-generating activities could be resumed.
Thirdly, the country needed proper leadership from the Government.
Br Connell said an effective reconciliation process, involving individuals, would be necessary, with justice as the main component.
A peacekeeping group involving not just the Australians, but also nations such as Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, Fiji and Samoa, should be instigated ‘ ‘so they see we’re all in this together as the people of the Pacific’.
‘We can’t wait and see a country go down the gurgler while we’re sitting here with all our comforts,’ Br Connell said. ‘They’re our neighbours after all.’
Whatever solutions were proposed, Br Connell said the people of the Solomon Islands had to build peace themselves.
‘And they know this. They know they’re not going to have peace until the guns are collected.’
And he said they knew there would be no peace until the conflict over land was resolved.
He saw hope in that the people were ‘sick and tired of the nonsense’.
‘They want to see the country prosper. They want to see their hospitals reopen and the schools open properly.’
Br Connell said because the Solomon Islands Government was paying money to extortionists, it was short of funds to pay workers such as teachers and nurses.
He said there was a shortage of doctors because they had gone to countries where they knew they would be paid, and many teachers had also left.
Teachers and nurses were adopting the attitude that, since they were not being paid ‘ or not being paid on time ‘ they were better off staying at home and growing vegetables.
The debilitating effect this attitude had on the community was obvious in the co-educational high school where Br Connell worked.
‘When I was (in the Solomons) as a young brother 40 years ago, (students) were very interested in education and there was the expectation for anyone who was educated that they were going to get a job.
‘Now, young people know that when they’re finished they’re not going to get a job, so they’re not interested in education and they’re not wanting to put the work in.’
This had a two-way effect between students and teachers.
‘The teaching staff are not committed to it. If they knew the children were going to get jobs if they got better results, the teachers would be more enthusiastic.
‘The Government’s been slow in paying the teachers’ salaries, so that gives the teachers the excuse for not turning up on time, and not putting a big effort in.
‘That rubs off on the children.’
Br Connell said the education system needed to be reviewed because the current system was a hangover from the time of British rule when education was for the elite.
Nationally there may be 18,000 children starting each year in kindergarten but only the best students are allowed through at each level, so that by the time they finish at Form 7 there are only 100 remaining.
Br Connell said that was creating many dissatisfied youth among those who did not qualify to finish their education.
And these were sent back to life in the village ‘ a life for which their education did not prepare them.
