This piece was originally written in Honiara, Solomon Islands, in September 2014.
In September 2014, walking down the road in Honiara, one can’t help noticing this is a bustling little town. Trucks, cars and buses rush past. A bus conductor declares “one more space, Kola, Kola!” A taxi nearly catches ones toe as he pulls onto the curb. Horns toot, asserting their presence. The sounds are immersive.
A stroll past the market is a glimpse into the ethnic diversity making up indigenous Solomon Islanders. Some are black as ink. Others a coffee colour some nations consider betrays half-caste origins. Some have the tight curly hair so common in Melanesia; others have an almost Indian air, lent by hair which is jet black, and ever so slightly wavy. They’re the Polynesian ones.
There’s a group missing in the market: the white ones. Though in this day and age we mustn’t call them white. Just like the black skinned ones mustn’t be called black, nor the coffee coloured ones half-caste. All the same, the white ones: they’re missing. The white expatriates don’t seem to get out much. Perhaps one might call them reclusive, foregoing a wander in the street for their air-conditioned offices. But, if one knows where to look, a hoard of them might be found in energetic conversation over a cup of coffee. Air-conditioned of course. These are a minority group: though expatriates hold high paying jobs in a few places, the masses tell the story of the nation. It’s the masses who shape it’s future, and these ones are defined by their past, whether knowledgeable or ignorant of it.
What a future could be in store for this remarkable nation. Colonised by one of the greatest world powers of their time, ravaged by the fiercest of wars, dominated by the greed of wealthy nations, and still unwaveringly independent.
There is motivation here.
There is drive to succeed.
Succeed in what? Perhaps enough for today’s evening meal, perhaps a building for tomorrow’s fortunes. The street is where we see a beggar or two; it’s where we find countless vendors selling their stock of betel nut and Pall Mall cigarettes. The street is where we find the best of today’s fish and perhaps a coconut to drink while we cook it. As we walk we’ll see drivers and conductors moving all manner of locals squeezed tight into their buses. A walk shows us the local construction workers doing their best on the newest building in town, or the resurrected shell of an old one. From the footpath we watch the trucks of successful construction magnates, bankers, politicians and tour operators sail past on their way to the next engagement.
Wait. Tour operators? No, one mustn’t confuse which nation one is in.
Tour operators are strangely missing in this bustling capital city. Despite the success of its Melanesian neighbours, the Solomon Islands have trouble capitalising on the tourism market. It has all the natural beauty of Papua New Guinea and Fiji. It has more accessible dive sites than Vanuatu. It has World War two relics few nations could match, and an all-important tourism-advertising slogan: the hapi place.
Yet tourists are few and far between.
What is missing?
Motivation seems abundant. A stroll through central Honiara confirms the vast number of able-bodied workers available. Geography and history provide a veritable buffet of tourism interest.
But tourists are missing. Could this be a result of negative publicity more than a decade ago?
In an age of connection, when the entire world can read what one ate for lunch mere minutes after the fact, how has the relative peace of Honiara has been lost on the wire? Is no one reporting peace? Has news become so focussed on drama that quelling of tension no longer warrants coverage? Perhaps motivation for tourism has been destroyed by shame, rooted in tensions long since silenced.
Is this marketing, or a motivation issue? Is it an infrastructure issue or something more?
This nation has a timber industry, which is considered to be unsustainable. What will replace it? International aid funds cannot endlessly prop up any economy. Especially that of a nation with an abundant supply of intelligent, able bodied workers.
Perhaps education plays a role. Is education of international standard available to the masses? Or is education a privilege for the one whose uncle got into government?
Is healthcare something one can rely on when being healthy is essential for employment? Or is health care suffering for want of funds?
One can’t help wondering how much public money is used to pay lavish expenses to political figures whose work output, competency and commitment to duty and integrity could be legitimately questioned.
So what might one prescribe for a nation with all the potential for greatness but little evidence of growth?
Perhaps a wide ranging education policy providing for the nation’s young people to achieve their best without fear of future financial bondage; perhaps subsidies for those with a dream of tourism empires? Perhaps increased efforts in marketing, coupled with lifted standards in hospitality training.
But then, are any of these practicable in nations with corrupt leaders? A quick survey around the developing nations of the world will remind us that increased tourism does little to address issues perpetuated by corruption. Comparable nations with stronger tourism continue to be plagued with corrupt policy makers whose misuse of public money short-changes those seeking education and healthcare. Underlying substance abuse and unemployment issues continue to leave tourists with an impression quite different to pretty images presented by tourism brochures, and it seems all the humanitarian activism in the world is doing little to solve it.
Could it be that the transformation of a nation begins with those in it choosing to value integrity more highly than public image or comfortable lives? Could it be that transformation begins when the quick fortune is foregone in favour of the legitimate one? Or could it be as simple as the population at large deciding that lies and deceit are no longer acceptable at any level in their society? What revolution might occur if the children and mothers in a nation, the young doctors and the incoming secretaries of government began to speak truth without regard for personal consequence? What might happen if transparency were to reign supreme in public office with accompanying justice?
Could the beginnings of a changed nation be one person? One who refuses to accept gain at the cost of the livelihoods of those around them?
Perhaps one is being too simplistic about the inner workings of politics, national economies and social growth. But one must ask the question: how many nations have built strong economies while embracing lifestyles of deceit, corruption and greed? Could it be that capitalism as a western success story is much less about blatant greed than general rhetoric allows for?
Next time you receive your pay cheque, ask yourself: “how much would I be receiving if my employer was more corrupt? How secure would my job be if the national regulator were corrupt? How well could I keep my job if my colleagues and I were more partial to bending the truth?”
Perhaps the keys to success both in family life, national development, and on the world stage are much less about what’s handed out on a silver platter, and far more about what you tell the teacher if your homework is not done on time.
Let us change the world in which we live. Not with political gymnastics, nor financial wizardry. Not with guns, nor strongly worded but (ultimately) toothless resolutions. Let us begin to re-direct our world by embracing afresh the values that guaranteed the success of the grandparents of today’s developed nations.
Let us embrace truth, honour and hard work as underlying foundations of success. Let our desire to prosper drive us to graft and toil, to integrity and duty before gratification, and let us seek the honour of those around us before personal fame.
May our nations again succeed upon the strong foundations of truth, mercy and liberty, which are so swiftly lost amid politics, greed and toothless tolerance.
May we value those who are dear to us enough to fight evil with love, honour and value.