Solomon Islands: A message of caring and unity.
Last week here in Thailand I was invited by former teaching colleagues to attend a pre-Christmas Party at a hotel.
The hotel was thronged by many visiting tourist and other hotel guests who enjoyed a sumptuous buffet in very pleasant surrounds near Bangkok’s Chao PhrayaRiver.
After leaving the party I went to catch my train to go home and, next to the train, station there was a man with no legs and no arms seated on a rattan mat on the pavement. In front of him he had a paper cup which contained a few coins. I dropped a few coins in the cup and the man thanked me and smiled.
I heard a passerby say to the effect, “He’ll be ok someone will look after him.”
Later that night and since then I have thought of those words and now, at Christmas, I try to put them into context with the ‘wantok’ system in the Solomon Islands.
For readers that are not familiar with the wantok practice common in the Solomons, it can best be described as a kind of social service practice and stems from the word ‘one talk’ and loosely defined as those speaking the same language.
In a country like the Solomon Islands where there are known to be close to 220 different languages spoken and those speaking the same language traditionally ‘look out’ for each other.
The wantok system could be seen as an unwritten social contract, between those that speak the same language, to assist each other in times of need. This ranges from little things such as assistance in school fees to favors that has often bordered on corruption, such as offering a job or contract to a person or persons because they are a 'wantok'.
Many have spoken and written about the cost it has to the overall economy but less about national unity the reality such a system seem to influence.
My story about the helpless beggar is now taking on greater proportions and I would like to explain my reasoning for saying more.
First though, another brief insight which might help to illustrate why I believe the wantok practice can cause hardships for families.
In 1997, a tour of the Rove Police Camp I carried out over consecutive weeks, found many police houses filled with wantoks, young and old, overcrowded conditions and associated health issues, to say nothing of the financial hardship posed on the policemen and their wife’s and children.
I sympathized with my staff but at the same time, as a newly arrived police commissioner, I did not want to be seen interfering with traditional customary practices.
The fact that residence in the police camp was restricted in terms of police orders and regulations gave me the opportunity to effectively remove all wantoks out of the camp, giving relief to those of my personnel that had for so long had to provide for their wantoks from their meager salaries.
Now in Honiara the population in (2019) has vastly increased since 1997 with many from the rural areas having come to the capital to seek work. A good number of those would-be- job seekers have ended up in a host of informal settlements and are still unemployed. I expect those that are fortunate to have employment are themselves finding it hard to cope because of the high dependence of wantoks.
In November this year at the Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance held in the Albert Hall in London, the flags of the Commonwealth were paraded in a closing ceremony. The flag of the Solomon Islands was one carried into the arena by a uniformed soldier.
As Her Majesty the Queen and the members of the Royal Family looked on I thought what that flag, at least to me represented. It indicated one nation of over 670, 000 people of diverse languages and traditional practices and cultures – but above all one nation recovered from the tragedy of the years between 1999 and 2003.
Now it is Christmas Day as I write this piece and what do my thoughts convey?
To those who believe in the Solomon Islands and wish it to remain united, charitable and strong, let all find hope this Christmas time to renew the Christian spirit of tolerance, unity and peace to all, not forgetting all who are in need and facing challenging times.
Let the spirit of Christmas bring joy and smiles to young and old. Let us make time for our elderly ones for they too wish for a better Solomon Islands, for added comfort and peace.
The future that we wish to build is not only for the young generation, but we must also think of them too. They also deserve to enjoy happiness and more prosperity. They deserve to find employment so that they can build their own families on a strong footing and help to ensure the continuity and progress of the Solomon Islands as one nation.
Yours sincerely
Frank Short
