Our Independence, our Land, Our Home.
By Renata Laveil
In the midst of Independence celebrations, it is amazing when we realize the nation is united in one mind, heart and soul with the feeling of nationalism reverberating throughout the country through the sound of drums, bamboo flutes, kundu drums, garamuts and all other traditional mediums that were used in the past and now revered, for communication, singsings and festivals.
They are our true vestiges showing our real and lasting identity from the rest of the Pacific Island nations; also that which create our standing in the world.
Our forefathers who have set the pace for our Independence had all the right beliefs, principles and policies in mind when they drew up the constitution and pushed for Independence. If we were to fully grasp the true Melanesian pride and nationalism that pushed our Grand Chief to push for Independence from our colonial era, then we will be able to realise and instil the same feeling of nationalism and pride towards our family, our neighbour and our wantok.
No more discrimination and being answerable to someone else, we are and should be truly Independent as of now.
Towards our family, neighbour and our wantok; no more discrimination in the workplace, against our women, no more regionalism and no more pointing fingers. Yet let us all be united in the spirit of the Melanesian art of giving in unity. We are identified both in the pacific region and globally as clan, tribe and family oriented.
An elderly man or woman is addressed as uncle and aunt, mama and papa; same age groups say brother or sister. We can embrace with true and fierce emotions expressing unconscionable protection and kindred spirit intricately misunderstood by outsiders.
In the May sitting in Parliament this year, the death penalty was given the green light by the government to proceed seeing that the legislation already existed. A tacky move described as a ‘knee jerk’ reaction by many but also as a means of severing the deteriorating law and order problems posing huge threats to outside investor security and the rising tourism industry.
Not surprisingly, great opposition came from women groups, the public, churches, some politicians and Non Government Organisations, despite noticeable increase in violent law and order crimes especially against women and children. This came to the effect that capital punishment and articulately the death penalty have not been proven to be effective in curbing or deterring crime.
Evidently, we are all bound to look out for one another. This action can be seen as our identity and most often times than not our downfall.
Obviously everything that happens has a cause, a reason to substantiate the act and the result. Why then is it that we witness a high increase in law and order problems like never before.
Our women cannot walk around without having fear constantly pricking at the nape of their neck, eyes darting left and right looking for an uncrowded path to walk so she won’t be grabbed at, insulted and robbed.
Our children are now living in an uncertain world; they are in doubt who to really trust and lean on as even their own flesh and blood betray their trust. Hunger is prevalent for our motherless and fatherless children walking the streets of our prominent cities. The constant knocking on your car window at every traffic light, the reminder that we need to address our children’s basic needs for survival.
Our men are now being targeted as the main perpetrators’ of violence at every level. Their standing tainted by the evil misdeeds of the few ‘bad apples’ of society. Withstanding all that, men have faced their share of the rise in crime in the nation with reporting of violent killings against innocent young and elderly men.
Most obviously the blame and judgement is placed on the perpetrators of violence and crime, some on the parliamentarians for graft and corruption where they give less priority and funding to more important sectors like government service delivery to rural or most eminently the remote areas in the provinces so that Schools, teachers, health services and other revenue generating projects could be initiated and maintained. More of the wealth is clogged in urban centres while more than half of the population, 80%, live mostly on subsistence farming.
Quite noticeably, we are going through a resources boom what with the Exxon Mobil gas project planned to start production in 2014 in the process boosting our Gross Domestic Product by around 20% thereby bringing stability to our economy. Branched out assistance also comes from mines in the other provinces.
With economic growth forecasted by our treasury minister and a team from International Monetary Fund in August this year, we are expected to rise to our full potential as a richly blessed nation seen as a gold mine floating on a sea of oil.
The onus is now on our leaders to make decisions that will have a resounding impact on all the citizens of this country; decisions to follow the National Goals and Directive Principles set out in the constitution by our forefathers 38 years ago who had the people of this beautiful land at heart when they etched our epitome that there must be fair and equitable distribution of wealth among all the people of this land with sustainable and collective reasoning on the conservation of the environment and resources for the benefit of us all and future generations.
Therefore may the lord bless our country in its 38th year of Independence anniversary celebration, also let us remember the struggles surpassed to bring us to where we are now.
Say a prayer for our fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters and children who are still fighting and struggling in the remote areas of our land and say do not give up, we will all push for a better start this year, turn over a new page in the book of our history; write a new story, one of success of being able to reach out to everyone so no one is left behind.
We will as leaders not be masters who are waiting to be served but like Jesus will serve and continue to look for the lamb that is still out lost and tangled in the shrub, find that lamb and bring it home safe and sound to share in the warmth and shelter of the fold.
They are our true vestiges showing our real and lasting identity from the rest of the Pacific Island nations; also that which create our standing in the world.
Our forefathers who have set the pace for our Independence had all the right beliefs, principles and policies in mind when they drew up the constitution and pushed for Independence. If we were to fully grasp the true Melanesian pride and nationalism that pushed our Grand Chief to push for Independence from our colonial era, then we will be able to realise and instil the same feeling of nationalism and pride towards our family, our neighbour and our wantok.
No more discrimination and being answerable to someone else, we are and should be truly Independent as of now.
Towards our family, neighbour and our wantok; no more discrimination in the workplace, against our women, no more regionalism and no more pointing fingers. Yet let us all be united in the spirit of the Melanesian art of giving in unity. We are identified both in the pacific region and globally as clan, tribe and family oriented.
An elderly man or woman is addressed as uncle and aunt, mama and papa; same age groups say brother or sister. We can embrace with true and fierce emotions expressing unconscionable protection and kindred spirit intricately misunderstood by outsiders.
In the May sitting in Parliament this year, the death penalty was given the green light by the government to proceed seeing that the legislation already existed. A tacky move described as a ‘knee jerk’ reaction by many but also as a means of severing the deteriorating law and order problems posing huge threats to outside investor security and the rising tourism industry.
Not surprisingly, great opposition came from women groups, the public, churches, some politicians and Non Government Organisations, despite noticeable increase in violent law and order crimes especially against women and children. This came to the effect that capital punishment and articulately the death penalty have not been proven to be effective in curbing or deterring crime.
Evidently, we are all bound to look out for one another. This action can be seen as our identity and most often times than not our downfall.
Obviously everything that happens has a cause, a reason to substantiate the act and the result. Why then is it that we witness a high increase in law and order problems like never before.
Our women cannot walk around without having fear constantly pricking at the nape of their neck, eyes darting left and right looking for an uncrowded path to walk so she won’t be grabbed at, insulted and robbed.
Our children are now living in an uncertain world; they are in doubt who to really trust and lean on as even their own flesh and blood betray their trust. Hunger is prevalent for our motherless and fatherless children walking the streets of our prominent cities. The constant knocking on your car window at every traffic light, the reminder that we need to address our children’s basic needs for survival.
Our men are now being targeted as the main perpetrators’ of violence at every level. Their standing tainted by the evil misdeeds of the few ‘bad apples’ of society. Withstanding all that, men have faced their share of the rise in crime in the nation with reporting of violent killings against innocent young and elderly men.
Most obviously the blame and judgement is placed on the perpetrators of violence and crime, some on the parliamentarians for graft and corruption where they give less priority and funding to more important sectors like government service delivery to rural or most eminently the remote areas in the provinces so that Schools, teachers, health services and other revenue generating projects could be initiated and maintained. More of the wealth is clogged in urban centres while more than half of the population, 80%, live mostly on subsistence farming.
Quite noticeably, we are going through a resources boom what with the Exxon Mobil gas project planned to start production in 2014 in the process boosting our Gross Domestic Product by around 20% thereby bringing stability to our economy. Branched out assistance also comes from mines in the other provinces.
With economic growth forecasted by our treasury minister and a team from International Monetary Fund in August this year, we are expected to rise to our full potential as a richly blessed nation seen as a gold mine floating on a sea of oil.
The onus is now on our leaders to make decisions that will have a resounding impact on all the citizens of this country; decisions to follow the National Goals and Directive Principles set out in the constitution by our forefathers 38 years ago who had the people of this beautiful land at heart when they etched our epitome that there must be fair and equitable distribution of wealth among all the people of this land with sustainable and collective reasoning on the conservation of the environment and resources for the benefit of us all and future generations.
Therefore may the lord bless our country in its 38th year of Independence anniversary celebration, also let us remember the struggles surpassed to bring us to where we are now.
Say a prayer for our fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters and children who are still fighting and struggling in the remote areas of our land and say do not give up, we will all push for a better start this year, turn over a new page in the book of our history; write a new story, one of success of being able to reach out to everyone so no one is left behind.
We will as leaders not be masters who are waiting to be served but like Jesus will serve and continue to look for the lamb that is still out lost and tangled in the shrub, find that lamb and bring it home safe and sound to share in the warmth and shelter of the fold.
