Politics
Unhappy Islanders Leaving The Hapi Isles
Dissatisfaction with government policies tops list
Whilst migration to other countries is not new in many Pacific Islands countries, the notion is relatively new to the Solomon Islands. Polynesian countries and Fiji for instance, have seen many of their citizens migrate to seek better job opportunities overseas for decades.
The mixed messages emanating from Honiara are that professionals are leaving. It is something until recently unheard of in a country with strong clan and tribal ties to the land. This movement overseas is not a rapid succession. Rather people are slowly leaving.
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So why is it that Solomon Islanders, known for their strong cultural and ethnic identities to their land, are leaving?
Recent exits from the country include economists, development planners, university lecturers, science graduates, and a large number of experienced and senior medical doctors.
According to a marine biologist now working in a regional organisation, "jobs were basically hard to come by."
But the reasons for migration are not surprising. Many were affected by the ethnic tension. A doctor, now working in the Cook Islands, said he left the Solomon Islands because of the mistrust he had in the government's ability to restore law and order, deteriorating economy, and the failure by the government to honour its commitment to its workers.
This dissatisfaction with government policies is expressed by most. Many migrating professionals stated their disapproval of working under a regime denoted for its corruption and mismanagement of finances. Others, simply unable to find work, have been made redundant, laid off work, or retired.
Obviously, the economic problems faced by the country are at its worst since independence. Clayton Kuma, an accounting lecturer at the University of the South Pacific, says salary arrears and rising cost of living especially in Honiara have made things more difficult. And with an economic base so narrow this has in turn affected foreign reserves.
The migration of doctors now seems to be hitting home. Lack of experienced doctors in the main National Referral Hospital in Honiara has left many members of the public requiring medical help without assistance.
Of the doctors working at the main National Referral Hospital many are just recent graduates of the Fiji School of Medicine. A large number of their graduate counterparts from the University of Papua New Guinea have opted to remain in Papua New Guinea working in various health centres and hospitals there.
According to a medical doctor requesting anonymity, "government does not really care about losing its doctors." With medical workers and especially teachers without salaries for five consecutive fortnights, and lack of cash amongst ordinary citizens, it is obvious why people want to leave.
Economically, the Solomons is in a state of limbo. Early in the year the country was unable to pay its dues to the University of the South Pacific, resulting in the university withholding transcripts and certificates of many graduating students in December 2002. The government was also told that no government-sponsored student was to return for the new academic year until the overdue payments were paid. Fortunately for the Solomon Islands, the European Union stepped in to pay the government debt of F$5 million (US$3 million.)
The Solomon Islands government has not paid the public servants' superannuation to the National Provident Fund for more than a year.
With the economic crisis, the government's political establishment has to cope with social and security mishaps, as well as the migration of professional and qualified citizens. With increased unemployment, there is a growing number of aimless youths commonly referred to as 'masta liu' on the streets.
Government's economic policies have not been free of criticisms. One particular government dealing which created a lot of controversy was the RAONK scheme‹a pyramid scheme the government was ready to pursue with a Bouganvillean businessman in January this year.
Musingku, the company's director, wanted by Port Moresby for unpaid debts to investors, was reported by the Papua New Guinea newspaper, The National, to have signed a deal with the Solomon Islands Government in December.
Promising to salvage the deteriorating economy by bailing it out with a S$1 billion deal, the scheme fell through after much media coverage, and criticism from the opposition. Law and order has been on the agenda for some time now. Nevertheless, in a country where police show eagerness in aggressively demanding millions for compensation money, it is unlikely that things will settle soon. "As long as the police mess is not cleared, everything is fraught with uncertainty," says a Solomon Islander, now living overseas.
Under the terms of the Townsville agreement both militias in the crisis were to disarm. However, the truth seems far from this.
In fact, a foreign diplomat in the country summed things up in a media statement last November: "There are in fact now more weapons in the community than there were at the beginning of the period."
The Solomon Islands community in Victoria, Australia, is beginning to see an increase in numbers. According to the Solomon Islands Victoria Association (SIVA), "most Solomon Islanders living down south in Australia are married and residing here now. However, a few graduate nurses and other professionals along with their families have also moved in. "Some of these families and individuals were directly threatened during the height of the tension and left the country, while other student graduates are refusing to return and are seeking employment in Victoria. Basically this is the general trend and direction amongst Solomon Islands' professionals," the association said.
