proposals
Tropicalities
Letters
Garbage proposals
I AM concerned that some people in the United States want to dump waste and garbage, which every US state re fuses on its soil (with good reason), in the Pacific Islands in exchange for much-needed cash.
I sincerely hope that the Pacific Is land states have learnt the lessons that most first-world countries learnt the hard way at unbelievable cost, both monetary and health wise. No amount of money is enough to squander the Pacific’s greatest asset as the last place on earth where nature largely is as it should be (apart from France’s sicken ing nuclear politics in the Tuamotus and Americas policy of destruction of part of the Marshall Islands).
If the people of the island states have any insight in the gargantuan environ mental problems now facing all Euro pean countries and America, there will be no question of ever accepting the status of being a garbage-can at any
price.
Having travelled through most coun
tries I found Fiji probably together
with most Pacific island states the only place left in the world where na ture still is as it should be: unpolluted.
Pollution and environmental issues now rank as top priorities for the next elec tions on the lists of all Dutch political
parties.
We in Europe have let things get so much out of hand that finally our politicians have started to listen to long ignored outcries of environmentalists.
To give but one of the long list of chill ing examples: Holland has, like Fiji, a
large fishing industry. Fishermen here
often have to throw away half their catch because the fish is disease-stricken
and tumor-ridden. Imagine something
like that happening in Fiji, which is not an imaginary risk if the United States gets what it wants.
The very fact that the US wants to ship its waste so far away and is willing to pay such enormous amounts for its disposal anywhere except on their own soil, should be reason enough to reject their proposals out of hand and to even protests for the sake of other island states less informed than you might be.
My wife and I recently spent one year on the uninhabited island of Be kana off the coast of Udu Point in the north-east of Vanua Levu. The object was to see if paradise, somewhere in this world, really still exists. It hap
pened in cooperation with Isimeli Bainimara, of the Fiji Visitors Bureau.
Paradise still exists. You are living right in the middle of the last paradise on earth. I cannot begin to tell you how beautiful an experience it has been for us and I have just finished writing a book about it, which will appear next spring. One of the conclusions of the book is that we in Europe are already so much used to pollution and disease by-pollution, that we have no idea what a healthy and unpolluted country looks like, just as a whole generation in Leba non does not know what peace means.
We were staggered by the unspoiled
and virgin beauty of Fiji; and equally amazed by the fact that many Fijians are not aware that their country is uni que and very, very special; understand able of course, for those Fijians who are not aware of it, have not been abroad to be able to compare. They take something for granted which has become more rare and precious than platinum or emeralds.
Fiji may not be a rich man, but he is physically healthy, beautiful, strong and
amazingly happy.
Bob Snojjink
Netherlands.
Islander travels
I AM doing dissertation research in Pacific Islands history at the University of Hawaii, for which I also teach. I spent six weeks in Majuro, Marshall Is lands, last July and August as a World Civilisation instructor in a special ses sion for Marshallese teachers and used my spare time to collect oral traditions from elderly people about islander
travels on foreign snips.
The variety and chronological range of these recollections give a flavour of the cross-cultural adventures which many Pacific Islanders embarked upon once European shipping created new networks across their ocean. Indeed, the significant out-migration from Paci fic Islands today might be considered a culmination of the same process. The cultural beach was, and still is, a two way door.
I am currently at the East-West Cen tre in Honolulu and would welcome accounts of other islander travellers, particularly in the old whaling days, in order to attempt a comprehensive eva luation of their experiences.
David A. Chappell
1777 East-West Road Box 1607 Honolulu , HI 96 848 USA. • see Beyond the beach, p 46
AIDS report
IN February you ran a story on Tonga’s AIDS campaign. Some information which appeared in this article were high
ly exaggerated and lacked credibility.
But leaving the question of inaccuracies and lack of focusing in finer details aside, I thought the author of the article failed to find out the sources of spon
sorship for Tonga’s most vigorous cam
paign against AIDS to date.
The South Pacific Alliance for Family Health (SPAFH), which has its regional
headquarters in Nuku’alofa, provided
the bulk of the money (US$10,000) for the AIDS campaign project in Tonga.
Skme of this money was used to pay for the campaign material such as the bill boards, posters, brochures, leaflets, radio spot announcement and activities on World AIDS Day last December.
SPAFH is happy to be a partner with the government of Tonga in the promo tion of education and awareness in the community against the dreadful disease
Aids.
Joseph Sukwianomb
Executive Secretary
Spafh.
Happy visitor
AS a frequent visitor to Fiji, I have chosen the lovely islands as my favourite vacation retreat.
Since I have also been to the Cook Islands and French Polynesia, I have be come interested in the political, econo mic, social and military events of the South Pacific. Thus, my subscription to Pacific Islands Monthly has not been dis
appointing.
I hope to be in Fiji again during the Christmas/New Year holidays.
Raymond Dahlin
San Francisco
Penpals
Angin Wape, 17. She wants English
speaking penpals from anywhere in the
Pacific. Address: Gordon High School, PO Box 9182, Hohola, N.C.D., Papua New Guinea.
Leo S Manasseh Jnr, 19. Looking for penpals from anywhere. Hobbies: writ
ing letters, reading, listening to music,
swimming. Occupation: student teacher.
Address: PO Box 1551, Lae, Morobe Province, Papua New Guinea.
Josh Berman. He is studying internation al relations and wishes “to correspond with residents of the island states to get their feedback on US-South Pacific rela tions”. Address: Box 135, Brooklyn,