Is the Royal Solomon Islands Police on Alert?

Solomon Islands has again gone through chaos after the recent looting and burning down of a business building by an angry mob in Honiara on Friday 16 May.

The mob is believed to be disgruntled flood victims who have been disagreed with the government’s relief package.

Eyewitnesses of the incident said that the men started putting up road blocks along the King George Road around 6:30pm and around 7:30pm they broke into a Chinese store, looted it and set the building on fire around 8:30pm.

The eyewitnesses said it was surprising to see the police and fire fighters responded very late and arrived after 3 to 4 hours, and only two fire trucks were at the scene.

The incident questions the ability of the police in handling and responding to such incidents.

The Royal Solomon Islands Police Force is assisted by the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI) and they are very aware of what is going on Solomon Islands especially in Honiara.

Regular shop break-ins and unlawful activities have been happening and this should alert the police to be patrolling the streets and present everywhere.

Honiara is not a very big city and it should not take the police too late to response to such incidents.

There were already signs of such incidents which should alert the police because the flood victims have been raising complains, making demands and even suspected of break-ins and theft of the computers in the Solomon Islands National University (SINU) office, which is used as the evacuation center.

Honiara has gone through rioting and looting over the past years and there should not be any excuse for the incident to catch the police by surprise.

It should not take much time for the police to mobilize its Rapid Response Team because life and properties of the citizens are in their safe hands and they are expected to be working 24 hours around the clock.

They have the obligation and duty to the citizens for life, safety and protection.

Life is changing and Honiara is becoming insecure because of such lawlessness and disorder so the Royal Solomon Islands Police Force must pull up their socks to uphold and fully enforce the law.

A  shop building along the King George Road in Honiara known as Uncle Alick, was looted and burned down by a group of disgruntled men believed to be some flood victims. Eyewitnesses said they were surprised to see the people looted with ease because the was no police until after almost 3 to 4 hours later. The building was set on fire fire after it was emptied. Photo Credit :  Face book:Solomon Islands in Pictures

Honiara needs watershed program

The Solomon Islands government has been urged to work on watershed management program and increase awareness to all people who occupied river boundaries to control flooding.

The Solomon Islands Community Conservation Partnership has made suggestions to the government based on their findings after a deadly flood hit Honiara early April this year.

A statement submitted through the Forum Solomon Islands International said the recent heavy rains and floods highlighted a number of pertinent issues in regard to watershed management and mitigating the effects of storm water flow in the future.

The statement said the watershed should focus on recovering stream habitats, surface water restoration, improving the health of streams and rivers, and refining the understanding of ecological systems that foster dynamic balance within the upper Honiara watershed catchments.

The statement said awareness should be done to people from polluting the river ways with all forms of waste, including sewage, plastics or other non-biodegradable materials.

Among the suggestions, the government should protect the upper areas of rivers to easily satisfy the Protected Areas Act 2010 and Environment Act 1998.

It also suggested that Watershed planning can also empower choices about how to develop, maintain, and construct, drainage systems, control riverine development, and particularly ceasing the aesthetic (plastic dumping), and sewage pollution of rivers that can easily satisfy the River Water Act 1964 and the Environmental health Act 1980.

The statement said the current approach to development fails to recognize the critical cumulative effects of watershed functions and systems.

It said this singular approach to development creates vulnerability for residents who occupy riverbanks and even coastal shorelines.

Meanwhile the Forum Solomon Islands International (FSII) members have fully supported the suggestions and called on the responsible ministry to take heed of the findings.

In their social network forum, the FSII members said there is a need to put together proposals and forward it to the National Disaster Office (NDO) for consideration.

Honiara Flash Floods

Overview of China Town in along the Matanikau river in Honiara, Solomon Islands, during the flash floods in early April this year. It was a devastating flood which claimed at least 21 lives, destroy homes, food gardens, bridges, roads, displacing approximately 9,400 people,  and affecting about 52,000 people;  12,000 in Honiara and about 40,000 in Guadalcanal. The National Disaster Management Office in Solomon Islands said that this was the first ever flash flood to hit the country in its history. Currently the country is yet to recover from the disaster as it continues to receive assistance from donor countries, organizations and groups in its recovery and rehabilitation process. This has put a set back on the country’s development as growing nation which has just gone through lawlessness and disorder over the last decade. Photo Credit : Face Book, Solomon Islands In Pictures

Diverse Cultures

The diverse cultures also have their very own styles of making music. From the Southern part of Malaita Island called Are'Are where I came from is the making of pan pipe music which is now very common in Solomon Islands. These are music made from pan pipe sounds by those who know how to play it. Playing it is by blowing the pan pipes to make sounds but in harmonious traditional tunes. Now a days, the blowing of pan pipes is common in the country and modified with modern sounds of music. 

Kwaio Fadanga Dancer from Malaita Province. Photo Credit : Face Book, Solomon Islands In Pictures

One Nation with Diverse Cultures

Solomon Islands is made up of many small and scattered islands. It might be interesting to know the political, economical and social issues about the country. But I am interested in the cultural diversity of the country. There are many cultures, languages, dialects and types of people that you can find in the Solomon Islands. They have different cultural practices, norms and customs yet uniting as one people with in one nation under one national flag.

National Flag of Solomon Islands

Something to tell

It’s a great thing to discover and experience new things in life. This journey to a career in life is so fascinating with the experiences that one has to go through to achieve the aims in life. Learning is exactly the same.

At first I was thinking of what would be of interest to me or to others. I thought it would be so hard to think of something interesting, to get my friends and colleagues interested. But it’s just simple; it is what I am thinking of and doing it right now. To tell them something similar, about experiences in life, but based on my own experiences.

Before I take formal studies at the University of the South Pacific, I was working as a Radio Announcer, at the Solomon Islands Broadcasting Corporation (SIBC). It's a job I love much to these days because of my personal reasons. It is the Mother Radio Station in my country, Solomon Islands, with a national service providing news, information and entertainment to the scattered islands in the provinces. What is of great interest to me is bringing the listeners together through the on-air microphone when you are alone in the studio. You feel like you are piloting the air waves and your listeners are your passengers on board. It’s a moment of feeling responsible to your fellow citizens.

Going On-Air, SIBC AM Service Studios.