Last month, RAMSI Special Coordinator, Tim George, took time out to walk the Atoifi to Auki Road. Here are his impressions of his journey along the winding road of Malaita’s development.

Tim George
Day One—Atoifi

Hitching a ride on the RAMSI helicopter’s milk run, the regular trip used to resupply RAMSI’s police posts in the province, my wife Geraldine and I arrive at the stunningly beautiful location of Atoifi, in the northern part of East Kwaio, just an hour after taking off from Honiara.

At Atoifi, the Participating Police Force (PPF) shares the post with their colleagues from the Solomon Islands Police Force (SIPF). Our PPF hosts are Duane McDonald, a detective from the southern Australian state of Victoria, and Nicole Malsol from the Pacific island nation of Palau.

Nicole, whose father was a police officer, tells us she is one of only 12 women in the 170-strong Palau police force. Here, in Solomons, she proudly bears the honour of being one of only two representatives of her country in RAMSI.

Jointly hosting us are three SIPF officers stationed in Atoifi. All are Kwaio men and bring to their work an intimate knowledge of their local people, their culture, language and environment. The sergeant in charge is Robert Kwaeria, from Kwagio village in Sinaragu district.

Also from Kwagio village is Tex Tafoa, who informs us he has recently attended a five-week course at the International Deployment Group, or IDG, training centre near Canberra which is responsible for training RAMSI police before they are sent or deployed to Solomon Islands.

The course is a comprehensive induction and training course for all PPF officers from Australia and the Pacific Islands countries, in preparation for their posting to RAMSI.

Tex tells us that he learnt valuable skills during the course and has been able to help prepare the PPF officers for their assignments in Solomon Islands. The third member is Dicky Laefilamo. Sgt Kwaeria has recently completed a SIPF boat handling course at the Maritime Training School in Honiara.

He is now qualified to take charge of boats like the fast RHIB coastal runabouts, which since being introduced by RAMSI, have proven so effective for policing in all the provinces.

In the afternoon, we tour the Atoifi region by banana boat, which gives us a good look at the surrounding environment, and the numerous fishing villages dotted around the beautiful coast. As in most parts of Solomon Islands, there are few roads in the region and most people rely heavily on boats for transport and communications.

We make a brief stop in Sinalaka Bay, near the small village of Gelebasi. This turns out to be a highlight of our afternoon, for we are taken by a very knowledgeable local man, Chief Bati of Su’ubono Village, to see the site of the famous incident in 1927 when District Officer Bell and the constabulary accompanying him were murdered.

Their murder sparked punitive raids from land and sea by the colonial powers against the local people, causing considerable loss of life and great suffering and hardship.

Little remains at the murder site, now a peaceful bush setting, apart from a number of stones marking the simple graves of the constabulary killed on that fateful day.

Those tragic events, recounted graphically by the famous anthropologist Roger Keesing in his book, When the Lightning Meets the West Wind, still resonate strongly among the Kwaio people. Later in the afternoon, at Nunubilu village, we are privileged to hear an account of that turbulent period from someone who lived through it, David Wridley.

Now 88, David was a small boy at the time of the massacre and recalls vividly the fear and drama of those events. A born story-teller, David’s account is fascinating.

Back at Atoifi, I am happy to see what is clearly a close working and personal relationship between the PPF and SIPF. We also witness the excellent cooperation between these officers and the staff of the Atoifi Seventh Day Adventist Hospital. Stationed at the entrance of the hospital, the police post provides an important on-site security presence, something the hospital has lacked for many years. In return the hospital is able to provide the post with access to electrical power and internet. Currently, the hospital’s manager is a Fijian, Apisalome Seru, who kindly takes me on a guided tour.

Located on beautiful grounds, the hospital has a well-run look about it and is a credit to the Solomon Islands and international staff who are all members of the Seventh Day Adventist Church. Later Apisalome, who has generously arranged for Geraldine and I to spend the night in a staff bungalow on the hospital grounds, joins us for a barbecue at the police post. The SIPF and PPF officers all prove good hosts and we finish off an enjoyable evening with a game of darts.

Day Two—Atoifi to Atori

An early morning boat ride up the island-dotted coast brings us an hour later to the small centre of Atori. We meet the sergeant in charge of the Atori SIPF station—Sergeant Peter Sipolo. 

He gives us a quick tour. In the neighbouring school grounds, he shows us a school/community hall. He is pleased to tell us that the hall is to be used the following week by the visiting Senior Magistrate from Honiara, Senaka, who is bringing the circuit court to Atori to help clear up the substantial back-log of cases awaiting trial.
Senaka is a Papua New Guinean magistrate, working for Solomon Islands under a bilateral programme funded by his government, a practical example of good regional cooperation.

Next to the neat and attractive police station stands a number of derelict police houses, vandalised several years ago by trouble-makers after the buildings had been declared unfit for habitation.

Sergeant Sipolo explains that the lack of housing has made it impossible to staff the Atori police station adequately. However, he is delighted to be able to tell us that funds have recently been set aside in the SIPF budget to build three new houses, which will provide accommodation for up to six police officers and families.

The police experience in Atori shows yet again the key link between the provision of adequate police housing and the government’s efforts to make sure there are enough police stationed in the provinces.

Atori to Auki

Sergeant Sipolo points me down the main road, which heads west and crosses Malaita, finishing just north of Auki. Out on the open road, I indulge my love of hiking and 33 kilometres of walking down this hilly road gives me a number of lasting impressions.

The area is ruggedly beautiful with dramatic jungle-clad mountains and valleys, eye-catching villages and a number of spectacular sights, including the magnificent Auluta Waterfalls (upstream of the Auluta Basin, site of the proposed major oil palm development).

It strikes me that in many countries such magnificent falls would be a major tourist attraction but the day I pass there is not a soul to be seen.

Just after setting off, the heavens open and I experience first hand the heavy tropical rains so common in the area. It seems I am drenched to the skin in an instant and I run under the roadside trees for shelter, failing however to save our camera from the effects of the deluge.

I am impressed by the good quality of the road, which is much better than many roads in Honiara! It boasts hardly a pothole, despite the frequent heavy rain. A couple of the steeper sections are tarsealed.

The road has been upgraded in the past two years with support from RAMSI in conjunction with Australia’s Community Sector Programme (CSP). The benefits of a good road in this once remote location are plain to see.

They now provide easy access to a large population centre by the (sometimes overloaded) passenger and freight trucks which ply the road, often carrying farmers and their produce to market as well as improved access to the schools and clinics dotted along the road.

Later I learn that the upgrading of the road has led to a growth in the number of village houses located near this important route. I am also told the improved road has brought with it improved law and order. It seems now that the police have better access to remote areas and they are able to provide a very real deterrent to would-be trouble-makers.

Before daylight fades, I am met on the road by the senior PPF representative in Malaita, Jonathan Ersch, who drives me into Auki, the provincial capital. Jonathan is an experienced hand in Auki, after 18 months service here. That night Jonathan and his PPF colleague Dave Bonnici host us to an expertly cooked barbecue at the house they share with the third Auki-based PPF member Manase Tu’imoala, who is on mid-term leave in his home country, Tonga. Both Jonathan and Dave are from Melbourne, so the Australian Rules football broadcast provides an appropriate backing for our fascinating discussion about the delights and challenges of the PPF’s work in Auki.

Day Three—Langa Langa Lagoon

The weekend enables us to make a brief visit to the spectacular Langa Langa Lagoon area, just south of Auki. Geraldine and I stay at the charming Serah’s Lagoon Hideaway, and learn much from our kind host about the traditions and culture of this unique part of the world. A tour of the lagoon by banana boat enables us to see close up the famous artificial islands of the Langa Langa Lagoon, and the historic surrounding villages where, most unusually for the South Pacific, solwara (or saltwater) people and bush (mountain) people are settled in villages side by side. We also travel to Bina, site of the proposed new international port for Malaita, and to nearby Maena, where it is hoped a tuna cannery will be built, both reminders of the significant economic potential of Malaita.

Day Four—Auki

Back in Auki it’s time for a tour of the police precinct. Auki police station is neat and functional but the police housing has long been in a bad state. Moreover it suffers from its low-lying location and is prone to flooding.

Fortunately, plans are underway for some improvements, although the long-term task is major. I have a useful meeting with the acting Provincial Police Commander, John Walaeneo, All is quiet in town, although only the day before there had been a major incident involving unruly and criminal behaviour by a large number of men armed with knives and iron bars, who attacked a number of police officers and damaged  police vehicles. The SIPF had called for PPF assistance, and an ugly incident was soon brought to a halt after a warning shot was fired.

A number of arrests were made and calm has now returned, the incident but one reminder of the on-going challenges facing those trying to police in Solomon Islands.

I call on the Premier of Malaita, Hon Richard Irosaea. The Premier is accompanied by his Provincial Secretary and Deputy Provincial Secretary. As ever, the Premier is insightful.

Our one-and-a-halfhour meeting is packed with interesting and useful discussion. I brief the Premier on recent developments on RAMSI, and we discuss RAMSI’s programmes in Malaita.

The Premier briefs me on his Government’s developmental priorities for Malaita, both in the rural areas and in the towns. He outlines proposed national as well as provincial-level economic and infrastructure projects.

Service delivery is a major focus, including in education, health, and water supply. He briefs me on forthcoming developments on post-tensions reconciliation between Malaita and Guadalcanal.

In the law and justice sector, he underlines the need for a resident magistrate to be stationed in Malaita, to keep the wheels of justice turning properly.

He shares his perceptive thoughts on the way forward for the SIPF, and we discuss ways in which PPF can best provide the necessary support. I brief the Premier on the PPF’s increased focus on capacity building the SIPF and its own efforts to ensure its members are adequately equipped with the skills for this sensitive and complex task.

After my return to Honiara, I write to the Premier and foreshadow a visit to Malaita by the Commander of the PPF, to take these issues forward.

As we finally head home to Honiara on the return milk run, I reflect on our visit to Malaita. Significant challenges would seem to lie ahead for this key province in Solomon Islands and there is much work to be done. Yet Malaita holds many great strengths all of which were on display in one way or another during our short visit: a strong and proud people, great natural beauty, numerous places of traditional and historical interest, and significant economic and tourism potential.

RAMSI will continue to play its part as a partner to the national and provincial governments in their efforts to help create the conditions for Malaita and its people to realise their considerable potential. And I am quietly proud to be briefly a small part of this. 

• This is the first in an occasional series of travel notes by RAMSI Special Coordinator Tim George, who recently travelled to Malaita with his wife Geraldine.