Kakabona: The Real Victims of the Ethnic Crisis!!

The Ethnic Crisis touches many of us who lived through it in so many ways. Some lost love ones, others lost millions of dollars in investments, many lost their homes. Friends were torn apart, ethnic divisions ripped through the hearts of many places inside Honiara, including the multi ethnic and cultural settlements such as White River. The conflict also affected me in many ways.

Let me begin with Betikama. I spent six years in schools outside of town. In 1995, I attended Betikama Adventist High School. Back in those days, only a handful of High Schools had Form 6 classes. The urge, or tendency to escape school was always there and I did make good use of it. The consequence hit me pretty hard on Finals day, I didn't make it to university. And though my name was down for the SICHE intake of 1996, I decided to go back to Bellona Island. The following year, when I returned to Honiara, the realities of town living found me.

Kakabona: The Village Dear To Me!

Jobless, I moved out to the countryside and resided at

Kakabona. It was one of the most enjoyable places I've ever lived because of the people I lived with and friends I made. I stayed at my cousins' place and, oh yeah, we had so much fun. It was 1996. The only important part of the day to us was 4 in the afternoon because we got to play Touch Rugby at White River school, or volleyball in the neighborhood. Fried fish and rice were our daily meal. We didn't have much money, but we enjoyed each others' company. We would go out snorkeling and just enjoying the crystal clear water of Kakabona. To the west - about five miles by foot and a few 10 minutes by canoe - is former LDA. It used to be a government subsidized livestock farm and a coconut plantation. We went there many times for coconut fruits. We also enjoyed dipping in the clean stream just a few minutes walk passed what used to be the cowshed. We hardly afford beer so we made our own beer (homebrew), and magic mushroom occasionally. It was fun!

Kakabona was a typical Guale village but quite mixed. There were Malaitans, wantoks, Temotuans and Westerners living there prior to 1998. There were three small canteens in the neighborhood. And yes, betelnut vendors kept the main road busy till midnight. There was a local in-home movie theater with an admission fee of $2.00. We would cram inside this small living room watching some old movies. The odor was quite unpleasant, but it was the only place we would go in the evening if we didn't have the money to the White River theater; a move place owned by an American man and his Bellonese wife.
Our neighbor, George Fafale, used to export wild-life creatures such as snakes, lizards, birds, crocs, parrots, etc. to foreign countries. He also imported cars from somewhere in Asia and displayed them outside his house. Sometimes I stood there admiring those cars and imagining me driving one of them haha. Fafale is huge friendly man from Temotu whose voice reminded me of Mufasa of the movie Lion King.

My favorite time of the year was the "Mango season". There were at least three huge mango trees near our house. We used to pick them and sell them to people on their way to the beaches down Westside. Because buses those days didn't serve the Kakabona area, we would walk half an hour to catch a bus at White River to Point Cruz. A trip down to Point Cruz was like heaven those days! We sometimes walked from Kakabona to down to save money. Back in those days, $5 meant a lot to us.

Oh, I spent two years here, 1996 to 1997, before leaving for Papua New Guinea in February of 1998. I remember that morning when I left Kakabona; it was sad. I left my cousins and walked to White River where I caught a bus to Point Cruz. I caught up with my Samoan friends who dropped me off at the old International Airport. Flying over Honiara I could see the white sand of Kakabona, the beautiful Lela and Ela Beaches, and yes my favorite beach - Eden Bay. I also could see the wrecked ship by Lela Beach--a popular place to kids around Kakabona area.

In 1998, when I returned from Goroka, Eastern Highlands, to Port Moresby, the news of a civil between Malaitans and Guadalcanal dominated the PNG media. I was surprised to learn that Kakabona was raided by the Police Field Force (PFF), the armed wing of the Solomon Islands Royal Police (SIRP). I had not heard from relatives in Kakabona area but I knew they were okay. I learned that Kakabona was a GRA strong-hold and had been the scene of many encounters between the PFF and GRA. I also read that the PFF raid at Kakabona was a real invasion: they attacked the GRA with an armed truck, a hired-helicopter, and a Patrol boat.

March 2000, I returned home.

Homecoming

My homecoming was a little sad. In March of 2000, I was on my way home not knowing the status of Honiara; the danger that awaited me. My first impression of Honiara was the new International Airport - a huge improvement from the old international airport. A friend picked me up, turned to me and said "let me know where you want me to drop you and I will take you there"... I asked him to drop me off at Kakabona. He just frowned at me and said, allot had gone down since you left and Kakabona to be honest is a NO GO ZONE! I told him, that's where I live.
The first thing I noticed on our way toward Kakabona was that Honiara was soooo dirty. He started telling me stories of killings, kidnappings etc. and I began to wonder if it was a good idea to go to Kakabona, but I didn't know where else to go. When we drove passed White River, I began to notice also the height of grass. At Kaugere, the houses were basically abandoned. Bobo's house and Lucas' houses were completely abandoned. Just a few yards from Lucas' area, was a checkpoint. There was a man standing at the gate with a gun and a few more sitting in a military like tent. I know these guys; we used to play Soccer and hangout together and I knew them personally and by names. One of them came and looked inside the car then without a smile he said, you need to turn around here. I wanted to talk to him but he walked away. Those siting in the tent - well non of them even cracked a smile! We turned and drove back toward White River and found my sister's new home. They were relocated to the Independence Valley.

In the evening I decided to go back to Kakabona area. I came face to face with a tall guy with a high powered rifle. He asked where I was going and I explained to him where I used to live and my cousins. He looked me up and down then said 'we don't let people through this point but its okay... go and see your cousins but make sure you leave before nightfall.' I arrived and found my cousins and other relatives sitting outside talking. When they saw me they all freaked out! It was a sad reunion. We spent the whole afternoon talking about the crisis and the Police raid at Kakabana a couple of years back. I left them and returned to White River; it would be the last time till many years later. My cousins also left Kakabona in the ensuing months and after three months the country's government was overthrown.

Coup of 2000 - Escape to New Zealand

When the Paramilitary took over Honiara in June of 2000, I decided hem taim fo ranawe na. My friends who were watching the news in New Zealand reached me by phone. It was the beginning of another journey that would take me away for a few more years. I didn't have money at the time so I made collect calls to NZ - to my friends in Auckland and Whangarei area. The arrangements didn't go anywhere. My attempts to fly to NZ via PNG and Australia also didn't work out, and I lost all hopes. Many airlines also canceled their flights to Honiara.The final flight out of Solomon Islands was the Air Vanuatu. It was leased by Australia to transport the last remaining foreign nationals out of Honiara. Foreigners were flocking to the airport hoping to find their way out, so was I.

Final Day (June 200)

During that final week, I visited the Airline's office and the NZ embassy everyday. I got my visa but was trying to convince the SI Airlines that I didn't need a return ticket. It was a mess. Finally, I got a returned ticket and was told that things would be ready for me the next day. I spent the night at Kolaa Ridge and around 4 am, my friend and I drove to White River to get my stuff. We were stopped by MEF guys around Point Cruz and Rove. Lucky, my driver was a member of the MEF. We arrived at White River at dawn just when MEF and the Paramilitary forces attacked Kakabona. We could hear the gun-battle as we made our way out to the main-road. It was dawn--a beautiful but sad day.

After a few hours at the airport, I was thousands of feet in the air looking down to Kakabona. It was engulfed with smoke. The newspaper I bought that morning heralded the story of the attack at Kakabona as a success and other MEF stories. It was a three hours flight that would take me five years away from home.

RETURNING to KAKABONA (2004)

Many things occurred during my absence. I arrived in NZ around June 2000 and went to school in Hawaii from 2001 to 2004. After my graduation, I returned home: Honolulu - Fiji - Vanuatu - Honiara. The Regional Assistance Mission to SI (RAMSI) led by Australia and New Zealand had landed in Honiara a year earlier providing security inside the city. RAMSI officers were everywhere, things had been restored to its pre-coup conditions, although pockets of stubborn Keke loyalists still causing trouble in remote parts of Guadalcanal. But the scars are still fresh!

After two days in Honiara, I took a visit to Kakabona area. Houses were burned to the ground; almost every house was burned to the ground. I passed Kauare and arrived at where I used live. All the big houses around this area had been burned to the ground. I stood there just looking at the foundation of our house. It was sad. Our neighbors house had been abandoned for months--the entire village bears the scar of that terrible morning in 2000 when the paramilitary invaded the area. What left were foundations of homes, many of which belonged to innocent families.

Some photos I took sometimes in December of 2004