Tuesday 18th May

The Solomon Star printed my letter, centre of the page in the Letters section including a photo, and a large headline “Stop Destroying Our City”

http://www.solomonstarnews.com/viewpoint/letters-to-the-editor/5861-stop-destroying-our-city

If you can’t get the page to open this is the letter I sent

“Saturday 15th May 2010

Dear Sir, once again we have people determined to turn Honiara into some pigpig village like their own must be.

On Thursday night a person who was probably drunk and driving, drove through the BSP Roundabout, causing a lot of damage to the bougainvillea shrubs. This has now been repaired by SEB Work Crew on Friday morning.

On Friday night either the same drunken person, or a close wantok, broke down two 6 year old palms near the Ba’Hai centre on Mendana Ave. These will not be as easy to replace as the bougainvillea on the BSP Roundabout.

SEB are continuosly replacing trees, palms and shrubs through Honiara that have been damaged deliberately, either by shopkeepers setting rubbish fires around the trees, pigpig villagers who come to Honiara and cut down the palms, or drunken drivers who should not be in charge of a vehicle.

Is it any wonder that the Japanese Consul feels their Aid money is being wasted in the Solomon Islands as pointed out in the Saturday edition of the Solomon Star? Japan has generously funded SEB in the past to help beautify Honiara, and are continuing to fund SEBs efforts to propagate and produce trees and shrubs for Honiara City gardens and roadsides. How long will they continue to do this when we have pigpigs cutting down and destroying what the Japanese Aid money has provided? This is another example of the lack of respect for the efforts SEB have done and continue to do through Honiara to make it a city that showcases Solomon Island Culture.

If the pigpigs that come to Honiara and wish to turn it into what their pigpig village is like, then my suggestion is that they go back to their pigpig village where ever it is, and stay there. Live like a pigpig in your own place, do not come to Honiara and turn it into a pigpig mess. Stop cutting down our palms, trees, damaging our gardens. Stop throwing your rubbish in our gardens, on our streets, stop using our gardens as your toilets, go back home and do it there. We don’t want pigpigs making Honiara the worst city in the Pacific.

Warren Nash
SEB Honiara.”


It must have got some attention, I had SIBC (Solomon Island Broadcasting Corporation) ring me this morning asking for an interview, which we did late this afternoon. I have no idea when it will be broadcast, I don’t have a radio so it is not of any concern to me, but I gather from what the interviewer said that they expect to get a few phone calls once it is broadcast.

All the work crew read it this morning, and feel I was far too polite. The girls especially, they want to make all the people that drop rubbish be made to spend a week with them picking it all up out of the gardens and parks, as part of the punishment.

I’m waiting now for tomorrows edition of the Sol Star for the comments. I’m sure there will be a few over the next few days, hopefully not too many negative.

Apart from that bit of excitement, there hasn’t been much happening with anything so far this week. We still haven’t heard from Planning about the Nursery. I’m tempted to just go ahead and start preparing the ground, but that could open up another can of worms and arguments. We started 5 new young guys this week, all keen so far, we’ll see if they last the 2 months trial period and actually start to like it. Although just getting paid is enough incentive for everyone here. The wages are laughable, I have no idea how anyone is expected to live on what we pay them, and then looking at the obscene salaries and incomes that the “consultants” and RAMSI people are paid. All of which is reflected in what the shops and hotels, restaurants charge. You won’t see any locals in the restaurants or hotels, and if you do, it is certain they are Govt people.

I’m sure the crew think I’m some doddery old palangi that has to be helped do anything. I got a refill gas bottle yesterday, well, David picked it up with the truck while they were in Honiara, and when they dropped me at home last night Hudson jumps off the truck and starts carrying the gas bottle down to my house. I told him to leave it, it is only smallfala, bottle I can manage and swung it up onto my shoulder and walked off. I could hear the girls giving Hudson a hard time as they drove out, about letting an oldfala like me carry the bottle. It’s only 9kg, about 22lb, easy enough to carry, I don’t need help.

Considering I’m used to carrying oxy and acetylene cylinders on construction sites, 9kg is less than my toolbox weighs.

Andrew came into work yesterday and I went over the Nursery plans and we walked the site out with the measure wheel so he could get an idea of how large and where everything is going. His thumb is slowly healing, it will be a few months till he is back working though but he can be my offsider while we are putting it all together so he knows where and how it all fits. I think he grew about another 3 inches taller when I told him I want him to be the person responsible for keeping everything working once I leave. Jennifer will be in overall charge of the Nursery, and Andrew will be the maintenance and fixit person. I’d like more people like him.