The fight for justice in Solomon Islands: Meet the champions
By Hamish Wyatt
The population of Solomon Islands is scattered over nearly 1,000 islands (around only one-third of them are inhabited) — and delivering even the most basic of services to all is a significant challenge.
This is no different for law and order. There are no police on a number of islands and getting justice for a crime or dealing with disputes can take years, or in some cases, the disputes are never addressed.
This lack of conflict resolution has serious impacts: a land dispute can lead to disruptions to work on a road, a school or a clinic stalling; it can do terrible damage to the close-knit communities who may not be able to resolve issues between citizens.
If not managed carefully, these issues can lead to more instability, undermining efforts that have gone into stabilizing this post-conflict developing country. The Solomon Islands government recognized this challenge and, with support from the World Bank and the Australian government, it began investigating ways to address this problem at its heart: in the community.
Since 2014, the Community Governance and Grievance Management Program has been building support to address this challenge.
In villages across Rennell Bellona and Makira Provinces communities are electing their own representatives to act as Community Officers to resolve disputes and direct serious cases to authorities.
Meet them here!
Jennifer
Jennifer Tai, a former national netball team member in Solomon Islands still coaches young women in her home village. But Jennifer’s main focus is off the court, addressing community problems and supporting justice in her small rural community of Matangi on Bellona Island, in the remote south of the Solomon Islands.
In this traditionally male-dominated culture, Jennifer has become a rock of stability for her local community, helping to settle and refer land disputes, addressing domestic violence issues and speaking with youth about the challenges they face.
“My work here as a Community Officer means I must be aware of anything that comes up — crime, land disputes, all types of issues. I have to listen out for what is happening and then act as a mediator, sometimes working in different areas to support the government like emergency supply distribution,” Jennifer explains.
However, there have been plenty of challenges. As the only female officer in the entire province, Jennifer had to overcome prejudices, as well as her own fears and misgivings about the role.
“I was frightened when I started, because in our culture it’s hard as a woman to talk openly with everyone in the community, especially with [male] elders and chiefs,” says Jennifer. “But after I received training to become a Community Officer, I gained confidence, and now I’m not as worried as before.”
Chiefs and elders have largely embraced the role of a woman Community Officer. The Chief of East Bellona, Matangi and the Chairman of the Council of Chiefs, Alo Sangatago points out: “It was always the role of women in [our] traditional society to mediate between tribes, so it makes sense that Jennifer plays this role here and it was not difficult for chiefs to work with her.”
“The project is helping to bridge the gap between remote communities and the very idea of government and the state,” says Ali Tuhanuku, the World Bank’s Governance Specialist in Solomon Islands.
Daniel
Daniel Danegu is one of Makira’s community-appointed Village Peace Wardens. In Daniel’s small village of Kokana, a lack of jobs and youth unemployment led to alcohol abuse as well as some violence in the community. However, as a Peace Warden, Daniel has been working with the young men in Kokana.
“The more I worked with Daniel, the more I realized the problems alcohol abuse were causing in the community,” said Michael, a young man helped by Daniel. “Now I speak to youths to explain the issues and dangers of this type of drinking.”
“Previously we had to take everything to the police,” said Phyllis, of the Kokana village Women’s Council. “But these young men are people’s children so we don’t want to send them to the police — it is much better now that it is being solved within the community with the peace wardens.”
Through awareness and engagement, such as the creation of local sports competitions and working closely with the young men in the community, Daniel and Michael’s work has started to pay off, with alcohol-related incidents declining.
“[The problem has] now reduced a lot. Even if people have been drinking, it is possible to speak to them and they are polite and are not causing trouble — [the situation] it has greatly improved,” said Phyllis.
Reginald
The Community Governance Program is also helping to lighten the load on over stretched police personnel.
Reginald Tarea is a Village Peace Warden in Nora Nora Village, who always tries to present himself as the first line of contact for the community when issues arise.
“It was really a challenge for the local people to leave their community and come to [the capital] to report and then go back,” said Peter Sitai, the Provincial Police Commander of Makira-Ulawa. “So having this system in place now… is very good for the police department,” he added.
In these tight-knit communities, solving the issues internally are a positive step. “I’m happy because we settled this issue together and I’m happy with the Warden for this,” said Sarah Hoike, who recently had a dispute resolved by Reginald.
Roy
Roy Panio-Sao’matangi is the Community Officer for Ward 8 in Bellona. Roy sees the trust and information that Community Officers build with the community as very important. “The Community Officer Program has strong community support, because previously no one was playing this role,” Roy said.
This trust has broader implications than just improved order in the community. As people in Solomon Islands are aware, when trust between citizens and the state collapses, violence and state breakdown can follow. This happened when the country went through a period of civil conflict know as ‘the Tensions.’
“When trust breaks down it is very difficult to implement government programs within communities — so there used to be this gap,” said Adrian Tuhanuku, the Provincial Secretary of Rennell and Bellona Province. “But Community Officers basically breach this gap and are able to return some confidence from the community to the government.”
For more information on this project, go here.
