MUNDA community came together Friday last week to celebrate our country’s 39th Independence anniversary with a flag-raising ceremony.
The ceremony was held at Tolavaena Sea Breeze Club with a flag-raising and salute conducted at the seaward decking.
A statement from the organisers of the event said many elders wanted to commemorate the event because it is important and should be respected by everyone.
“The 39th independence anniversary was special as it was the first anniversary after RAMSI.
“And going back 39 years the country has experienced a lot of change which were good and changes which does not seem to move the country forward,” the statement said.
One of the keynote speakers during the ceremony was retired civil servant Donald Maepio.
Mr Maepio spoke of his days as a civil servant working during the British Colonial Period.
He described those days as “very memorable”.
He said the British Colonial system was “very regimented” and “the system of checks and balance has been of very high standard”.
Mr Maepio still is a pensioner, said: “I still received that today.”
“I still go to the bank each fortnight to collect my money.”
He said during the British Colonial days the system worked well for everyone.
“There was very little space and gaps left for complain.
“Time is time, no more or less.
“Cleanliness is important, everyone comply.
“The system always maintain high discipline…police do not smoke and eat betel nut when in uniform.
“The British were always wary up to standard that in each District across the country there was sufficient capacity and manpower for each service,” Mr Maepio recalled.
Mr Maepio is one of many locals from Roviana who was employed during the colonial period.
He said it had been very “rewarding”.
“It was a period of real growth. We truly enjoyed our time until retirement.”
Another senior Roviana elder and senior bureaucrat Jeoffrey Wickham also spoke during the 39th Independence celebrations at Munda.
Mr Wickham said he was in his second year at university in 1978 when Solomon Islands gained independence.
“…I could rightly remember that Western students boycotted celebrations back then because the Western Province had boycotted Independence.
“They were emotional times back then.
“The Western Province celebrated Independence one year later in 1979,” Mr Wickham said.
He then told the gathering that independence should be a significant moment for everyone in the history of Solomon Islands.
“Since then the country has moved forward which was not always good and smooth.
“Somehow it was totally opposite from today.
“We would have properly changed and moved much better forward but it was not so.
“We find ourselves sometimes – in a mess.
“Perhaps it was due to political leadership.
“Yet we said we have been a unified country since Independence, under one flag, one national anthem,” Mr Wickham said.
He also reminded elders in Roviana Lavata about the true values of independence and how to be responsible for one another.
“We must see each other as one people, working colleagues, friends and neighbours.
“If we have not started let us begin now.
“Solomon Islands is one country.
“I am a proud Solomon Islander but I also see myself as a man from the Western Province, outside and inside of the country,” Mr Wickham said.
He also urged everyone to assist their children in learning about the very up-bringing of Solomon Islands as a country.
“There is need to tell stories about our country and its many challenges,” he said.
He said a lot more talking and conversation should be centred on public, private partnership.
“We need to devise proper formulas as this can only be achieved from us giving and contributing to a national course.
“After 39 years, governments needed to design policies that would work along the lines which are good for everyone,” he said.
Another speaker at the Munda celebrations is long time teacher and administrator Mark Voda Bisili.
Mr Bisili said the 39th independence anniversary celebration is a very special one for the country because next year the country will turn 40.
“We gained political independence but not economic independence as driving an economy requires us to remain connected to our development partners and the rest of the world,” Mr Bisili said.
Mr Bisili also recalled his upbringing in Honiara and elsewhere.
“And thank goodness those early days have been memorable ones,” he said.
He said he was a born during the “baby boomer period” – those who were born in the first two decades after the Second World War.
“As someone who was born in early fifties I grow up in a period of many new changes.
“As a young lad growing up in Honiara I was a product of the colonial period and among the children of civil servants.
“I am in that coalition.”
He said he had just joined the local workforce fresh from university when a lot of conversation and debate were tossed around to get to convince Britain for independence.
“That push was achieved in July 7th 1978,” he said.
Mr Bisili contributed in education and only retired from teaching a year ago.
He spoke highly of the Independence describing it as a “big achievement”.
“It has appeared that there is shared resilience despite of the many challenges.
“I wanted resilience to be a cornerstone in moving forward,” Mr Bisili said.
He concluded by asking everyone to ask themselves this question: “Did you feel Independence?”
Celebrations at Tolavaena Sea Breeze Club went into the night.
