Dear Editor – An interesting article appeared in your paper last week regarding the unhygienic behaviour of people in Honiara by reporter Inifiri.
This incident is only a tip of a host of demographic issues facing Honiara.
Apart from the many factors which I hope the people of the HCC and the elected representatives which the people of Honiara really do not know why they are there and what they are doing, I want to raise a small point.
Honiara is supposed to be the home of the working class. We have the country’s elite citizens living here.
The academics, the professionals, the businessman and the like. People from all around the country congregate here for many good reasons.
Our expat friends and international organisations with their personnel all live here. So the Honiara society should be made up of literate, civilized and law-abiding citizens and friends.
But surrounded by this so called elite society are the settlements and squatters.
Many of the dwellers there are people etching out a livelihood for their families and who are only trying to make ends meet (I salute and give credit to them).
But within these confines also grew a large number of unemployed youth, uneducated and uncivilized but are accessible to the capital city anytime they wish 24 hours a day.
With little concern for other people, with no proper sanitation facilities, infrastructure and so on, bae iumi struggle for keepim Honiara clean and make it habitable and enjoyable for all but the people I mention will always spoil it for us.
While crime is universal and not confined to one group of people, Iumi lo Malaita must be honest and admit that the majority of criminal activity in Honiara are committed by our people.
So while there is a bigger discussion surrounding the above article, suffice to say we have a time bomb awaiting Honiara and Solomon Islands.
While there is always a way to address these issues, I do not know who, when and how it will be handled. I invite the Honiara City Council to take the lead.
M. Fatainao
Kukum
