SOLOMON ISLANDS: OUR IMAGINED COMMUNITY

By Dr. Tarcisius Kabutaulaka

As we celebrate 40 years of constitutional independence, it is important to reflect on the ideas that form and continue to influence our country, our relationships to each other, and how we portray our Solomon Islander identity (or identities) to others. 

There are numerous reasons why such reflections are important. One simple reason is because ideas are powerful. They have the potential to transform our societies and environments in both positive and negative ways.

Here, I focus on the idea of Solomon Islands. Yes, in a way Solomon Islands is an idea. Its existence as a nation-state is dependent on our individual and collective ideas of belonging and commitments to making this idea a viable and beautiful reality. 

Solomon Islands, in other words, is as good as our imagination of belonging to this community that we call our country –our home. It is “our imagined community.”

This idea of Solomon Islands as a community is based on a simple premise: if we can imagine ourselves as a community, then it is possible to build a united and progressive nation-state.

Scholars, journalists, politicians, development partners and other commentators often point to the relative absence of national consciousness or a sense of nationalism, as one of Solomon Islands’greatest challenges.

The narrative is that because the country is ethno-linguistically diverse, Solomon Islanders tend to privilege their ‘wantok’and island or provincial identities more than their national identity. This engenders divisions, weakens state institutions and has led to inter-group conflicts. This, it is argued, hinders socio-economic development.

I agree there is a degree of truth in this. But, it does not have to remain “the”truth forever. Things can and have changed, although commentators tend to spin the same fragmentation narrative since independence.

This storyline portrays ethno-linguistic diversity as a liability, rather than an assert. Indeed, diversity could be the foundation for a vibrant community. In any case, many nation-states, including some of the most powerful, were built on multiculturalism.

But most Solomon Islanders have been told the fragmentation narrative so often that we, not only believe that our country is divided, but that there is little hope for unity – we are doomed.

We, in turn, internalize these negative storylines, teach it to our kids in schools and universities, articulate it in political rhetoric, and parade it in our mass media.

There is a need to change this negative narrative and celebrate our ethno-linguistic diversities and recognize that it has the potential to form the foundation for building a strong Solomon Islands community.

This week, we are showcasing the richness of our diversities and sharing with our Melanesian wantoks at the Melanesian Arts and Cultural Festival (MACFest) that will coincide with our 40^th independence anniversary celebrations. 

But how do we create and promote a narrative that embraces diversity? What does a Solomon Islands community look like? What is an “imagined community”?

Let me try to explain the idea of Solomon Islands as a community, especially an “imagined community.”This is a concept borrowed from history and political science scholar, the late Benedict Anderson.

He defines the nation as “an imagined political community . . . It is ‘imagined’because the members of even the smallest nation will never know most of their fellow-members, meet them, or even hear of them, yet in the minds of each lives the image of their communion.”

Ernest Gellner, a British-Czech philosopher and social anthropologist, pushes the idea further: “Nationalism is not the awakening of nations to self-consciousness: it ‘invents’nations where they do not exist.”

In Solomon Islands, our community –or nation-state –has already been ‘invented.’The task for us is to strengthen our collective imagination as a community.

Note that ‘imagination’does not imply ‘fabrication’and ‘falsity.’Rather, it is about ‘creation’and a collective identity that generates senses of nationalism and patriotism.

It is true that Solomon Islands, as a nation-state, is a creation that has had a shaky history. It is therefore challenging and takes a stretch of our imagination to draw from history to build a sense of community. There is little virtue of a nostalgic past to be recaptured to build the future. But, there is a past to learn from.      

I believe we can do it. The future is for us to harness and build a sense of community that celebrates and draws strength from our diversity. We have already been doing that. We only need to strengthen it.

This will take effort and creativity. But, the future has always demanded effort and creativity.

The creation of this ‘imagined community’will need a couple of things. First, an education system and curriculum that makes our young –and not so young –people appreciate our diversity as a source of strength, rather than a weakness. 

Second, it will require leadership that unites, rather than divides. In order for us to form a strong community, citizens need to believe in the integrity and commitment of our leaders. It is difficult to build such a community when leaders are perceived as self-serving, corrupt and divisive, and citizens have little confidence in institutions such as parliament.

Third, language plays an important role in creating and maintaining our collective identity. This is particularly important because language is not only a means of communication, but also a repository of cultures and identities. While we must celebrate, teach and maintain our various languages, we should also formalize and privilege, pijin (pidgin), our common language, creating literature, etc. in that language. Our musicians are already doing this.  Perhaps the Solomon Islands National University (SINU) could set up a Solomon Islands language department that teaches Solomon Islands languages. Through this, our young people could learn each other’s language.

Fourth, cultures define our community. Here, I am not only referring to ‘traditional’cultures and customs, although those are equally important. But, I am thinking of contemporary popular cultures expressed through visual and performance arts. For example, Solomon Islanders are great musicians and I often hear Solomon Islands music played in the airwaves of other Pacific Island countries. We also have great visual artists. This week many of their works are on display at the National Arts Gallery in Honiara as part of MACFest. Artist need to be supported because they can contribute to building our national community. 

Fifth, sport is one of the most powerful and emotive vehicles for harnessing our sense of nationhood. It is where Solomon Islanders overtly express our nationalism: we wave our national flag, sing our national anthem, and make “Go Solo Go”our rallying cry. When our football and futsal team win, we rally at Henderson Airport to welcome them. No politician could have ever attracted us to Henderson Airport in the same way. With sports, we could score a greater goal: create and maintain a sense of national consciousness.

The issues raised above are by no means exhaustive. There are other issues we could focus on to build our national community, a sense of collective interest and purpose that will give substance to both our individual and group aspirations.

I believe in Solomon Islands. I understand and accept the challenges we face, but I am convinced we can overcome those challenges.

As we celebrate our country’s 40^th independence anniversary, let us strengthen our community and let us imagine a prosperous Solomon Islands community. 

This after all is our“imagined community.”