TUTUVATU

By  Dr. Tarcisius Kabutaulaka Br. George and students from the Isidro Care Center, Aruligho In 197 5 , a 3 5 -year-old Dutch man with a n lip-curling  last name and a funny accent arrived in Solomon Islands .  He had previously spent 9 years in Samoa , which  prepared  him  for t his next assignment in the heart of Melanesia. He was  worlds away from  Europe, especially  his native  Holland , a country with  tranquil landscapes graced by windmills, dikes and canals.  He  gave up  a comfortable lifestyle for the humid  and beautiful  tropical islands of the Southwestern Pacific.  But he was ready – armed with a dedication to vocation and tons of dreams to make a difference in the lives of the people he was sent to serve. He was Br. George (Joris) van der Zant.  He was a member of the Society of Mary (Marists), a religious order in the Catholic Church.  On Friday, 12 th April 2019, Br. George – as he was keenly known  amongst  colleagues, friends an

Dr. Transform Aqorau 9 April, 2019, Canberra, Australia Ladies and gentlemen, and members of the Australian Armed Forces. I am humbled, and honoured to have been asked to speak at this Conference, on “Defining the Opportunities” to give a “View of the Pacific”. There can be many different views of the Pacific depending on who you talk to, because we are not as some people assume, necessarily a homogeneous grouping of islands, with shared national interest. I think sometimes those who look at us assume that we are challenged by the same interests and therefore we can be treated as a single, seamless regime. This might be true when you look at some of the environmental challenges that we are confronting but there are different ways in which these are affecting us and therefore in seeking to find solutions we have to be careful about how we approach the problems. My view of the Pacific is defined by my immediate past and present environment and exposure to the region and