TUTUVATU

By   Dr. Tarcisius Kabutaulaka Dr. Ishmael Togamae in Hawai'i From a humble beginning in a village in the mountains of Santa Isabel, Dr. Ishmael Togamae has walked paths  no other Solomon Islander had previously trekked. And it has taken him a long way. He and his family now live in Portland, Oregon, in the west coast of the U.S. where he works as a medical doctor. But the journey to Portland has been long and arduous.              Ishmael remembers, as a child having to walk for miles five-days-a-week, from Gurena, his childhood village in the highlands of Maringe to attend school at Nareabu on the coast. “I recall walking down slippery slopes of rugged bush tracks. I was the youngest kid from Gurena going to school at that time, and so I was often left behind.   “I cried many times because I was scared; and worse because the track traversed through a cattle farm. I was scared of the cattle,” he s...

Dr. Ponipate Rokolekutu       By Dr. Tarcisius Kabutaulaka It was a beautiful day on 16 th December 2017. The Stan Sheriff Center at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa was packed with excited graduates, relatives, friends, faculty and dignitaries. It was the University’s fall commencement ceremony. When his name was called, Ponipate Rokolekutu walked up to the podium, was hooded and then presented with a piece of paper acknowledging his achievements. It was a gesture welcoming this Fijian lad from Vunimono in Tailevu into the global community of academics. Rokolekutu received a PhD in political science, making him the first iTaukei to have been awarded a PhD in that department at the University of Hawai ʻ i. He looks sober and dignified in his graduation gown. But behind his sober demeanor and the infectious smile that beams through his spectacles are stories of struggles. Growing up, his parents struggled to look after him and his five si...

Beti stares at the wedding picture that hangs on the wall in the middle of the living room. She’s been standing there for nearly ten minutes. Tears rolled down her cheeks. She wipes it with the back of her hand, spreading it on the smooth chocolate-colored skin of her cheeks.            She remembers the day the picture was taken. It was the day she exchanged vows with Tome, her husband. In the picture she looks beautiful in her wedding dress. It was bought in Auckland, New Zealand, by a cousin who was studying there at the time. On her finger, her wedding ring glitters, reflecting the flash from the camera. She has an intoxicating smile that reveals her joy and hopes for a happy marriage, beautiful kids, and a promising career as a registered nurse. Tome looks elegant and handsome in the picture. He wears a black suit that was custom-tailored in Brisbane. The collar of the white shirt under his suit is fixed into place b...

The Christmas decorations are everywhere. They dangle from the ceilings, plastered on walls, and glitter in display windows. In the middle of the Ala Moana Shopping Center is a huge Christmas tree, intricately decorated with miniature doves, bells, colored balls and ribbons, sleighs, and all the ornaments that mark the Christmas season. I stand a few feet away, admiring the towering tree and then took a deep breath, inhaling the scent of fresh Christmas tree. There are people everywhere. They snake in and out of the shops and eating places. Most are bargain seekers, looking for cheaper prices that come with the holiday season. It is November 28:   Black Friday. I never quite understood what Black Friday was all about, but heard that it is the first day of the shopping spree that marks the beginning of the Christmas holiday.             “More like shopping crazy,” I said to myself as I watche...