Selling Our Happiness to Buy Their Development

By Claire

Development is a big word. It essentially depends on who is selling and who’s buying the idea of ‘development’.

Most of us have bought what the ‘the others’ define as development: going to formal school; getting a degree or masters or whatever paper it is that says you are qualified enough to have an opinion that is worth getting paid for on a particular subject; the acquiring a job where what you get paid is more than what you need, so you can buy what you DON’T need to show others who care about the same petty things. Fast flashy cars, big houses, designer clothes, latest electronic gadgets etc.

There was a time in my life where I cared and sought for all those petty things.  The clothes, the hair, the shoes, the nails, the bags, the phones, the movies and all those things that Marie Claire, Hello!, Elle, Blackbeat, Dolly and Girlfriend told me were ‘must haves for this season’ (seriously, ‘seasons’ in tropical Papua New Guinea?!) Jeez! I cringe whenever I have a conversation about childhood dreams with my cousins (we’re Bougainvillian), who compared to me were so practical, noble and unselfish. Although I’m glad I went through that cringe-worthy phase.

I was in the midst of all the pettiness that ‘the others’ perceive as modern/developed/cool. So many words to describe something so plastic and SO fragile that all you need is a week back in a place where your survival depends on what you do and then, you realize what a façade all those so-called important things are.

At the end of the day what we want most out of life is to be happy! Happiness is that ever-elusive kudo, that nirvana, the heaven that we all strive for. AND the truth is ‘the must haves for this season’, the iPhones, the ‘skinnies’, the Nikes, the ‘bling’ do not make up this ‘happiness’.

Happiness and Development. Supposedly synonymous states. Both are states that we allude to and want to obtain, we want to be happy and we want to be developed.

I can honestly say that I witnessed both these states co-existing in perfect tropical bliss on these two tiny island nations called Fiji and the Cook Islands.

Viti Levu. From one end of the island to other the things that ‘the others’ allude to when they speak of development: education, health services, law and order; these things can all be found from Nadi to Suva. Furthermore the capital of Fiji (Suva) has, in my opinion, the perfect mix of modern convenience and traditional lifestyle.

Rarontonga. Breathtakingly beautiful and peaceful! The stuff that all tropical island getaway dreams are made of. You know, the white sandy beaches, turquoise waters, swaying coconut palms and clean quaint yards with their neatly arranged neighbourhoods. Perfectly planned towns and all citizens taken care of.

At first I carried myself like a true Mosbi (Port Moresby) person. I watched my back, held onto my bag tightly, made note of who bumped me and was ever vigilant to make sure no-one took a swipe at my bilum. After a few hours it hit me that no one looked like they were protectively hugging their bags and lo and behold! There were no fences!

Maybe I’m wrong, maybe I’m naïve, but in my opinion happiness is something you feel when you are doing what you should; when ou should; for who you should at the moments they matter.

Happiness isn’t consistent – that isn’t humanly possible. People you care about die, people you care about hurt you, people you care about move away, people you care about don’t care about you. But if you remember your sadness and pain more clearly than your happiness surely that must mean the happiness happens often enough for it not to be memorable unlike the sadness.

I’ve digressed. Back to the point. Happiness and Development. I saw both of these in Viti Levu and Rarotonga. The thing about happiness and being able to enjoy modern conveniences, functioning government services (health, law and justice, education) AND having extra money to spend is that you don’t NEED mining projects, or plantations, or agricultural projects, logging or anything that is alien to our culture to achieve this. Development if it means all these mining projects, plantations, agricultural projects and logging will not bring happiness. Maybe it’s time we stopped buying ‘DEVELOPMENT’ and start making Progress – doing it OUR way.

Then we might remember that we ARE happy without these big mining projects, plantations, agricultural projects, logging and other alien million dollar operations. Those alien operations don’t equate to happiness but doing what should be done, at the correct moment, with and to the correct people does bring that ever-elusive kudo, that nirvana, closer and produces varying degrees of happiness.

Our Pacific Ways…what do we mean?

Our Pacific Ways reflects on Our Pacific traditions for inspiration to move Our Pacific People forward.

It challenges the current systems of exploitation and asks: What if we did things Our Pacific Way?

What if we told you that Our Ancestors were the best navigators using the sun and the stars to travel the Liquid Continent?

What if we told you they were the best naval architects who built ocean-going vessels for international commerce between our island nations?

What if we told you that agriculture developed here first independent of any outside influence?

What if we told you that Our Ancestors lived in harmony with nature before the rest of the world knew anything about sustainable development?

What if we told you that tuberculosis and leprosy were introduced to Our People?

What if we told you that land was stolen from Our People to build Churches?

What if we told you that Colonial Administrations hung Our People in public the same way Blacks were lynched in America?

What if we told you that Fiji became independent when it overthrew the British Monarchy and that Solomon Islands is a colony of Australia?

What if we told you of the French domination of the Polynesia and the violation of Hawaiian sovereignty by the United States?

What if we told you of Nuclear testing and the displacement of Our People?

What if we told you about neo-colonization and the systematic exploitation of Our People and Our Resources?

WHAT IF… WE NEVER TOLD YOU?

….And so with-in the contemporary context of the Pacific it is now up to us to define Our Ways Pacific Ways as opposed to the failed model of development that is witnessed with the collapse of western economies.

Our Pacific Ways of land management should allow every generation to have a say about how land is used.

Our Pacific Ways of resource management should allow every generation to have the opportunity to enjoy the fruits of those resources.

Our Pacific ways of trade and communications should enable individuals, communities and nations to foster relationships that are mutually beneficial.

Our Pacific ways of Banking should safeguard and create wealth for us as opposed to speculating with our savings elsewhere

Our Pacific Ways of Governance should empower individuals and communities to lead and to hold leaders to account.

Our Pacific Ways of International relations should be between equal partners  and not of neo-colonism, gun boat or checkbook diplomacy.

Our Pacific Ways of education should be one of empowerment of people and not of creating misfits in society.

Our Pacific Ways of healthcare should be one of community based solutions and not just about treating individuals.

Our Pacific Ways of Agriculture and Food Security should recognize our agricultural heritage as our strength and knowledge base

We live in a part of the world that has huge potential but is currently being subjected to a model of development that only allows for a few elite and money-men to prosper at the expense of the vast majority of our people.

The only way out is Our Pacific Way!