The Banaban community in Fiji is seeking justice for what happened on Banaba (Ocean Island) and to its people over a century ago.
In the early 1900s, Banaba or Ocean Island was mined for phosphate, resulting in a barren and uninhabitable land with mining governments then forcing its people to relocate and settle in Rabi Island, Fiji in 1945, following a brutal Japanese occupation.
The extractive mining project led by the British Phosphate Company (BPC), equally owned by Australia, the UK and New Zealand, is largely forgotten now.
However, the Banabans of today say they still live with the grief and trauma brought on by the destructive practice. They point out that not only had they lost their land but they also lost their language and cultural identity.
The displacement of the Banaban people has meant their rights and land development is safeguarded by Kiribati - which Banaba is part of - and Fiji - which Rabi Island community hub volunteer Itinterunga Rae Bainteiti describes as “falling into the cracks of two countries”.
In order for the Banabans to move forward and restore their sense of dignity, they are seeking a formal apology from the New Zealand government.
Community leaders hope to go to New Zealand before the end of the year to present a petition to Parliament requesting an apology.
Bainteiti said seeing the impact the Dawn Raids apology had on New Zealand’s Pasifika community in 2021 spurred him on.
“I was in New Zealand at the time when the discussions around the Dawn Raids were happening,” he said.
“Then I was in Rabi when the apology took place and for me - as part of a community that was uprooted from our ancestral home because of extractive industries and phosphate mining - I think that’s what our community needs right now.”
In February this year, Auckland’s Silo Park hosted an art exhibition created by the Banaban community in Auckland and Rabi, by the International Center for Advocates Against Discrimination (ICAAD) and the Banaban Women’s Organisation (BWO).
The exhibition depicted Banaba’s history, the lingering impacts mining has on Banabans today and stories of resistance. At the same time, ICAAD launched its petition calling on the New Zealand government to deliver an apology and outlining several recommendations.
Banaban cultural performer Zachary Bakaua said the exhibition was an opportunity to clear up common misunderstandings of Banaba.
“To us, our identity became lost,” he said
“We’re using the i-Kiribati language and therefore people think we’re i-Kiribati but we’re not.”
Bakaua also said the struggles are continuing for the Banabans on Rabi island.
“We’re experiencing climate change, sea rises and water shortage.”
University of the South Pacific student Kimere Nemia said as a Banaban living in Fiji, it can feel isolating.
“We’re an even smaller community in Fiji. We don’t normally hold exhibitions like this in Suva,” she said.
“But we need more exposure of our community.”
Rae Bainteiti said other countries that also mined Banaba have also yet to acknowledge their actions. However, he said New Zealand’s history of championing social issues in recent times was commendable.
“New Zealand is in the best position to step up with facilitating this public apology,” he said.
“New Zealand has always been the big brother or sister for the Pacific in policies and development agendas for the Pacific.”
“We would love to see the leadership just stepping up and seeing where they could potentially assist our very marginalised communities with supporting education, scholarship, health because for over 70 years, the development of Rabi has really been constricted, restricted to the fact that part of the development is really falling in the cracks of two countries.”
“We’re also asking in this petition if they could come and investigate and see how the Banabans are doing now.”
As New Zealand’s general election looms, Bainteiti said the Banaban community would continue to engage with the government in Wellington even if there’s a change in leadership.
“If there is a change in government we will still pursue the conversation with the new government,” he said.
“Our work has not been really about who’s in politics and who’s not. When we were in Auckland in February, we worked with every politician because it is an advocacy work that shouldn’t be politicised - it is a moral obligation.”
Although most Banabans today live in Fiji and in New Zealand, a small community of 300 people returned home to their island in Kiribati, where natural cave systems traditionally used to store water were either destroyed or contaminated. That meant a desalination plant had to be installed. When that broke down in 2021, the islanders went without fresh water for three months before help came from Kiribati.
A new desalinator was installed but the islanders have asked the governments who jointly mined their island for help in restoring the cave systems.
- Additional reporting from Stuf