Cats can't talk because they have no eyebrows!

J. Roughan 

11 May 2010

Honiara      

An early lesson Solomon Islanders taught me when I first landed on Honiara's shores many years ago is that the locals are fond of using their eyebrows and the rest of their face to send messages. Of course, people here use many languages, more than 60 at last count, but their ability to use their facial muscles to send out messages is second to none. 

 

Strangers to these isles soon find that answers to questions come more often than not from the flick of an eyebrow, a lift of the brow or a widening of the eyes. In a real sense, then, the lift and lowering of eyebrows and widening of the brow acts like another language.  It's a  language, however, that the eye alone catches but the ear misses completely.  In the Solomons, then, one needs to pay great attention to the many messages sent by the eyebrow and face as well as those spoken out loud by the tongue. Shouldn't the nation employ this rich resource to the fullest?

 

Unfortunately, however, our political masters place much more emphasis on the overseas poll watchers rather than recruiting citizens right under their noses. In 2006, approximately 50 overseas personnel, using a budget of more than $3.3 million, parachuted into our country to be present at the national elections. Our leaders didn't seem bothered at all that these overseas personnel didn't speak a single local language, knew hardly a word of Pijin and were quite ignorant of our customs. Of course they never heard of the islanders' ability to communicate through eyebrows, eyes and face.

 

Yet, at the end of the day it was this team of overseas experts who verified that our 2006 election was 'free, fair and valid' having visited only a handful of polling stations and being present a few hours at the most in any single polling station.    

 

It seems only sensible, then, that when polling date rolls around in the middle of the year, that local people with their language skills should be  the major part of the monitoring system at each and every polling station across the nation. The nation has thousands upon thousands of people, young and old, men and women, who look forward to be part of the up coming national election, so vital to the country, if given a chance.   

 

In 2006, for instance, just before our last national election, SIDT organized more than 140 young people who were primed and trained to be present at a handful of polling stations. With no budget, not even enough to give these volunteers bus fare, to help them turn up at SIDT's weekly training session, these young people were eager to assist at polling stations to insure that the election went off 'freely, fairly and validly'.

 

This time around, however, we hope things will be different. To prepare for this election, SIDT has submitted to the Ministry of Home Affairs a project proposal to train up approximately 2,000 local poll watchers. In the 2006, there was 970 polling stations but with the increase in population the number of official polling stations will probably rise to something close to 1,000. 

 

The project proposal plans to place two locals--one man and one woman--in each polling booth station who would remain at post for the  complete 10 hours while voting takes place. These poll watchers would be drawn from their own area where their language abilities--both verbal and non verbal--would come into play. As important, the funding sought--$2 million--would be supplied from outside donors and not  burden the government of the day. 

 

There is little time left to get this work on the way. Of course, bring in outside poll watchers but have them team up with local people who are already at post. Final reports coming from a combination of local and overseas personnel would carry the necessary weight verifying that the election was indeed, 'free, fair and valid'. Solomon Islands citizens with their great language skills, both those of the tongue and body, would out perform any overseas expert on their own and be a whole lot cheaper. Unlike cats, however, Solomon Islanders with their eyebrows and all could do a marvelous job in keeping this next national election on the right path.