Comments

Good one.

Thank you for sharing your perspective, Jane Smith. The words you used in your comment, in many ways, already addressed the very questions you raised. But let me be more specific for the wider readership. I do not know you, so my apologies if I am mistaken, but I presumed from your name and your opinion that you may not have a deep connection to one of these islands. If so, your reaction to this blog is both understandable and unsurprising. The ontological and epistemological standpoint from which you formed your opinion shapes how you interpret the piece, and this is reflected in your emphasis on “classification…helps us identify geographical locations and similarities.” Yes, such categories simplify things — but for whom, and to whose benefit? These simplifications are not harmless. They amount to a kind of generational conditioning, and their consequences are profound. The ongoing power struggles over these very labels are clear, for example, in debates about leadership within the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF). Some member states have even threatened to leave, arguing that being labeled as “Micronesia” marks them as micro, less important, and excluded from broader Pacific conversations. For those of us who grew up in outer islands, away from urban capitals, and were raised with the wisdom and practices of our ancestors, the philosophical foundation is quite different. That is why our interpretations may diverge. In that sense, both your comment and the blog stand on their own and reflect the positions from which they were written. Have a good one.

Congratulations on this important work. People with disabilities in developing countries remain the poorest of the poor. Their voice needs to be heard in every forum, including parliament. remain the

This post exposes a real experience of disability equity case in local election participation in SI, a similar situation would be seen in education and health care access. The less to no participation or limited access by disabled persons in development is inevitable across developing economies- why? It depends on the nation's political and socio-economic development that may or may not focus on inclusive development. How nations like Australia see and read disability equity in Australia may not be the same as local SI see disability equity and access or participation in development activities - the same across other Pacific Island nations. Also note that, there are other enabling environment or development segments have to be in place for a disabled person/s to effectively participate and different forms of disability require different forms of enabling environments for him/her to fully participate and develop oneself. The first thing in a disability program is to undertake a data collection and needs assessment to develop a meaningful program for disability and gender equity mainstreaming activity. Then trial out a pilot project and use the evidence to advocate for greater integration. With the recent launch of Australia's IDEARS, it will be interesting to integrate a disability pilot program and share the outcome.

Thank you for the information. As the country celebrates its 50 years, there is much to reflect upon and a reminder of our journey. The countribution of many in both countries is acknowledged and much appreciated in this space.

I support your idea on name tags. For PNG, we should probably rename Port Moresby to Somare City or etc. and also probably change the name Papua New Guinea to other local names like Hanua etc..

What is a Pacific islander? I think defining 'unity' under the chapeau of "Pacific Islander" is misleading and oversimplifying an incredibly complex context. I think the article is over fixated on colonization without considering day to day complexities in the individual Pacific countries. The Pacific is not the European Union where there is binding unity in matters of day to day life. The Pacific is a region comprised of individual countries, some independent. some still remain territories with diverse cultures, identities, social, economic and political making. Let's be more clear and practical, yes Fiji Veikoso is a Pacific Islander with Fijian descent (I believe he's a naturalized US citizen also). The Pacific pageant is unique in demonstrating the cultures of different countries. The classification of Polynesia, Melanesia and Micronesia helps us identify geographical locations and similarities amongst countries. The negative connotones about this classification is not really that relevant.

Yes, it's about time! Thank you.

Amota, thank you for the enlightenment. Never knew Kiribati was the local pronunciation of Gilbert. Totally agree. Remove colonial conventions and return to the true Pasifika way. However, didn't Ferdinand Magellan who described the waters west of the the Straits of Magellan (whoops) as "pasifico" inadvertently name the home of all Pacific people. Can't win here.

Thank you!

Hear! Hear!

Many are missing the anthropological aspect In Mauritius, the list of the 500 best candidates at the A-levels are published every year Despite representing 28% of the population, Creole Mauritians of African descent barely represent 9% of the list Chinese Mauritians at 3% of the general population represent around 8% of the 500 best candidates Indo-Mauritians at 66% of the general population represent 83% of the list White Mauritians who represent 2% of the population don't study within the public education system so they don't appear in the list In Fiji, ethnic fijians are conspicuously less successful at school than Indo-Fijians but discrimination and oppression against the latter have forced them to migrate leaving Fiji with less qualified professionals Lastly, Mauritius is the only Hindu majority country in Africa and its only real democracy according to the UN Coincidences don't exist The Hindu majority brought stability with its "live and let live" attitude, a Muslim or Christian majority would not have adopted the same non oppressive attitude