The Native Iowan

Democracy S.I. style:

The streets are over-full of combat fatigued soldiers in full riot gear. The sky is a ‘buzz with helicopters low-flying. The stores are closed, reinforced with new steel plate and bars. A pervading sense impending doom lingers like the fine dust normally floating over Honiara’s streets.

Today the streets have that “hung-over” feeling… and everyone knows why…

Today is the day… We’re having another national general election. Was it only 4 years ago, 2006, that Chinatown got pillaged and burnt due to political BS? We just love to exercise our democratic rights in this lovely land. And if’n we don’t get the outcome we want we’ll raise hell until we do.

But really folks, for all the good that is found in democracy… Do we have to go through it again?

Of course the powers that be declared voting-day a public holiday. So business stops. They also ban all booze sales. As near as I can tell the private clubs have been shut as well so it’s a couple dry days in Honiara.

Which means the black-market sellers are doing a great biz.

The past week has seen an offering of flatbed trucks, taxis, busses and even a garbage truck I saw driving through town plastered with fliers and festooned with bodies. All making noise and chanting the name of their candidate. Mostly filled with young men and boys I saw a few that had numbers of women involved. Yesterday I saw some convoys of up to 20 vehicles. All shouting and carrying on. Obviously alcohol is available in town by the behavior of some but by and large there was little actual violence reported, yet.

Yesterday the roads were grid locked due to the frenzy of last minute “campaigning”. This in it’s own right is enough to spark emotion. but so far… keep yer fingers crossed.

I guess “democracy” means we can break every driving/ road rule and even go as far as commandeering the main road for a private gathering in honor of a favored candidate.

This picture was reenacted dozens of times in the past week.

I have decided that democracy here is similar to the team spirited soccer hooliganism found in England in the 80s. I note, unhappily that some polling booths were closed to supporters of any other candidate but Mr. X. I assume the police have sorted such situations out. I also heard that names on the voting lists are confused. Some folks don’t have their name on any list while others have their name on more than one list at different polling stations.

So democracy means we can get into big groups, “teams”, and chant and harass and make noise… Each of these teams are big and emotional. There is so much energy and passion and perhaps alcohol involved that it cannot end peaceably. I am not looking forward to the announcement of the “winners”.

One could begin to query if/ when this lovely land will get it right. The air here is tense. Large, military style helicopters buzz low over the town. The birds have fancy photography gear on board. Including infrared, they claim to be able to take pictures and identify persons in a car from 1000 feet up. As mentioned the military presence is both good and bad. The idea that we have assault-armed military on the ground and ready to roll (or rolling) as we speak is good but… why is it necessary?

I have come to the conclusion that the S.I. leadership is simply fucked in the head. The self-serving “Mr. Me” attitude is too strong. It is too well supported by corrupt private interests. There is simply too much money at stake for it to “turn out good”. Between the Taiwanese “free money” and the millions in aid and the graft to be made turning an official eye… it is simply too big of a plumb not to be fought over.

Is this how a state begins to fail?

And, basically, it is no different than elsewhere. I feel the scales here are such that we see more and the need for vision is so real and keen that we feel the lack greater but…

BUT…

Another 4 years of lost opportunities?

I hope not but, for the first time in my 30 years here, I am very much less than optimistic about a positive outcome.

More later