In early April the Solomon Islands were hit by devastating floods that left at least 21 people dead and up to 50,000 displaced. Some of the New Zealand Police staff serving in the islands found themselves on the frontline in Honiara after bridges were washed away, stopping them returning to their base.
Here Sergeant Karen Ellis, normally a recruit instructor at the Royal New Zealand Police College, but currently nine months into a year-long deployment to the Solomons, reflects on her time on the disaster front line.
Wow! I've never seen so much rain, or rain pouring so ferociously from the heavens. Hem bik fala rains!!
It was Mother Nature showing her true might. The roads very quickly became rivers. Huge puddles formed everywhere, and they were moving rapidly and had a sinister feel about them. It became obvious that the water wanted to find a new path, a different way out, and it was determined to do so no matter what - nothing was going to stand in its way, not bridges, not roads, not houses...
When the rain subsided we began the search for the missing. The beaches, normally beautifully kept by the locals, were now metres high in trees and debris. Villages on the coast took the full force, and all the family were there cleaning up - chopping driftwood to put into bundles with the thought of selling it in a few days. Kids used the other debris and wood to make play shelters. The amount of debris was extreme.
Just as amazing as Mother Nature's power, the people of the Solomon Islands were as strong - if not stronger - in their resilience. The happy faces that met us and talked with us as we walked were all giving us the same message….. Hem haos stap kolsap hem spoil lon mi algeta hem orate.' Basically saying 'Yes, we've lost some of our village nearby but I am / we are ok.'
Over the next week we visited numerous areas that had been ravaged by the floods we were given the same messages: "Mi orate" - I'm all right. "Haos blong mi hem spoil lon mi orate."
The displacement centres were full to the brim, with extremely limited facilities, but all they wanted and asked for was the basics - water, food, and toilet roll.
As soon as the rains stopped the locals began the major clean-up. No dramas here, was the attitude - we just have to get on with it.
The resilience of people was apparent as we drove around villages. Apart from the obvious, the people were happy, pleased to see us, even wanting to help us - especially when our car slid off a muddy track. The driver will remain nameless...
The kids were amazing, playing in the swollen streams on bits of broken wood or doors ripped from their hinges. One we felt was very ingenious, using a fridge as his boat and having a ball!!
As the days passed the intermediate repairs were done, but you can still see where Mother Nature made her mark.
They call this place the 'hapi isles and hapi pipol' and they're not wrong. We're here as advisors, but after seeing these people at such a time of hardship, it's clear we westerners could learn significant lessons from them. No matter what happens, you still have you. Be happy, don't stress, it's going to be orate!
My message to us all is simple - be happy with your lot in life. Today is a gift, that's why it's called the present. Live it well.
See the May issue of the online Police magazine Ten One, published next week, for more about our colleagues' response to the floods.