Page 22 - IB June 2020

Opinion Opinion

Amelia Kinahoi Siamomua

RESETTING THE PACIFIC BLUE

CONTINENT: TOWARDS 2030

By Amelia Kinahoi Siamomua of the Biketawa Declaration and the establishment of the
Pacific Humanitarian Pathway on COVID-19, as the avenue for
A mere decade before the Pacific Island Countries join the the one Blue Pacific family to manage recovery and build back
rest of the world to account in terms of what we have done better is a point of convergence for resetting. Resetting with
collectively to deliver the 2030 promise and the Sustainable stronger genuine and durable partnerships as promoted by the
Development Goals, a global pandemic has struck the earth Pacific Small Island Developing States (P-SIDS) along with the
with devastating consequences. rest of the world’s SIDS in the SAMOA Pathway for sustainable
The crisis is forcing governments and policymakers to development and using the 4Cs for effective delivery and last-
consider the unavoidable trade-offs between saving lives ing impact.
and preserving jobs and livelihoods. Countries have been The novel COVID-19 pandemic has challenged the region’s
grappling with the collision of a triple menace – COVID-19, priorities and sustainable development goals, demanding
climate-related disasters, and rising domestic violence – innovative ways, and enhanced cooperation at all levels. The
compounding the wide-ranging challenges for sustainable situation calls for a reset in the regional approach to these
development, national security and foreign policy. The new issues, in a way that is bold and innovative, while tapping into
challenges further stress an already difficult position for the the deepest strains of our Pasifika psyche and traditions. In
Pacific Islands Forum. tackling, we must not revert, instead, this is a once-in-a-life-
The outcomes are not the same for everyone and the crisis time to lay the foundations for a new revitalised Pacific way
is forcing governments to consider the painful questions and that will benefit generations to come.
hard choices between inequality and economic growth, the “Lalanga” or weaving, is a tradition that is common in com-
redistributive and resetting pressures of building and strength- munities and societies of the Pacific, whether from Micronesia
ening health systems and preserving jobs and livelihoods that to Melanesia and Polynesia. This fundamental skill of our
makes small states of the region economically dependent on communities to weave baskets, mats, clothing or fishing nets,
foreign influence, aid-dependency, and soft power initiatives. entails a patient and careful approach by multiple hands,
The uncertainty in transitioning to a durable solution is laying strand upon strand, with overarching view of what the
unique with COVID-19, as there is a dilemma of managing the finished creation will be. Lalanga, however, is more than
profound and long-lasting shock in the context of addressing weaving. As our ancestors have taught us, the lessons of
the pre-existing challenges of poverty and inequality. The Lalanga — coordination, cooperation, commitment, and care
challenges are wide-ranging, from care work, including unpaid (4C’s) — can be applied methodically through our life’s chal-
care work; to preparedness and readiness of health and social lenges.
systems, to repatriation of nationals and travel bubbles; from In resetting the pathways for the Blue Pacific, we should
economic recovery to debt-management, and the list contin- enhance our traditional knowledge of the 4C’s. For a new
ues. normal, the regional architecture must be enhanced and
The Pacific Island Forum’s vision for its peoples is one that sustained to ensure that the 4Cs of the Pacific Lalanga drive
is both familiar and ever-evolving, in response to the changing regional actions and deepen collective responsibility and ac-
currents of the new world regime. Resetting the Blue Pacific countability to deliver on the promises of sustainable develop-
has to be a Pacific story driven by the Pacific leaders’ aspira- ment under the prospective 2050 Blue Pacific Strategy. The
tions for a region of peace, harmony, security, social inclusion strands of 4Cs for the Lalanga must be stronger and more
and economic prosperity through assertive diplomacy, assess- assertive.
ing the diverse voices and paying much more attention to the The growing interest of the world in the Pacific requires a
large swaths of the Pacific Blue Continent. The timely invoking rethink and reset of the Forum’s security and foreign policy

22 Islands Business, June 2020