The other homeland, Nauru

My mother was born on worlds smallest island nation, the Republic of Nauru. Her mother was Nauruan and her father Chinese. Nauru lies 42km south of the Equator and has a continual tropical climate in the 30's with almost 100% humidity. The island is covered in palms trees and the local people speak Nauruan and or English. Nauru is populated with Micronesian and Polynesian people.

Nauru was designated a colony by Germany in the 19th century and following World War I it became a mandate territory administered by Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. The island was occupied by Japan in World War II and in 1968 the island gained independence.

Nauru is unlike any place I know. It is an island which covers a tiny 21 kms sq. According to Wiki it is the smallest independent republic, and the only republican state in the world without an official capital. It is unique place with a population of around 10,000 and there are many weird and strange facts which I have learnt about the place. Some of them are:

• Nauruans are among the most obese people in the world with 90% of adults being overweight.




• Nauru has the highest level of type 2 diabetes in the world, with more than 40% of the population suffering from the disease.

• Nauruans love Aussie rules football and play it on dirt not grass.




• Weightlifting is a popular sport. Marcus Stephen (the current serving President) won seven gold and five silver medals in the sport at various Commonwealth Games.




• The official currency of Nauru is the Australian $.




• There is only one sealed road that circumnavigates the island.




• Nearest neighbouring island is some 300km east of Nauru.




• The island is surrounded by a coral reef which makes surfing almost impossible!

Nauru is basically built upon phosphate, in other words, bird poop. Nauru celebrated its richness for many, many years through its export in phosphate after masses were discovered in the 1900's. It was also described as 'paradise' by many. Not only was it rich financially, but its culture was rich and unique for the tiny island nation. In the early years, locals would eat from the land and fish the sea with large supplies of banana, pandanus, coconut and fresh fish. Life was easy as the profits of phosphate exports filled the pockets of its people. For example, in 1989 Nauru had the highest GDP per capita in the world.

I remember visiting as a child and loving the close ties our family had; being spoilt rotten by aunties and uncles; going fishing and eating fresh raw fish off the back of the boat with my Uncle Jack and playing with my cousins in the backyard which was the beach; with the sand and the water only footsteps from the door. I would watch as my male cousins would smash fresh coconuts over the back of a chair and we would drink the juice and then eat the white flesh within. There was always someone around to play with and I remember riding the back of my cousin Jonny's motor bike without a care in the world. Those were the days.

Over the years however, the country and its people have suffered. Today there remains little, if any exportable phosphate and the country teeters on the brink of financial ruin. Economic mismanagement forced the Nauruan Government to sell off their foreign property portfolio and they were forced to vacate Nauru House in Collins Street, Melbourne. Further problems came after failing to pay rent on their national air craft, Air Nauru, which was rented from Qantas. The airline was often grounded and people would be left stranded not able to travel back and forth. People often required urgent medical treatment in Australia due to diabetes or other related illnesses and it was always difficult to know when the plane would be returning.

Many people remember Nauru after it was swept into the spotlight back in 2001 when 439 Afghani refugees were rescued from a dodgy fishing vessel in international waters by the Norwegian Cargo Ship, MV Tampa. The fishing vessel was trying to make its way to Christmas Island at the time when it ran into trouble. At the time, a major dispute arose as the Australian government sought to prevent the ship from entering Australian waters, however the ship carried millions of dollars in cargo due to be delivered to Australia. Instead, after much debate, the Afghani's ended up being the product of the so-called "Pacific Solution" that was implemented by the Howard Government whereby the asylum seekers would remain on Nauru while their applications for asylum status was processed in Australia. Unfortunately for many, this took many years.

Although Nauru is facing tough times and has often been reported in the media in a negative way, the fond memories I have of the place will never change. I hope that in the future I can visit there with my mum and sister and see relatives and cousins and the new ones we have never met.

I was humbled today to find this site CARE4NAURU. I was amazed to find that Carey Baptist Grammar School in Melbourne have been sending teachers and students to Nauru since 2002 to help the local people during their June school holidays. The students pay their own way and spend their holidays teaching instruments and restoring churches on the island. I was so very touched. I had no idea they did this. Funnily, Carey is the sister school of my high school, Strathcona.

As a sign of our appreciation for their efforts, my sister and I both made donations to CARE4NAURU and I hope they can continue their amazing work on Nauru in the years to come.