By
STEVE WATERSON
The
stories of the south pacific are many, exotic and romantic.
From the mermaids and monsters of ancient seafarers, through
the adventure novels of Ballantyne and Stevenson to the wry
sophistication of Somerset Maugham, storytellers have relished
the mythical and mystical connection with the sea that sounds
some atavistic chord in all of us. For the ocean exerts a
tidal pull on the imagination. Mankind has always been vulnerable
to its siren song, seduced from the safety of land to navigate
frail vessels beyond an unknown horizon. Six thousand years
ago, the first voyagers set out from Southeast Asia into the
most forbidding ocean of all. Greater than the other seas
combined, larger than the earth's land area, the Pacific guards
its mysteries against the probing of science and exploration:
in places its floor lies as distant from its surface as the
airliners that fly overhead. And dotted throughout this vastness,
tiny islands have nourished the descendants of those pioneers.
In recent years, however, much of the romance has been leached from the region. Not even the mighty Pacific's breadth has proved a barrier to the ills of Western civilization. The islands have been touched cruelly by wars born of parochial disputes half a world away; mushroom clouds have darkened the skies over warriors who still fight with wooden clubs; climate change spirits away their shores. Greed, masquerading as commerce, has robbed islanders of their trees, gouged out their minerals, emptied their formerly teeming seas of fish. And as contact with the outside world has grown, foreign foods have brought health problems; alien systems of government have spawned corruption and coups; and the false promise of luxury has triggered new migrations which decimate native populations and fuel racial tension.
More than 200 years ago the French encyclopedist Denis Diderot alerted the Pacific islanders to the perils of European civilization: "One day, under their rule," he warned, "you will be almost as unhappy as they are." There are challenges today more daunting than any he foresaw; dangers, indeed, worse than any conceived by nature. But like the ocean itself, the peoples of the Pacific have a fluid adaptability. Their customs and traditions flow around man-made obstacles; they ride the tides of fortune with agility. Travel with them a little way, and listen to their tales. n
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August 20-27, 2001 |
No. 33
COVER
STORY
The
New Pacific
Setting off to explore the islands, Time found an ocean of stories. Faced
with the challenges of the global village, some peoples are prospering,
easily melding old ways with new; others struggle to cling to tradition
in a cyclone of change
TO
OUR READERS...
TRAVELERS ADVISORY...
PACIFIC
BEAT: Bougainville talks; West Papua in coventry...
SPECIAL:
Pacific Journey
CLIMATE: Not Waving, Drowning... Kiribati
and Tuvalu fear being erased by rising seas
MIGRATION: Outgoing Tide... Small
nations are losing their best and brightest people
LAND RIGHTS: At Loggerheads... Landowners
and opportunists vie for Fiji's mahogany wealth
MEDIA: Telling It Like It Is... Nervous
governments make life tough for local newsmen
GOVERNMENT: The Falling-to-Pieces
Process... The Solomon Islands is riven by corruption and lawlessness
DRUGS: Brewing Trouble... As drinking
rules lose their grip, kava is becoming a social bane
RELIGION: Shopping for Jesus... In
Samoa, new brands of Christianity are giving old ones a jolt
BUSINESS: Blooming Economy... Fijian
housewives find growth potential in their backyards
WOMEN: No Room to Move... In Vanuatu,
women's freedom often sits uneasily with tradition
SCIENCE: Gene Blues... Tongans debate
whether to give researchers access to their dna
MEDICINE: Sweet and Deadly... Long-isolated
islanders are vulnerable to diet-related diseases
THE ARTS: Bringing Samoa to Book... Sia
Figiel writes about her homeland with novel candor
ENVIROMENT: Nowhere to Throw... Places
like the Cook Islands have little room for waste
FISHING: Conserving the Catch... Fearful
for the sea's health, Samoans apply their own First Aid
THE ARTS: Tapa Recording... Bark cloth
documents island peoples' lives and legends
THE ARTS: Islamic
art; Pee-wee's back...
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