Budibudi: Save or Sink It

Beautiful Sandy Beach @ Budibudi Island. Photo: Winduo

In 2007 I made it into Budibudi Island from Gizo, Solomon Islands. Budibudi is a coral atoll with a less than a 100 people living a life of fisherman without much modern communication. It is really isolated from the rest of Papua New Guinea. Budibudi is one of the atoll in the Woodland Islands group, in the Trobriands ring.

I remembered Budibudi vividly as if it was only yesterday. It remained unspoilt, untouched, and remote to most of us. It’s contact with the rest of Papua New Guinea is infrequent.

Until recently that was the impression I had of Budibudi Island. I may have been wrong all along.

An article,  (Monday 24 June 2019), in The Guardian, written by Kate Lyons , read: “Bust in Budi Budi: the day a fisherman hauled in $50m worth of cocaine” catches my attention. How could this be? It is possible given the isolation of Budibudi straddled in between Autonomous Region of Bougainville and the rest of Woodlark group of islands. The nearest government station is in Woodlark.

Just as we were to visit Budibudi Island as tourists on board the Oceanic Discoverer, it possible to understand how drug smugglers used Budibuid as a stopover before moving to their final destination.  The final destination could be Australia, New Zealand, or other Pacific Islands.

Most Pacific Islanders do not have problems with cocaine, I am suspecting that the cocaine and other dangerous drugs are destined to Australia and New Zealand.

Question is: Where do they come from?

According to Lyons, “It is one of a string of bizarre stories that have emerged with the rise of drug trafficking through the Pacific, a multibillion dollar industry that involves cocaine and meth being packed into the hulls of yachts in the US, Latin America and China and sailed to Australia and New Zealand via island nations including Fiji, Tonga, and New Caledonia.”

It made sense for smugglers to use Budibudi because it is a popular spot to stopover for tourist and smugglers. If I had just made the cruise from New Caledonia, to Vanuatu, and Solomon Island on a tourist ship without much interference from customs of these countries then it is possible for smugglers to sneak in to Budibudi before moving to their final destination.

The Budibudi story on a fisherman discovering the bags of cocaine near his villager was the first reported case.  Budibudi is “700km (435 miles) from Port Moresby”, with no policemen and the capital Alotau is faraway (370km). There are 600 atolls making it difficult for any form of policing.

On discovering this Aus$50m worth of cocaine the villagers contacted the police in Alotau via radio. The villagers thought this was poison because they have no knowledge of cocaine or other drugs.

Before the police could get there a pack of smugglers arrived on Budibudi. A gang of six Chinese men and a Montenegrin arrived on Budibudi for their prized goods. Little did they know that their arrival was also reported to the Police in Alotau.

Three or four days after the gang terrorized the Budibudi Islanders the police arrived. The gang had fled after they picked up their drugs, except for on pack containing 1kg bricks of cocaine, kept hidden away by the villager who contacted the police in Alotau. The pack was given to police as evidence of the drug haul.

Police and the PNGDF navy patrolled the waters of Milne and discovered the drug smugglers. The drug smugglers were arrested, but the drugs were not recovered as the boat was too heavy and booby-trapped. The smugglers were taken to Alotau where thy were charged for drug trafficking and sentenced ti 18 months in prison before being deported to Hongkong and Montenegro. One of the drug traffickers is wanted by Interpol.

The boat with the drugs was discovered off the coast of Morobe province. Where did all the drugs go?

I couldn’t help thinking about this story with the meeting I had with a young man on Budibudi during my visit. I still remember seeing this man reading Josephine Abaijah’s autobiography, A Thousand Coloured Dream, on this isolate island during my visit. It was to see a villager reading a book, let alone a book written by a Papua New Guinea. It is an unforgettable memory.

The drugs smugglers and tourists visit Budibudi, but what about the PNG government and international climate change warriors? Budibudi Atoll is very flat, it stands every change of being submerged in the rise of sea level. Budibudi atoll is so flat it is difficult to make gardens or have fresh drinking water. I don’t know how the villagers have survived this long?

If the world has to save an island why not safe Budibudi instead of making it a tourist or a drug traffickers drop-off point.

Save Budibudi not sink Budibudi