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
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