Down and Out? - Nauru

June 2004
Restrictions aimed at keeping journalists away from Australia's detention centres at Nauru are also keeping the plight of Nauruans hidden. The pacific island of Nauru was once a wealthy, prosperous island. Now its economy lies in tatters and it's only source of income is the controversial Australian detention centres, housing asylum seekers. MPs are angry that detainees in Nauru "are living better than Nauruans," and blame Australia's Pacific Solution for propping up a corrupt government.

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[leaveform]

If anything the Pacific Solution has helped Nauru out big time. The detention centre is not the problem, management of Nauru is the problem.

[monkeyboyn25]

the nauruans are living worse than the people being detained? and they are going hungry, not being paid? i think it's all bs. Nauru is one of the most obese nations in the world, 95% of thier people are obese, how can they go hunger when 95% of the people are obese? any logic here?

[andy40nt]

@monkeyboyn25 Obesity can exist due to medical conditions and is no indicator of how well fed someone is. Do you remember the pictures of starving bi-afran children with large distended stomachs for instance?

[69Bobotoo]

I was born and raised in Nauru...now living in the states and its sad to hear this....my dad worked there till they were told that they cannot pay him and many other workers...so many times in which they were not paid and other times when families had to send rice..sugar and flour to them.....Nauru will always be my birthplace and I will always cherish the good memories......my dream is to revisit it again in the near future........God bless Nauru and the people

[ChrisWales22]

@monkeyboyn25 It's called a genotype

[marka1324]

It is sad that this is happening to the people of Nauru. But Nauru will be able to pull through, even if it means returning to a subsistence lifestyle, whether they like it or not. Yes, Nauru was once one of the richest nations in the world, but that only lasted for several decades. Nauruans have been living and surviving on their island for centuries without the convenience of a payroll. The question is whether they are willing and able to go back to that kind of lifestyle.

[fingerscarr]

3) the airline used to run empty planes to where there were no passengers and no bookings accepted because the president had yet ceremonially to 'declare ' the facilities open , losing $1m per month for yrs . any criticism of such was promptly doused . and so it goes on . true , foreigners enjoyed pickings too but any effort to bring abuses by locals to notice of the govt was all too often met with dismissal from the island . too much cronyism and self delusion.hope nauru can recover

[fingerscarr]

--2)sorry to say all this below because many nauruans are decent , friendly folk let down by their leaders who failed to protect and warn them of the dangers of unfettered consumerism .

it is not impossible to grow fruit and veg on nauru .there is abundant fish in the sea and coconut meat . ´

no effort was made to reclaim mined out land because the misguided parliament wanted to get australia to do this even when there was plenty of phosphate funds to do so themselves .

[fingerscarr]

the sad fact is that nauruans have mismanaged their birthright from the very start and are largely to blame for their predicament , starting with pres de roburt's reckless spending on silly projects , fishing vessels not suited to local waters, dubious real estate , tax haven nonsense , mismanagement of phosphate funds , all under a cult of secrecy and lack of accountability which enabled misappropriation , huge waste and fostered an inflated sense of self importance with zero work ethic .

[asp7772907]

hehehe, you said it soopi49!!

[asp7772907]

I loved the Nauruans I went to school with in the early 90's .... It hits me in the guts to see crooks like GE take them to the cleaners, i dearly hope they can find a way out of this