Banaba is now the new evil empire. It is a small, barren and deserted (except for a few fishermen) island in the South Pacific. Most former Banabans live 1600 miles away, on an island with one telephone. It is the perfect candidate, since it had no despot rulers (unless you count Great Britian), and is unlikely to shoot down any of our aircraft. I think it's the perfect place to locate the new, new evil empire. Thoughts? I figure we can pick on someone where emotions won't run so high -- unless, of course, some Banaban is using Rabi's one phone line to access the internet. ----------- Banaba is a small, island that was annexed by Great Britian in 1901. A small tribe lived there in isolation for centuries, until the island was ravaged by the Japaneese in WW2, and the entire population was moved to the island of Rabi, in the Figi Islands, 1600 miles away. The island was mined for its supply of phosphate, used in fertilizer and in the processing of sheep for Australia and New Zealand. The mining has destroyed all trees, and turned the island into a barren, rock covered moonscape, with sharp coral pinnacles. The British Phosphate company left the island in 1980. It is now deserted, save a few Banabans who have moved back to thier homeland. For more information: http://www.banaba.co.uk/ ------------------ Stay Cool... [This message has been edited by dc sports (edited April 11, 2001).]
Man, that place is evil. I demand George Bush nuke the hell out of it before it's too late! ------------------ RealGM Gafford Art Artisan Cakes
I am pretty sure that all those rocks are whining liberals... somebody shoot them! ------------------ "Any event, once it has occurred, can be made to appear inevitable by a competent historian." Lee Simonson
Thanks, DC, now I know where I can go to set up my communist/socialist/totalitarian/evil/ children killing societty. Oh yeah, don't try to stop me or I will nuke SLC, Utah. ------------------ Whitey will pay.
I think Utah should be the new evil empire . ------------------ I would believe only in a God who could dance. - Friedrich Nietzsche Boston College - NCAA Hockey National Champions 2001
Out of 1500 acres, only 150 acres (all coastline) remains un-mined -- and the mining lowered the elevation of the island in places as much as 80 feet. (They are considering re-opening mining.) Glad to help Rimabaud. Good luck. Here is a group of Banabans (On Rabi) Another Picture: Map of the Island: ------------------ Stay Cool... [This message has been edited by dc sports (edited April 11, 2001).]
Back when this topic was posted, I wrote to the woman who ran the site and asked what we could do to help. Here is her response: <blockquote> 30/4/1 Dear Mark, Thanks for your letter. Sorry it's taken me so long to reply. There have been problems with the host server. If you reply, please reply to <natalie@banaba.co.uk> The best way to help the Banabans is to publicise the issue. Past governments have really tried to cover it up, and as a result the Banaban community is isolated in one of the most remote parts of Fiji. Any enterprise they try to undertake is restricted by the poor travel and communications facilities - there is only one phone on the island and it takes two days to travel to Suva, Fiji's capital. Postal services are infrequent and very unreliable. There are groups of people who send charitable donations of clothes and books out to the Banabans at Rabi Island. These are usually co-ordinated through the Australian Rotary clubs, or through the website of the Banaban Heritage Society, at <www.ion.com.au/~banaban/> Although these donations are very gratefully received, they don't really help the Banabans get out of the rut they have been pushed into. For decades Banaban leaders tried to inform the world of their plight, meeting with British and Australian politicians, going to the UN, taking legal action. Nothing came of it. They really feel that the world their phosphate helped develop has rejected them. I am hoping to expand my website to tell the full story, but I'm trying to gather all the information I can on the subject first, and some of it is quite hard to get hold of. Despite the publicity that was generated by the Banabans' High Court case in the 1970s, before they fell back into obscurity, this is an issue which has definitely been covered up! When I visited Rabi, one of the Banaban teachers, Ereata Tawaua, was looking for penfriends for some of her schoolchildren, aged between 12 and 16. If you know any children of this age who might want to write to Banaban children, they can write to: Ereata Tawaua, Rabi High School, PO Box 11, Nuku Village, Rabi Island, Fiji. However, due to the difficulty with the postal services, particularly in the current Fiji crisis, there is no guarantee of a reply. Ken and Stacey, who run the Banaban Heritage Society, (Ken is a Banaban) have been trying to set up a fax link with Rabi, so there may be a more direct way to communicate with the Banabans soon. Thanks for your interest, and I hope you can spread the word about Banaba. Best wishes, Natalie Minnis Banaban website co-ordinator. </blockquote> ------------------ "Up and down, inside out, outside in, some you lose some you win" -- DMB -> "Sweet Up and Down"
That's pretty cool! Here I try to find the most desolate, barren place I can, and stumble across a tragic story. OK. Off to find a new, new, new evil empire. Someplace horrible, desolate, that we don't have to worry about offending. Hmmm. Utah is looking pretty good. Maybe Portland. ------------------ Stay Cool...
