A Catholic catechist in the Shortlands praises RSIPF for security at common border with PNG

A Catholic catechist in the Gaomai community on Shortland Islands in the Western Province has praised officers of the Royal Solomon Islands Police Force (RSIPF) deployed to the common border between Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea (SI-PNG) for providing security in the common border region.

Catechist Martin Kibule says, “The security at the common border today is not like before. We feel safe as we see more police patrols in our communities and along the red line between the SI-PNG border.

“It is good to see police patrols. It makes us feel safe. We always follow the advice of the police not to cross the border,” says Catechist Kibule.

“Yes, I have seen the impact of the police patrols. It’s good that security has been boosted and not allow people to cross over into Bougainville. Our lives are very important. We are only a few people and it is good to follow what the authorities have advised us to do.”

Catechist Kibule explains: “We have been relying on marketing our produce at Buin Town on Bougainville for our livelihood. Now with the danger of the COVID-19 we have to stop going across. This has affected our livelihood but there’s nothing we can do about it. We need to protect ourselves and the rest of the country against this deadly virus despite our dependence on basic food items from Bougainville.”

“The only way to survive is for our communities to start planting our own gardens to ensure there is food security, just like our forefathers had done in the past. We need to cultivate our own gardens in case there is a shortage of the food we get from overseas,” says Catechist Kibule.”