Trailing Through Islands Across the Globe
Share
As the month of Go With The Flow comes to an end, it would be great to take a trip through the islands of the world. We might not be able to visit all of these places, but through books, we can see a perspective of perspectives shining through.
More than 900 deaths in 74 days, the Falkland Wars in 1982 resurfaced after the Argentinian team made headlines in the World Cup.The small group of islands in the South Atlantic had historically cause issues between the two countries. Beyond flags, borders and competing claims, there were people living through the reality of war: young soldiers sent thousands of miles from home, families waiting anxiously, and islanders caught in the middle.
War and Ethics: A New Just War Theory by Nicholas Fotion offers a different perspective on the Falklands. Rather than treating war simply as a chapter of military history, Fotion asks us to consider the difficult moral questions behind military action: when, if ever, can war be justified, and what responsibilities do governments have when lives are at stake? The Falklands is one of several conflicts he examines, reminding us that behind every territorial dispute and political argument are human consequences. Perhaps the most important lesson is that history should not only tell us who won, but encourage us to ask whether there was another way.
Hong Kong
The former British Colony in Southeast Asia had its fair share of ups and downs in its history. Once one of the Four Asian Tigers, the city has now fallen back economically and politically. The life of the city changed after the British claimed Hong Kong Island as theirs and made Kowloon part of the colony. The last of the land was claimed as the New Territories, and a 100-year lease was made on it, making Hong Kong a British colony starting from the year 1898.
Because of this British connection, many in the UK became familiar with this Southeast Asian city across the globe. Martin Booth is one of the many who have set foot on Hong Kong when his father was posted there in the early 1950s. In Cantonese, Gweilo, literally translates to ‘ghost guy ’, was once a slur referring to the white skin of Westerners, but is now a cultural identity for those who remain. Martin titled his memoir, Gweilo and recorded his childhood life in this small yet vibrant city.
Rapa Nui
Rapa Nui, or Te Pito o Te Henua, the original name for Easter Island, is best known worldwide for its Moai statues. Typically carved from rocks on the ledges of the island's volcanoes, these statues are symbols of departed Rapa Nui people, especially their kings, the ariki. They were then transported to their final resting place, atop an ahu, a ceremonial line of deified moai facing the sea, looking after the Rapa Nui people and protecting them from outsiders.
Like other indigenous cultures in the neighbouring Americas, the Rapa Nui faced colonisation and the threat of their culture dying, made worse by external diseases and later slavery and human trafficking, for which Peru and Spain are mostly responsible. As population declined, the annihilation of their ‘priest', and inner turmoil, Rapa Nui culture hung by a thread for many years, reaching a minimum of 101 people at their worst. In Pacific Islands Writing: The Postcolonial Literatures of Aotearoa/New Zealand and Oceania, literature of Polynesia and the Spanish influence of Rapa Nui were discussed.
The British Museum, to this day, holds captive the sacred moai Hoa Hakananai’a: smaller than its brothers and one of the 16 moais still remaining carved from basalt. Stolen by the British in 1869, despite many attempts by the Rapa Nui to reunite with their ancestors, the British still hold the statues; their latest claim in 2018 was that the island did not have a conservation program for the moai, which was unproven. The statue has symbolic and spiritual value for the Rapa Nui; it is a piece of their past, and not a mere exhibition artefact. Instead of returning the moai, the British Museum has disrespectfully made the structure available to view virtually. With enough pressure, hopefully in the future the moai can return home.
Isle of Wight
Talking about islands, we of course have to end with the island closest to home: the Isle of Wight.
There is only one thing I would like to share with you, and it’s this book: Out On An Island. When we think of the Isle of Wight, we might be reminded of the ferry trips, the Needles, or even the Poo Museum, but we rarely think of the LGBTQ+ community that is living their lives on the Isle. This book explores the history of the queer community on the Isle of Wight, which dates back to the 1920s with the fierce, enigmatic lesbian Joe Carstairs, and the adventures of the all-female Ferguson's Gang in Newtown!
I am sure any history lessons I speak of here will not be as memorable as your own trips to this holiday destination (or your home)!
Share with us your memories and connection to the Isle!
Written by Vera