20 Mar 2023

"We all dream of going to Banaba" - Phosphate plunders from the Pacific and a forgotten community

From Here Now, 5:00 am on 20 March 2023
Images from the exhibition highlighting the campaign seeking justice for Banabans, held at Auckland's Silo 6 in February this year.

Photo: RNZ

In this episode of Voices, we meet with a delegation of Banaban people including elders, who travelled from their Pacific island of Rabi to attend a recent climate march and an art exhibition highlighting their  story.

The community of Banaba were displaced from their homes to the Pacific island of Rabi in 1945 due to large scale destruction caused by extractive mining of phosphates by British Phosphate Company (BPC) of which New Zealand was part.

What does restoration and rehabilitation of their homeland of Banaba look like and how have they been campaigning for it? Listen to the full conversation in this episode: