The U.S. development aid agency, whose return to the Solomon Islands has been delayed for years without explanation, has felt “overwhelming support and enthusiasm” for its work, with leaders of the Pacific island nation pleading with officials. “We need you,'' the unpublished report revealed.
The Peace Corps investigation results show that the Peace Corps has not been able to resume operations in the archipelago, nearly five years after announcing its return amid a struggle for influence between the United States and China. The focus is on unexplained failures.
The Solomon Islands Re-Entry Assessment Report, obtained by Al Jazeera through a Freedom of Information request, paints a picture of strong support both locally and nationally for the agency, which has resumed operations in the Solomon Islands for the first time in 20 years. There is. government.
“We need you,” Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare told Peace Corps representatives in the report, adding that Attorney General John Muria said the Peace Corps was “really committed to the people and communities of the Solomon Islands.” “It had a lasting impact,” he was quoted as saying.
“On the ground, the evaluation team was openly and enthusiastically welcomed by the Solomon Islands government at all levels, from the Prime Minister to the provincial level,” the agency said in its report.
“The team received equal support from other development partners, non-governmental organizations, international volunteer organizations, service providers and vendors, former Peace Corps personnel, and community members mentored by Peace Corps volunteers.”
The Peace Corps, which withdrew from the Solomon Islands in 2000 amid ethnic violence, reported to investigate the feasibility of resuming operations in the Solomon Islands after receiving a formal invitation to return from Honiara in February 2019. I asked him to write a book.
In August, the evaluation team concluded in a report that the Solomon Islands provides “an environment in which volunteers can perform meaningful work and operate safely with the necessary medical and logistical support,” recommending the agency's reinstatement. submitted.
“From the Prime Minister and national and state departments to service providers, community members and former Peace Corps personnel, the team was warmly welcomed and strongly encouraged to bring volunteers back to the Hapi Islands,” the report said. Says.
“The Peace Corps has had a lasting impact on this country, and our absence is especially noticeable in the field of education.”
In October of the same year, the Peace Corps publicly announced the re-establishment of the Solomon Islands Program, with the first volunteers expected to arrive in mid-2021.
Located approximately 2,000 kilometers northeast of Australia, the Solomon Islands is one of the poorest countries in the Pacific, and its people suffer from limited access to quality education and health care.
The Solomon Islands has closed its borders for more than two years during the COVID-19 pandemic, but the continued absence of authorities and the status of plans for their return have not been publicly explained.
During the pandemic, the Peace Corps temporarily suspended operations in the Pacific, but volunteers have since returned to neighboring countries such as Fiji, Tonga and Samoa.
Other comparable agencies have also resumed operations in the Solomon Islands, including Volunteers Australia, Japan International Cooperation Agency, Korea International Cooperation Agency and New Zealand Overseas Volunteer Service.
The U.S. Congress has appropriated just $500 for Peace Corps operations in the archipelago in fiscal year 2024, suggesting there is little prospect of an imminent return.
In December, Al Jazeera reported that opposition politicians in the Solomon Islands and U.S. observers had deliberately delayed the Sogavare government's return to the Solomon Islands, a gesture of favor to China, which has made large-scale inroads in the Islands in recent years. They reported that they suspected that the
Sogavare severed ties with Taiwan in 2019 to recognize China, signed cooperation agreements with Beijing on security and policing in 2022 and last year, and put vigilance in the United States, Australia and New Zealand. invited.
Despite being one of the world's smallest countries with a population of approximately 720,000, the Solomon Islands' strategic location in the Pacific Ocean has made it the focus of intense competition for influence between the United States and China. ing.
Relations between Honiara and China are currently in the balance as Mr Sogavare seeks to form a government of opposition members after this week's inconclusive general election.
Sogavare is seeking a fifth term in office, but is being challenged by at least three opposition leaders, including Peter Kenilorea Jr., who has pledged to restore ties with Taipei.
The Peace Corps and the Solomon Islands government did not respond to requests for comment.
Katherine Evert Gray, who served as U.S. ambassador to Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu from 2016 to 2019, expressed hope that the agency could resume operations in the country.
“We hope that the next Congress and administration will show renewed interest in bringing Peace Corps volunteers back into rural areas to support the nation's environmental, health and education programs,” Evert-Gray told Al Jazeera. .