Overcoming the Condominium
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It is not easy to reverse overnight the divisions created by three generations of joint colonialism. As long as ni-Vanuatu have to choose between being educated in English and in French, and as long as their political leaders are regarded as either Anglophone or Francophone, the challenge of building national unity will remain.
| Walter Lini on the Legacies of the Condominium | |
| Maxime Carlot Korman on Bilingualism
“This government is here to give an opportunity to families, in all freedom, to choose whatever language they want, be it the Anglophone or the Francophone. It’s the same [for both].” |
Maxime Carlot Korman on the Legacies of the Condominium
“The French government first, the British government, outside of the Condominium, left some good. Now the two of them together, which was called the Condominium services–where you found the two of them together, jointly– that too left some good. But it is not, they are not, the example for the independent government of Vanuatu to follow.
Myself, personally, when I look after independence, it was necessary, to continue this heritage that we had, which became on the day of independence the property of Vanuatu. That is to say, the French language became the official, national language. English became the official, national language. Bislama became the national working language. It’s constitutional! It’s around this that we must build Vanuatu now.”
But there is one benefit of the Condominium legacy which should not be overlooked. It is true that the Condominium divided the South Pacific islanders of Vanuatu into two camps. But because each colonial power was checked by the other, neither France nor Great Britain achieved undue influence anywhere in the archipelago.
| Maxime Carlot Korman on Past Anti-Francophone Bias in Government
“The leaders who were at the head of government were all Anglophones, in the different coalitions. There were times when there might be only a single Francophone in the entire government. So Francophonie was lost during eleven years, at least at the level of those who held the reins of government. And so one could have thought that, little by little, the French language was disappearing and that the proportion between Anglophones and Francophones was gradually changing to the detriment of the Francophones. It’s true.” |
Ironically, having two competing colonial powers protected Vanuatu from being overly colonized by any single one. Many of the traditional customs of the people were thereby preserved, enabling Vanuatu to enter independence with a strong sense of Melanesian identity and peoplehood.
| Maxime Carlot Korman on Traditional Leaders “We’re in the process of putting forth a policy which has the traditional leaders working together with the government. This is the key to develop. If the traditional leaders don’t work together with the government, or the government doesn’t take into account the rights of the traditional leaders, to safeguard their lands, then no development will be possible.” |
The challenge of independence will be to unite the peoples of Vanuatu and secure a more prosperous economic future for all of them. The risk is that reliance on outside donors, and the penetration of Western consumer society, will compromise the cultural and political integrity of this developing nation.
| Jimmy Stephens Looking into the Future “I don’t know the future, after my death–what will happen in the next generation. It worries me somewhat.” |
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| Ceremonial Flag Hoisting | |
| President Timakata | |
| Mobile Forces Band |
During the Condominium, the people of Vanuatu had two Western models to choose from. Now that independence is theirs, they will need to forge a model in their own image.