by Georgina Maka’a
A week after a stockpile of more than 200 U.S. artillery shells from the Second World War was discovered beneath the grounds of St. Nicholas College in central Honiara, trauma and fear continue to grip residents and students of the school.
Construction workers digging a sewer hole under a staff house stumbled onto the 202 Unexploded Ordnance (UXOs). They quickly alerted the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Department (EODD) of the Royal Solomon Islands Police Force (RSIPF), who promptly responded and safely removed the items.
A day later, staff and students were advised to resume normal classes.
The removal of the stockpile and safety assurance given, however, could not remove the trauma and fear that gripped the school community and its nearby residents following the discovery.
“A good number of our students are yet to return to classes,” St Nicholas Deputy Principal Academy, Charles Galo told In-depth Solomons.
“We’ve resumed classes last Wednesday after authorities gave the clearance and assured as the compound is now safe,” Galo added.
“But a good number of students are yet to come back to school. They are scared.
“In fact, those that already return have remained anxious despite the safety assurance.”
Galo said they were advised to avoid activities that may trigger explosions should there be other UXOs beneath the ground.
He said this is not the first time unexploded UXOs were found within the school vicinity.
“In 2018, 38 UXOs were also discovered just metres away from where the 202 were found last Monday,” Galo said.
“The 2018 discovery was also removed by the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Department (EODD) of the Royal Solomon Islands Police Force (RSIPF).”
For Basilisa Hauporokeni Ramo, who had lived at St Nicholas for more than 40 years,said this latest discovery was unthinkable.
A long-time resident near St. Nicholas College Basilisa Hauporokeni Ramo
“I can’t imagine that we are actually residing on top of unexploded World War II bombs,” Ramo said.
“When you come to think of it, it’s damned scary,” she added.
“As a mother I am scared for the safety of my family, and I think this whole area should be scanned for UXOs.
“It’s so scary to think about if the stockpile exploded.”
Another resident, Kent Tukuvaka said this latest discovery scared him to death, and questions whether there’s any proper documentation of where all UXOs are located.
“…okay the 202 discovered has been safely removed. But does that mean the whole St Nicholas area is now safe and free of UXO? I don’t think so, and that scares me,” Tukuvaka said.
“I understand the US and Japan have been assisting our police to survey and remove the UXOs.
“But is that enough?”
For 24-year-old Clyde Ezra, the discovery of the UXO projectiles, whilst scary, was a good thing.
Clyde Ezra one of the residents living near St Nicholas College
“It’s good that they found the stockpile before it exploded and caused any deaths,” Ezra said.
“I would like to ask the U.S and Japan to do more to clean up all the UXOs,” he added.
Director of Safe Signals, Michael Barry Maka, said his company was engaged to scan the location where the stockpile was discovered after police removed them.
“After my team went and conducted a UXO scan, I can confirm that the area is free of UXOs,” Maka said.
Acting director of EOD, Inspector Clifford Tunuki, said the discovery is a reminder for everyone to take extra care when carrying out construction work.
Honiara is estimated to be littered with thousands of bombs and shells left behind on the battlefield after the six-month Battle of Guadalcanal ended in 1943.
Guadalcanal was the battlefield where U.S. Marines halted the Japanese advance on land in the Pacific for the first time.
An estimated 26,000 Japanese and allied soldiers died, along with an unknown number of Solomon Islanders.
Deaths still regularly occur in Solomon Islands 80 years later, when UXOs detonate.
The detonation failure rate for munitions used during the Second World War was up to one-in-three, leaving explosives scattered across former Pacific battlefields.
Australia has led the disposal efforts and trained RSIPF officers, with support from the U.S. and Japan, during more than a decade of clearance operations in the country.
In March, 700 UXOs were uncovered and destroyed in a 12-day operation in Western Province.
The first full UXO clearance operation in Solomon Islands since the COVID 19 pandemic began is due next month again in Western Province, the Australian High Commission said in a statement in July.