THE Banaban community, last week remembered their arrival on Rabi Island after being forcefully removed from their homeland – Banaba (Ocean Island).
December 15, 1945 was the day their elders arrived and last Friday, the community on Rabi celebrated the 78th year with traditional items and a feast for all to share.
Elders at the event shared stories they remembered as passed down by their fathers and grandfathers.
Rabi’s well-known community worker Terikano Takesau described the event as a special one for them as they get to spend a day to remember the good deeds of their forefathers.
Their forefathers were forced to leave their homes when the Japanese invaded the island in 1942.
They were sent to work in a Japanese labour camp in Kosrae and nearby Nauru and Tarawa islands.
According to the community’s social media post, the surviving 703 Banabans were gathered together on Tarawa by the British government in 1945.
“They were told that they would be sent to Rabi in Fiji, over 2200 kilometres away.
“The British had purchased the freehold island out of the Banabans own phosphate Royalty funds at the start of WWII.”
