Text 16343, 86 rader
Skriven 2008-11-11 22:14:00 av JIM WELLER (1:123/140)
     Kommentar till en text av GLEN JAMIESON
Ärende: Vanuatu
===============
-=> Quoting Glen Jamieson to Jim Weller <=-

 GJ> Most important is "ailan kabis" (bislama spelling of "island
 GJ> cabbage"), which is a large-leaf, slightly chewy, coarse green, rather
 GJ> like collards.

Googling uncovered several plants called island cabbage or cabbage
tree. But I found the one you were referring to: "hibiscus spinach"
more properly known as Abelmoschus manihot.... just for curiosity's
sake as I will probably never have the opportunity to taste any of
them.

 GJ> Errr, the Japanese occupation came *after* the Anglo-French.

That Wiki article suggested the Japanese were there before the
British and the French way back when but there is nothing else
anywhere to back up that statement.

I did discover that the New Hebrides escaped WWII occupation by the
Japanese though as the Americans got there first...

"With the fall of France in W.W. II. the French side of the
Condominium were, from the Vichy point of view, technically at war
with the other half - Britain. However in this year of 1940, the
French population of the New Hebrides immediately declared their
support for General De Gaul's Free French Forces. In fact they were
the first of France's Pacific colonies to do so. Perhaps for the
only time in the life of the Condominium, the French and British
were not at complete odds with one other. 

In early 1942, the Japanese reached the nearby Solomon Islands and
the New Hebridean's lived in real fear that they would be next. The
Americans, however, arrived first, totally unannounced, in May 1942. 

It is a sight that can only be imagined; to wake up and glance out
in the dawn light to the vast expanse of Mele Bay - filled with
warships. A good number of the Vila population fled into the hills
in the belief that the Japanese had arrived. It took some time to
convince everyone otherwise.

Being inherently rather brash, and being at war, the Americans
simply Took Over. They built an entire infrastructure to support
their introduced military population and the necessary equipment to
wage a counter offensive. They brought in tens of thousands of tons
of machinery, built barracks and hospitals, a road around the entire
island, airstrips and wharves, all with the totally efficient
lightening speed typical of the Seabees and U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers[...] it left the foot shuffling bureaucracies of France and
Britain in shame for all they had not done for the islands.

An interesting social phenomena took place. Indigenous New
Hebrideans were astounded at the apparent equality with which black
and white military personnel were treated. And when these New
Hebridean natives went to work for the Americans, they received
respect and wages far in excess to anything they had ever
experienced before. The typically generous Americans would also look
at the native New Hebridean living conditions and give them clothes
and beds, ice boxes and furniture, - all requisitioned from the PX. 

The early 1940's were Halcyon years for the native New Hebrideans.
Vanuatu was attacked only once by a Japanese plane (that was shot
down), resulting in but one casualty on Santo - Besse the cow.

At the end of the war, the Americans left as swiftly as they
arrived.

The Americans suggested to the Condominium Government they might
like to purchase plant equipment, bulldozers and modern workshop
machinery, cranes and trucks, office equipment and, well,
everything, for a price of only seven cents in the dollar on the
real value of the goods. 

Typically, the Condominium foot shuffled and hedged and finally
replied that, since the Americans were going to leave it behind
anyway, why should the Condominium pay for it? The disgusted
response was to bulldoze every movable object into the ocean."


Cheers

YK Jim


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