Top Highlights

• The vestiges of colonialism have not withered away totally. They have simply been repackaged and resold in more attractive forms. Post-colonial education and localization has led to the creation of a new breed of elites whose taste, economic interests and political ideologies mirror those of the colonial masters. But they can readily leverage the f...
• During the cold war, the Pacific was dotted with US military bases to contain possible Soviet expansion and for some time it was referred to as the ‘American Lake.’ Both powers used the large ocean as a playground for their naval ‘chicken game.’ A new cold war of sorts is being resurrected with the growth in Chinese interests in Oceania and subsequ...
• developed deep feelings of attachment to this universe of flying fish, gentle reflections of the descending sun in turquoise water, stilt houses and impenetrable jungle bordering white-sand beaches and fantastic coral rims. But above all I felt increasingly close to the men and women of Oceania with their arsenal of stories, passions, references an...
• Yet I never lost faith in the wisdom of the local, people and their culture - in their ability to regenerate, to survive and to preserve what they see as worth preserving and defending. But I also knew that for Oceania to survive and to flourish, there has to be regional unity and a total collapse of imaginary walls and borders erected by the colon...
• I often felt that I had ‘seen it all’ in Oceania  - the beauty and the misery, the cynicism of neo-colonial rulers and local elites and the impact of the ‘free market’ on poor and defenseless nations and people; but there was always much more to see and even now, temporarily leaving Oceania, I feel that there is still so much more to learn about th...