Australian National University will host the launch Katerina Martina Teaiwa's new book Consuming Ocean Island: Stories of People and Phosphate from Banaba. The event, which also includes a public lecture by Edvard Hviding of the University of Bergen, will take place Tuesday, March 17, from 6:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. (AEDT) at the China in the World Auditorium. The book launch is free, but requires a reservation. Sign up to attend here.
Consuming Ocean Island tells the story of the land and people of Banaba, a small Pacific island, which, from 1900 to 1980, was heavily mined for phosphate, an essential ingredient in fertilizer. As mining stripped away the island's surface, the land was rendered uninhabitable, and the indigenous Banabans were relocated to Rabi Island in Fiji. Katerina Martina Teaiwa tells the story of this human and ecological calamity by weaving together memories, records, and images from displaced islanders, colonial administrators, and employees of the mining company. Learn more about the book in this trailer:
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