The Wire

The Bougainville conflict from 1989 to 1998 was one of the most serious and damaging conflicts in the South Pacific region since World War Two. According to some estimates as many as 15, 000 people died during the conflict and suffering on the island was widespread, with almost entire communities displaced in care centres or camps. The conflict in Bougainville has now ended, but it’s a society that is in many ways starting from scratch. Two lecturers from Flinders University have been commissioned by the United Nations Development Program to compile a Human Development Report on Bougainville. One of the lecturers involved, Dr Gour Dasvarma spoke to The Wire’s Catherine Graue.