07/05/2023 Isole Salomone, Guadalcanal, Honiara
“If you ever come across anything suspicious like this item, please do not pick it up, contact your local law and/or enforcement agency for assistance”.
By Nicola Smith; Charley Piringi and Harriet Barber
The excited chatter among a gaggle of children rose as a little boy suddenly came forward, arms outstretched, hands cupped under a corroding pineapple-shaped Japanese WW2 grenade. “I found it in the water over there and there are two more,” said Bernard, 13, tilting his head towards the polluted stream running through Mbokona, an expanding shantytown in Honiara, the capital of the Solomon Islands. In a heartstopping second, a nearby adult delicately picked the live munition from the child’s hands and placed it carefully on the grassy verge next to the potholed gravel road.The bomb squad was called, but at a safer distance the children milled around non-plussed, laughing and jostling each other. “We find bullets and grenades all the time, especially when it rains heavily,” said one of Bernard’s playmates. Munition is lying all around. We tell the children not to touch it but when they see these things, they start playing with them,” said John Mole, a local father who recently moved into the area. “It’s frightening to live here.” The incident occurred as the Telegraph was researching the problem of abandoned munitions in the Solomon Islands, but the child’s discovery was sadly not unusual.
Photo d’illustration
Source: telegraph.co.uk
If you find anything that appears to be an explosive device, do not touch it, leave it where it is and call the police. We will contact the appropriate agencies to properly dispose of the item.
Dear editors, Biography of a bomb is aimed at highlighting the danger caused by unexploded bombs. Moreover, the most important aspect is that we work completely non profit, what drives us is raising awerness about this topic. We make use of your pictures and articles, but we need them to put a context in how findings are done. We trust in your understanding. We will (and we always do) cite the source and the author. We thank you for your comprehension.
