Aftermath: Jackson Recalls the Berlin Wall’s Fall

BY ALEX DADAMU

A Solomon Islander from Malaita province, Mr. Jackson Leaburi visited Germany and witness a series of events after the fall of Berlin Wall – the boundary that divided the communist – East Germany and capitalist – West Germany at the Brandenburg Gate on Nov. 9, 1989.

He arrived in West Germany, on Dec. 1989 – a month after the fall of Berlin Wall, and recalled that it was a pivotal year that marks the fall of the Berlin Wall – a decisive event in world history that marked the fall of the Iron Curtain and the start of the fall of communism in Eastern and Central Europe.

Mr Leaburi brought back to the Solomon Islands a piece of brick which was used to build the ‘Berlin Wall’ as a souvenir.

“The piece of brick is a souvenir which to me, has a story on its own, a historical one in that matter and also it speaks volumes of the experience which I had in Berlin, Germany which I guess I will treasure for the rest of my life.”

The described monstrous structure that separated East and West Berlin stood for 28 long years, therefore, the falling of the wall, which divided the Communist-ruled East from the capitalist West in Berlin for nearly three decades later became a powerful symbol of the Cold War which was followed a year later by the reunification of Germany in 1990.

When recollecting his experiences when traveling to countries around the world, Mr. Leaburi pointed out that his experience in Berlin was one that, “stood out from the rest because what I experience and saw at that time in Berlin City marks the end to the Cold War and the fall of the Iron Curtain’ a historical event which I have had honour and privilege see first-hand.”

“When in Berlin, I visited the Legendary ‘Checkpoint Charlie’ and saw and feel what the reunification of Germany as a whole, means to the local people there.

“Those who were in the eastern bloc looked as if their eyes have just open to seeing what has been happening around the world which reflected in the standard of living in the western bloc of Berlin – after spending years in the dark in the Eastern side of the City,” Mr. Leaburi recounted.

As a fresh young man straight out of high school which he did at the King George the Sixth National Secondary School (KG 6), Jackson Leaburi joined the then Guadalcanal Travel Services (GTS) in the early 1980s and later he went on to join the SIVB in the late 1980s.

Mr. Leaburi who recently retired as the chairperson of the Malaita Provincial Tourism Sector was working with the Solomon Islands Visitors Bureau (SIVB) as a marketing officer at that time, a position which enables him to visit various countries of the world in the early ’80s and ’90s.

He had held several consultation posts regionally with the South Pacific Tourism Organisation (SPTO) and travel agencies in Fiji before coming back home and work as a local tourism consultant that is before he becomes the Chairperson of the Malaita provincial tourism sector, a position he held until his retirement last year, 2019.