While English and Pijin are widely used, more than 60 local languages are still spoken. The Solomon Islands is a former British colony that won independence only in 1978. The country faces imperialist oppression and exploitation, especially through gold mining and logging, but modern classes are only now just coming into being and a national consciousness is still awakening. Migration for jobs People from Malaita island have, over the years, come in large numbers to Guadalcanal in search of land or jobs. As well, much of the civil service and police force are comprised of those from Malaita and many local shops and businesses are owned by people originally from Malaita.
Unemployment is high.
MEF leader Andrew Nori, one of the first Solomon Islanders to become a lawyer, is a longtime politician and opponent of Prime Minister Ulufa'alu, who is himself from central Malaita. The IFM has pushed the politics of resentment against those from Malaita who have settled on Guadalcanal and calls for their expulsion. Over the last 18 months what is now called the IFM has waged a terror campaign centered in the villages, with some 60 killed and 20,000 people displaced to Honiara. Nori and the MEF took action in the face of what they call the government's inability to maintain law and order. On June 5, IFM fighters attacked the Gold Ridge gold mine.