Pacific island nation of Nauru proposes name change in break from colonial past

By Rédaction Africanews and AFP

Pacific island Nauru said it will hold a referendum to change its official name, described as a colonial relic from a time when “foreign tongues” mangled the native language.

The Pacific island nation currently known as Nauru is planning a referendum to change its official name.

The tiny country’s native language is Dorerin Naoero.

“Nauru emerged because Naoero could not be properly pronounced by foreign tongues, and was changed not by our choice, but for convenience,” the government said in a statement on Tuesday.

Germany claimed Nauru as a protectorate from the end of the 19th century until World War I, when the island was captured by Australian troops. It was jointly administered by Australia, the United Kingdom and New Zealand before gaining independence in 1968.

Now authorities are proposing to return to ‘Naoero,’ a name that “more faithfully honours our nation’s heritage, our language and our identity,” the statement said.

The change has to be done through referendum as it requires an alternation of the country’s constitution.

If successful, the new name would be reflected in all official records and symbols, including at the United Nations.

Nauru is one of the world’s smallest countries, with a mainland measuring just 20 square kilometres.

It is especially vulnerable to climate change and has high rates of unemployment and health issues, a recent World Bank assessment said.

Unusually pure phosphate deposits — a key ingredient in fertiliser — once made Nauru one of the wealthiest places, per capita, on the planet.

But those supplies have long dried up, and researchers today estimate 80 percent of Nauru has been rendered uninhabitable by mining.