Raobeia Ken Sigrah
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Raobeia Ken Sigrah, or Ken Sigrah Raobeia, is the clan spokesperson for the Banaban people living on Rabi, Fiji. Together with his partner Stacey King he is working passionately on projects to preserve the Banaban culture and to provide a future for his people and their homeland Banaba.
Ken was born on Fiji as great-great-grandson of one of the signatories to the 1900 mining contract that sealed the fate of the Pacific island of Banaba. Rich phosphate deposits on the island lay at the base of the contract, which signed the mining rights on Banaba away for the next 999 years and led to the tragedy of the displaced people of Banaba.
Ken is the author of the book Te Rii Ni Banaba (The Backbone of Banaba), published in 2001, which is his greatest contribution to date to the Banaban people. The book is a documentary on the history and identity of the Banabans and a rich resource of information on Banaban culture.
Although Ken lives and works in Australia and provides a voice to the Banaban people on the international stage, his people are never far from his thoughts. He incorporates ways of helping his people in his professional life through the two Australian companies he runs. His overwhelming, kind smile often hides his sadness when he talks about the fate of his people.
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