IN JANUARY THIS YEAR, in my home area of Panguna’s Tumpusiong Valley, a group of Bougainvillean students from the University of Papua New Guinea, with backing of officials of the Autonomous Bougainville Government, executed an awareness program on current issues such as autonomy and education.
Later talk spread throughout the valley that these future leaders of Bougainville had some difficulty answering the village people’s questions. Some of the students frankly stated they had no idea how to respond to questions. Others, in responding to questions, showed the villagers they were not aware of the issues affecting the valley.
Another of these students angered the people by stating that ‘when we graduate, we don’t feel like returning to Bougainville because pay rates are too low’.
Gossip in the valley also had it that the team was very much into drinking (a friend of mine from Muguai told me he was touring with them because they provided free beer). Sad to say, but alcohol is now a problem in Bougainville.
It was also said of the team that many were lovers courting each other and not touring for the good of Bougainville’s 15,000 lost lives in the civil war.
As I write this, I am reflecting on the words of Francis M Deng, who wrote in 1997: “Deprive a people of their ethnicity, their culture, and you deprive them of their sense of direction or purpose”.
I believe we are suffering under this curse. Maybe we’ve forgotten that there is a place in the Solomon Sea called Bougainville. Maybe there was not a crisis we failed to contain politically which turned into a civil war costing the lives of thousands of our brothers and sisters.
If you think that the terrible conflict was instigated by me, a Panguna fellow, you ought to change that mentality. Bougainville colonialism created a crisis in the hearts and minds of our elders and we inherited this. The seeds of conflict were sown long before hostilities broke out.
Panguna’s icons of secession, the late Francis Ona and the late Joseph Kabui, were not there when John Teosin began the Hahalis Welfare Society. They were not present in demonstrations in Kieta and Arawa by Napidakoe Navitu led by the late Sir Paul Lapun. They were not there on the mission led by current President John Momis in the mid-1970s which went to the UN in New York campaigning for Bougainville independence.
They weren’t there, but they were children who grew up in that aura of conflict.
Be that as it may, Bougainville is now our common problem. The old people originally involved in the protests against our Papua New Guinean masters did not carry the freedom campaign in their hearts, so, when finer economic pastures sprouted, they forgot their fight and sucked on PNG’s breasts.
As Bougainvilleans, we ought to accept that we are all victims of what our 1960s and 1970s elders left unnourished, neglecting that already they had made their children see, hear and feel the Bougainville problem created by colonialism.
Mr Deng’s idea of cultural deprivation did happen in Bougainville, and the Bougainville crisis of 1988 gave a venous sting to it. We know who we are - we know we are Solomon people - but our problem is irresponsibility to our homeland.
We have our tails firmly glued to our bellies in fear. In the open, we talk PNG; we talk Bougainville only in the safety of cyberspace. We have to act out for the world that we are Bougainvilleans.
I feel sad seeing all this. The more we drift, the more Bougainville will suffer.
Every year Bougainville exports students to be educated, hopefully to serve Bougainville in return. But away from home, they are here running after New Guinean penis and vulva and don’t want to be the true Bougainville light to self-determination and progress.
A fundamental reason why the United Nations supported a referendum on Bougainville independence was because of the prospect of cultural genocide of Bougainvilleans as a marginalized people in the hands of an irresponsible Papua New Guinea government and people.
Bougainville today has a bunch of people that talk Bougainville away from home; but, when in their village, they are the problem to the community.
I regularly, meet people coming home from New Guinea, loading beer into PMVs because they want to drink all the way to South or Central Bougainville; or booze all the way to Haku or to Nissan Island. Does this, make sense? Are we doing any good for our village relatives?
This also shows that we don’t respect ourselves as Bougainvilleans and those who died during the conflict leading us to become empty drums that lack vision and thoughts worth contributing to the good of Bougainville.
Where do you stand?
We claim we are way behind in terms of development. For those of us who travel beyond Bougainville, it is of paramount significance that our homecoming ought to be a source of positive thinking so our respective communities can improve and Bougainville can be a better place.
Leonard Roka is a mature age student at Divine Word University in Madang. He was a participant in the civil war, in which his father was killed
Hi Leonard - Your context and experience in piecing this article is appreciated. You’re a proud son of Bougainville. Keep up that great writing zeal. Who know, in some good years, historians, young Bougainvilleans and others may learn from this window.
We sympathise and say sorry (many have said so already) for all that went wrong - including the precious countless souls that perished (many innocent). That is really a tragedy. It’s etched in our nation’s memory. My father in-law lost his mobility – became wheelchair bound and passed away in 2007.
In my readings, I have come to realise that, the world also has records of many atrocities, genocide, slavery and other countless social ills. Nearly all of them are unjustified. They were propelled by plain ignorance, greed, misunderstanding, fear, unjustified superiority project agendas and all the rest.
However, being amply assisted by the history that we have gone through and learnt through research, education and wise counsel of the elderly, we young Papua New Guineans have a duty to promote peace, mutual respect and learn to forgive and move on in life – however painful and utterly difficult it may be.
That process may involve learning a thing or two from former enemies, outsiders, idealists and any source we care to pay attention to.
Many Bougainvillians are married to other parts of PNG – and even other countries. I am doubly convinced that, they have not forgotten their roots – the very place where their umbilical cords are buried.
Genuine and benevolent forgiveness entails that, some of these “outsiders views” and offer to assistance may need to be considered.
Nation building is a long process and lengthy exercise. Every little help from everyone will count. Who knows, the next Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea may be a Bougainvillian – or whose mum or dad may have been born in Bougainville. Even, he/she may have been born in Bougainville – where his/her parents worked before the conflict era. They will be willing to assist.
Therefore, it is essential that we cultivate and have an open and accommodative mindset.
I have a boss – whose simple command is to forgive.
(Mathew 18: 18 – 22) In NIV
18 “Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.
19 “Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”
21 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?”
22 Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times
In other words – forgive everyone all the time so long as you are alive.
It’s a non-negotiable command. From that, I have learnt that, it’s life liberating and truly beneficial in the long run
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Prayers and thoughts from a Papua New Guinean brother from the mainland
Posted by: Corney K. Alone | 19 August 2012 at 09:45 AM
Tim, that's exactly the situation out there.
As long as you were not there during the conflict most will never co-operate with you or ignore your words by poking fun and so on.
Most popularly phrase there is, 'will listen to any body who suffered with us'. Such and other related phrases house the clue to how we should run Bougainville.
I personally, have come across this. In most school graduation I attend, the moment, I speak something anti-PNG, there is jubiliation.
Thus, weapons disposal, peace building, distrust and so on are all grounded there in the 'reaI sons of the crisis' and the fact that you as a leader ' is that the people were with during the conflict'.
Anywhere, its up to the politicians. I am just a thinker and not necessarily the healer.
Posted by: Leonard Roka | 18 August 2012 at 11:51 PM
Leonard - I speak with the disadvantage of an outsider, but I perceive that those who live on Bougainville are very harsh in their judgement of those who have been in POM and seek to return.
I am thinking in particular of the attitude to Simon Pentanu.
He appears to be resented because he gave up the post of Chief Administrator to Peter Tsiamalili.
He did so because, firstly, he believed that PT had more to offer as an administrator and, secondly, having carried the Admin through the traumas of starting up again (which involved random visits from persons walking into his office, pulling out a gun and threatening to blow him to kingdom come if he didnt toe their line), he needed a break!
The very strong attitude "that if you weren't living on Bougainville through the crisis, then you have no cred" is quite destructive in its own way.
Posted by: Tim Ashton | 18 August 2012 at 08:18 AM