Papua New Guinea’s prized possession: its people and their way of life

From MAVARA HANUA

 

There is an old Jewish saying;  a poor man looks out the window of his house and see the birds, green meadows, clear streams and breathes the fresh air from his cabin. 

 

A rich man however paints the whole world silver so all he sees is the reflection of him. 

 

When a dear friend told me this saying, I had visions of the majority of our people.                   

 Poor as they are, they are the happiest people in the country. 

Like their forefathers, they wake up every day looking for inspiration. 

Whether its praying to God, smelling the rich scent of the flora, admiring the might of gashing rivers, yep, its uplifting.  

 Hard working folks they are, they toil the land to conjure a healthy harvest of yams, kau kau and taro, they casted nets for the fishes in the sea, drone the land for abundance of boars, wallabies and muruks. 

 The landscape was indeed plentiful.  

For the past 40 years, our landscape has dramatically changed and so have our values. 

Our simpleton wantoks have learnt that opportunities come not from the land and sea alone but from the shining bright valleys of Lae, Goroka, Hagan, Wewak, Port Moresby etc where education, jobs, crime and prostitution give way for a better life. 

When they go back to the village, they're people are mesmerised by their glittery clothes, hip mobiles and their views on everything. 

They are progressive and they quickly gain respect. 

Church elders want them to be leaders, local school wants them to be on the board, petty gangs give them the lions share of stolen goods, young girls want to be like them as they see the rewards of getting paid to be beautiful. 

Unlike their forefathers, when they wake up to look outside the window for inspiration, they want to paint it silver. 

 So when we see the view of Fairfax Harbor from their plush offices, corrugated iron shacks in Bundi Camp, the ceiling of a motel in Hagen, they want to see themselves. 

Yep, gardens have been replaced with bank balances; artisanal fishing with crime and the hunt is a couple of plastic papers for a screw. 

PNG is a melting pot of the old - new, city - village, highlands -  coastal, kong kong – whiteman, homemade – factory made, pumuk - sex tapes, Christian – non Christian, this is the landscape of PNG.  

So my fellow Papua New Guineans, I ponder what nation we have become. 

 Is the silver landscape reflecting a few, good for our country or are the old days where the land was plentiful? 

 I don't know, but living in the now, I love the challenge our great land demands. 

Oh yeah, it's tough, sleezy and cold but when that smile breaks up in the faces of our people, it's a land of hope. 

A land where a kaleidscope of cultures is in abundance, where tenacious rough neck men pride on their conquests,  beautiful mothers uphold us in prayers, brothers that stand with us when all is lost, sisters that comfort us when we are nothing and our children that look at us as the only important thing in the world. 

We hold the destiny of our nation and it is my prayer we embrace everything our nation has because that is who we are. 

 It is only by doing this; we can begin to ask the difficult questions on how to improve our way of life. 

Kokoda beefed up

Over the next few days, charter flights from Port Moresby will fly into a number of Northern villages delivering building materials and supplies for schools and aid posts in Manari, Efogi, Naduri, Kagi and Kokoda station, The National reports.

 Among the items also are safety cones and maintenance tools for the upkeep of Kokoda Track airstrips.

The assistance is the result of a joint commitment by the PNG and Australian governments’ Kokoda Initiative, aimed at addressing safety issues along the track.

 

 

Gunslinger runs amok in Port Moresby

Shotgun and police-issued firearm recovered

 

A SECURITY guard shocked Papua New Guineans when he stood in the middle of a road and aimed a gun at oncoming traffic in Port Moresby yesterday, The National reports.

He was knocked down by a taxi and was arrested by police in the peak hour morning traffic drama.

At press time, police were still interrogating the guard to determine the reason for his “renegade behaviour” on Sir John Guise Road near the new bus station opposite the stadium.

Police have also recovered a pump action shotgun and a police-issued firearm, but it could not be ascertained if the weapon was loaded at the time.

There was no firing but guard’s senseless action sparked the circulation of an email that spread like wildfire, panicking some of its readers.

The contents of the email, supposedly from an eyewitness, gave an even scarier and worrying account of the drama.

The National tried to trace the source of the email the whole of yesterday but failed.

The email account: “We were attacked by a wanna-be-suicide gunman who opened fire at oncoming traffic and pedestrians just outside the new Vision City and Golden Bowl Freeway bus stop!

“I was in the bus and this madman stood in the middle of the road and was just spraying bullets everywhere!

“When our bus approached, he sprayed down our windscreen missing the driver . . . we all dived for cover and our bus went out of control and hit a dead stop . . . the gunman ran towards us and tried to climb in and opened fire when a taxi driver behind us saw it and, at full speed, smashed the guy, sending him flying in the air . . . the gunman was a Highlander in full police uniform . . . when he landed on the ground, he got up and took out more guns and started shooting again.

“He then jumped onto another double cab driven by a Central woman and child behind us and then smashed the glasses and shot the woman . . . luckily she bent her head and the bullet grazed her eyes . . . when all the men from the PMVs and bus stopped, plus the construction workers from Vision City, ran out to help us . . . the gunman took out grenades and more silencers and shotguns and just sprayed his heart away . . . I managed to smash my window, jump out of the bus and ran all the way to the office as the guy kept running after us and firing . . . he couldn’t be caught and ran off . . . Please all be on alert!

“All the police numbers are ringing out and we can’t get in touch.

“So far, we rang Kalang FM to broadcast the incident as the guy was saying something that he will go to town or walk into a primary school . . . and go on rampage  ... soooooo scary ...”

Metropolitan police operations head Supt Andy Bawa told The National late yesterday afternoon that according to police investigations, the contents of the email were all “rubbish” except for the fact that a taxi had knocked him to the side of the road and was picked up by a police reservist unit of a commercial bank.

“No shots were fired or anything damaged or anyone hurt,” he added.

Bawa said police would be questioning the security firm and also conduct an internal investigation into how a gun belonging to a police officer got into the hands of a civilian.

The police headquarters also appealed to the public yesterday to refrain from spreading unsubstantiated rumours following the email which caused unnecessary panic among city residents.

New laws include life sentence for sex crimes

AMENDED laws for sexual violence and crimes against women and children will see prison terms increasing from five to seven years and a maximum of life imprisonment, The National reports.

According to the Criminal Code Act (Amended) 2003, these penalties covered the crimes of sexual penetration, molesting and indecent acts against children under the age of 16 and women.

Speaking at the conclusion of a three-day regional workshop in Lae, Morobe, on Wednesday, deputy public prosecutor Nicholas Miviri said sexual penetration without consent was deemed as rape and the circumstances of aggravation raised the maximum penalty to life in prison.

Miviri explained that under the amendment, the penalties start from seven years to life imprisonment.

The government had, in 2001, amended the PNG sex offence laws after finding them to be “outdated”.

It consequently passed the Criminal Code (sexual violence and crimes against children) Amendment Act 2003 and the Evidence (Amendment) Act 2003.

Miviri, however, expressed concern that the new laws were not being used by the prosecutors, including the police and social welfare workers.

He said that on many occasions, the offenders got off the hook because they were charged under the wrong laws.

The Lae workshop was aimed at making police and social workers aware of the implications and ramifications of the new laws.

Miviri was optimistic that the awareness would help police use the proper laws to successfully prosecute offenders.

 

 

Amnesty wants Papua New Guinea government to act on violence

AMNESTY International (AI) handed over to the Papua New Guinean government a 37,000-signature petition urging an end to violence against women in PNG, The National reports.

AI Australia campaign coordinator Hannah Harborow handed to Community Development Minister Dame Carol Kidu a huge stack of folders containing the signatures calling for urgent government action to address the extremely high rates of violence against women and girls.

Last week marked a historic moment for PNG women when the PNG government was, for the first time, questioned by the United Nations (UN) committee on the elimination of discrimination against women about the high rates of violence against women, and about government efforts to address the issue.

A delegation of women from PNG also visited the United States to speak before the UN on behalf of their countrywomen and demanded an end to violence.

Harborow, who attended the review session in New York, said: “There were encouraging words from the PNG government when it went before the UN. But it is not enough just to acknowledge that gender violence  is an urgent problem.

“The government must prove it is serious about addressing violence against women and girls. It needs to pass laws specifically targeting domestic violence, provide emergency services for women fleeing abuse and lay charges against perpetrators of violence.

“The women of PNG may take some comfort from their government’s statement to the UN that it hopes in the future to fund emergency services and shelters run by non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and churches for women fleeing violence,” Harborow said.

AI said it looked forward to seeing the government fulfill its promise that the UN review session would lead to increased budget for initiatives to rectify the abuse and violence.

The government also pledged that it would use the UN review to raise awareness of violence through the PNG media, including holding a joint media conference with NGOs on the issue.

 

 

Kokoda villages get building materials and medicines

THE delivery of 10 tonnes of essential materials over the next few days to Kokoda communities will reinforce the Australian government’s commitment to improve health and education and address safety issues along the track, The National reports.

The materials were being sent on several charter flights from Port Moresby to Manari, Efogi, Naduri, Kagi and Kokoda station. 

The shipment included building materials and supplies for aid posts and schools and safety cones and maintenance tools for the upkeep of airstrips, all key projects under the joint PNG and Australian governments’ Kokoda Initiative.  

“We will continue to work with the government of PNG, the Kokoda Track Authority and local communities to ensure we understand what works best for Kokoda communities and how this should be actioned,” Australian High Commissioner Ian Kemish said.

“Through this partnership, we are working together to improve the lives of local people who live along the Kokoda Track corridor, and to improve the trekking experience of those people walking the track.”

Kokoda Track Authority (KTA) chairman James Enage said the delivery of these materials would not only help to bring about further improvements to the lives of people along Kokoda but would keep the track as PNG’s top tourist draw card.

“Improvements to Owers Corner road, better maintenance at local airstrips and improved water and sanitation facilities all contribute to a better tourism product,” Enage said.

“KTA will continue to work with the governments of PNG and Australia to encourage more people to come and enjoy the unique Kokoda experience.”

Some of the materials will go into completing school buildings and aid posts partially erected over the past months in Manari, Efogi, Naduri and Kagi.

The villages also received curriculum materials for schools and medical supplies for aid posts.

Leon Sime, head of Kokoda Hospital, said the Kokoda Initiative was having a positive impact on health delivery in the area.

“The benefits are wide-ranging,” Sime said.

“From fixing the road to the hospital, which creates easier access for patients, through to more regular health patrols, all of these things are making health delivery better,” he added.

A norm worth dying for: Life after Somare

From MAVARA HANUA 

Somare is indeed a shrewd politician and that is a fact.
 
Commanding calm, respect and power, he steered a formidable and determined opposition. 
 
Admirers of this man are attracted to him for his reliance, opponents rebuke him of his craftiness and Papua New Guineans are divided in whether he is good for us or not. 
 
The majority of our people know him as the founding father of our nation and that's that. 


They see him as an old wise man that speaks unquestionable wisdom and when he speaks, it has a power source that mesmerises everyone. 


A Sukundoumu indeed.
 

Having a rare privilege to brief him once, I was told that my 50-page brief needed to be condensed to five minutes as that is the concentration span of the old man.

I of course jerked at the thought of condensing an important policy position but that was the fact and off I went. 

He picked up one issue where we spent a good 20 minutes on and that was how the people will benefit.   

After consulting his advisors on the matter, he presented the policy position to cabinet.

Clumsy, gibberish and not impressive in articulating the issues, the ministers got the message.

I couldn't help noticing why this was the case, highly intelligent men and women in cabinet subjecting themselves to an ailing old man that although commands respect is woefully overwhelmed with national interest issues.

It was than I realised what PNG politics is, a rhetorical citation of subjecting men and women to a higher form of humility based purely on respect. 

 The cabinet heard crap that day from this old man and why did they entertain it?

  It wasn't fear, it certainly wasn't intellectual might. 

They simply allowed the old man to be what he is because of respect. 

Humility beyond reckoning and it almost has a religious pretext.  

With this power, Somare wheeled good things and bad things. 

Stability is his legacy and tragically, corruption and scandals are also his legacy. 

 Like every PNGean, when we saw the photos of both camps last week, we all couldn't help noticing Puka Temu's Dream Team.

Intellectual heavies, business tycoons, career public servants and acclaimed human rights celebrities. 

This is the government PNG needs.

When we saw the Somare camp, we all agreed they are so overrated and change needs to come.

Built on ethnic lines, family connections, this is a dirty group.    

 But again, the old man prevailed. 

He hijacked parliament, killed the vote of no-confidence and in a split second, has a four-month siesta. 

Why? Because our elected leaders respect him.

When he does leave us and gracefully swims away to the resting place of the Sepik River, PNG will be scrambling for a new political norm.

Intellectual freaks will concoct flowcharts and dissertations of development, business tycoons will speak of making money, crime magnets will be interested in protecting their turf and social advocates will push for improvement in basic services. 

 And in this mêlée of norm setting, billions of kina will be spent on out competing one norm to the other.

Advocates of the norms will become our next Prime Minister but wantoks, is the price of our sacred resources worth a new norm? 

I don't know, but I am comforted by the ever-increasing desire for our men and women to bring change to our country and it is my prayer that as we go into a season of norm making, the righteous norm prevails.