Our Reckless Behavior is a Nation’s Loophole

Leonard Fong Roka

In January this year (2012) a group of students from the University of Papua New Guinea, backed by the ABG officials, executed awareness on issues like autonomy, education and so on in my home yard in the Tumpusiong Valley of Panguna.

I was not present, but a gossip that spread throughout the valley is that, the Bougainville’s future leaders did not answer the village people’s questions in a manner that they desired. Even, some frankly stated they had no idea or they clearly showed the villagers that they were not aware of issues affecting us.

Are we flying the Bougainville Flag with a Bougainvillean Heart? (Photo: The Namorong Report)

Gossip stated that the team came drunk or were touring Bougainville with liquor (in fact, a friend of mine from Muguai in Buin told me that he was with them because they were providing free beer). Sad to say this, but it is now a problem in Bougainville. Also, as it was said of, the team were lovers courting each other and not touring for the good of Bougainville’s 15 000 lost lives!

As I state this, I am worried here by Francis M. Deng (1997) and his words. He wrote: DEPRIVE A PEOPLE OF THEIR ETHINICITY, THEIR CULTURE, AND YOU DEPRIVE THEM OF THEIR SENSE OF DIRECTION OR PURPOSE.

I believe we are suffering under this curse that Francis M. Deng is talking of. May be we have forgotten that there is a place in the Solomon Sea that is called, Bougainville? May be, there was not a crisis that we had politically failed to contained and it turned into a civil war causing the lives of thousands of our brothers and sisters from Buin to Buka and the atolls? May be, all Bougainvilleans are mix-race of Papua New Guinea and Bougainville like me?

If you think, that the conflict was instigated by me a Panguna fellow, you ought to change now that mentality. The Bougainville is a colonialism created crisis in the hearts and minds of our elders and we inherited it from them. The Panguna icons of secessionism the late, Francis Ona and late Joseph Kabui were not there when John Teosin began the Hahalis Welfare Society; they were not present in demonstrations by North Nasioi dominated Napidakoe Navitu led by late Sir Paul Lapun. They were not there on the mission led by current ABG President John Momis in the mid-1970s to the UN in New York campaigning for Bougainville independence. But, as I mentioned it, they as children grew up in that air of conflict.

In this light, the Bougainville crisis in now our common problem; our old people who involved in the protests against our masters, the Papua New Guineans, did not carry our freedom campaign by heart so, when finer pasture sprouted, they forgot their fight and sucked on Papua New Guinean’s breasts.

Mr. Deng’s ideas did happened on Bougainville, but 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 pretention or irresponsibility to our homeland.

We have extreme attitude problem that ought to be address. We act it out so clearly in the open that even the silly New Guinean or Papuan, just ignores us and murders us; rapes us or exploits us without seeing that he has played a enormous part in exploiting and suppressing us before the crisis and throughout the conflict.

When in New Guinea we have our tails firmly glued to our bellies in fear. Here we talk PNG in the open; and we talk Bougainville only in the safety of the cyberspace. Are all Bougainvilleans connected into the world of social networking? No. Bougainville does not know your voice, yet.

I feel sad seeing all these. The more we drift, the more Bougainville will suffer.

Every year Bougainville exports students to be educated and then serve Bougainville in return, but away from home, they are here running after New Guinean penis & vulva and not pursuing the Bougainville reasons for the conflict. They don’t want to be the true Bougainville light to self-determination and progress.

In fact one fundamental reason why the United Nations supported referendum for Bougainville is cultural genocide that Bougainville was subjected to as marginalized people in the hands of irresponsible Papua New Guinea government and people.

But Bougainvillean educated and tourists into New Guinea wants our identity thrown into their ablutions in the light of Human Rights & Christianity the two notable catalysts out of others for poverty & under-development in the Third World countries.

At the same time, Bougainville today, has a good 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 PMV 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 any sense? Are we doing any good to our village relatives?

This shows how much we don’t respect those that died during the conflict and of course, ourselves as Bougainvilleans. Then,  leading us to become empty drums that lacks any vision and thoughts that is worth contributing to the good of Bougainville whether through your public offices like VA, CoE, Bougainville Administration, NGOs and so on; or through your family or community decision making.

Where do you stand?

We claim we are way-back in terms of development and for those o f us who travel beyond Bougainville, it is of paramount significance that our home coming ought to be a light of positive thinking to our respective communities so that Bougainville can be a better place.