Warring Indoctrination of Bougainville People

Leonard Fong Roka

There are a number of crimes against human rights that Bougainville is subjected to under the ruling state of Papua New Guinea. Many Bougainvilleans that really search deeper into the problems of their island home are now broadly categorizing all crimes under (1) exploitation, (2) indoctrination and (3) genocide. In the many exchanges of discourses we daily hold, I often talk about writing to educate Bougainvilleans to see the fateful trends our island is heading towards.

Me and my first book, The Pomong U'tau of Dreams

To me literature is one means to educate the Bougainville people to search into the sources of their problems; or it’s the means to foster irredentism. Thus I see, as a writer and author, my task for my Solomon Island people is to stand up on the massive indoctrination we are faced with. That is, I feel like dedicating my life writing and publishing a few more books exploring this hell PNG has and is subjecting us to.

In the Anthony J. Reagan and Helga M. Griffin edited 2005 book, Bougainville before the conflict, Douglas Oliver is cited as having referred to Bougainvilleans and Western Solomon [Choiseul] islanders as ‘the black spot in an island world of brown skins’. Then the late Bougainville leader, Joseph Kabui is noted by Ulukalala Lavaka Ata’s 1998 article, The Bougainville Crisis and PNG-Australia Relations saying ‘It is a feeling deep down in our hearts that Bougainville is totally different than PNG, geographically, culturally. It’s been separate place from time immemorial. Ever since God created the Universe, Bougainville has been separate, has been different.’

All these Bougainville physical features are obvious; Bougainvilleans are black as God created them, whilst PNG people are reddish or brown as Douglas Oliver noted. But PNG’s 7 million people do not acknowledge these distinctive qualities of Bougainville’s 300 thousand people but rather indoctrinates them to pave the way for exploitation and eventual genocide.

The fate for Bougainvilleans starts off from the PNG constitution. The very first line in the PNG Constitution Preamble reads: ‘We, the People of Papua New Guinea— united in one nation…’ is the foundation of indoctrination of Bougainville people. Under the real definition of the term ‘nation’ PNG is not a nation but a country of 800-plus nations. Building a country on lies brings disaster and PNG experiences that in the form of corruption, crime and so on.

PNG further enforces this lies on Bougainvilleans through the education system. PNG has an education system that does not respect Bougainvilleans but rather, it is a curriculum that turns Bougainvilleans away from their origins or roots.

Every textbooks used in the primary schools, high schools and secondary schools of PNG absolutely lacks Bougainvillean content; not a chapter in social science textbooks dedicated to Bougainville history, politics, culture and geography. Every textbook has no Bougainville symbols and characters simply because PNG lacks the deep understanding of Bougainville society and culture.

Thus I believe my role is now to take the first step against this savage done on my Solomon Island people of Bougainville. 

My first book, The Pomong U’tau of Dreams: A Bougainvillean Collection of Poetry (2013) is uniquely Bougainvillean! The moment a Bougainvillean reader sees the cover, he or she knows that the book belongs to him or her; deep inside, the content is all about his people and land. This will be backed by the soon coming collection of short stories, Moments in Bougainville (2013) followed by my two completed manuscripts, Brokenville, an autobiography of my Bougainville crisis experiences from 1988 to 1997 and Tales from Bougainville, an anthology of short stories and poems (both scheduled for print in 2014).

Bougainville is drowning in the tempestuous sea of PNG indoctrination and I am the only one seeing our identity and dignity sinking, so as long as I live, I will try to rescue my island with a few more books and die a proud Bougainvillean.