In the yunivesiti of laif!

Clara Kuangan epitomises what Grasrut Univesiti of Life is all about.
Affectionately known to all as Mama Clara, this grey-haired elderly mother from Maprik in East Sepik Province was one of the first people to attend a Personal Viability (PV) course some years ago. PV is part of the Grasrut Univesiti of Life education philosophy that has been in taught in PNG for six years now. She says the course has changed her whole life.
Last month she was among more than 60 people from different parts of PNG who paid their way to Madang to attend a symposium at Divine Word University. They talked about how the PV course had helped them. They said it had empowered them to become more productive, to use their brains and hands and the abundant resources around them to help themselves. And they displayed the range of products that they have made or have been using to help themselves prosper financially.
When Mama Clara was asked to speak, she had a message for PNG.
“Do not sit around and beg for handouts. Use your God-given brains, hands, talents and the resources around you to earn a living! It is possible,” she said.
It was heartening to hear this elderly mother speak so positively at a time when PNG is experiencing yet another economic crisis forcing prices of goods to climb, the value of the kina to plunge and worsening law and order problems.
Mama Clara’s message is not new. It has been the favourite topic of politicians and government officials at most ceremonies. Most of them however would have no idea what it means to work for themselves.
Mama Clara lives at Nuigo squatter settlement in Wewak. She turned up at DWU with a range of products she had made that included home-made peanut butter, jewelry, hand bags, hats as well as her prized possession – a hand-made mountain bag. The bag was woven from local fibres abundant in the forests and normally used for making bags and bilums. Mama Clara had little formal education and her industrious skills certainly did not come from any formal training. It all began after she attended the personal viability course run by its founder Samuel Tam in Wewak some years ago. The course opened a door of opportunities she was not aware of previously. It showed her that she could use her traditional bilum-making skills to create other profitable products. Inspired, she tried weaving a ladies hand-bag from the local fibres. It was an instant success. She said suddenly the women in Wewak crowded her home wanting to learn the new skill. She never looked back since.
Helen Paru is another Madang mother who has a flourishing business growing and selling fruit trees and flowers in her backyard. She said she did not realise the opportunities until she attended a PV course in Madang.
There is nothing magical about personal viability. It is basically an integral human development course that is fulfilling the national goals and directive principles in PNG’s National Constitution. The Constitution calls for integral human development, equality and participation, national sovereignty and self-reliance, conservation of natural resources and environment and using Papua New Guinean ways to achieve development.
An official PV leaflet says the course trains people to evaluate and enhance their personal viability. Put simply it makes people aware of their abilities to think and do things especially to help themselves by using the resources around them. It is also a holistic development course which helps people understand their emotions, their physical health, their mental and spiritual selves, as well as to show them how to prosper financially. It helps people to believe in themselves and how to relate to others and to recognise the value of the resources around them and use them to enhance their lives.
While PV is not formally recognised by the PNG Government, it is being welcomed by many organisations as an answer to helping their people. The biggest organisation so far is the United Church of PNG whose Moderator, Rev. Samson Lowa, has directed his bishops to attend PV training and to ensure that its 600,000 strong members must all undergo the course in their congregations.
Lutheran and Catholic churches, NGO groups and major resource developers such as Ok Tedi have also endorsed personal viability training for the people.
There are reasons for the growing attraction to the PV course and the Grasrut Yunivesiti of Life philosophy.
The country’s recurring cycles of economic woes since the early 90s have been worrying many Papua New Guineans. It seems the nation’s successive governments have been unable to control rising poverty levels, unemployment and law and order problems. People are now questioning whether the governments are capable of solving these problems. They are also concerned that the education system is educating people for jobs that are becoming increasingly rare. Instead they are advocating a system that should educate people for life.
For those Papua New Guineans who have come into contact with PV, it has filled a void in their lives. It has developed their confidence and made them believe in themselves. It has shown them that one can succeed despite the social, economic and political problems that face the country.
The course is the brain-child of businessman, Samuel Tam, and is run by group of dedicated volunteers using their own time and resources. Mr Tam, affectionately called Papa Sam by his students, is the person who established the Stret Pasin Stoa Scheme – the most successful small business scheme which has enabled many Papua New Guineans to successfully own and run trade stores. This scheme has been studied and adopted by other Pacific island nations.
Mr Tam urged Papua New Guineans to use their ‘neck-top computers’ that is their brains. He said the brain is 100 million times more powerful than any computer. “Take control of your own destiny. Own yourself. Think and act, do it yourself. Don’t ever let outsiders decide for you.”

Juggling family and education

As I sat amongst the sea of beige, blue and black gowns of the graduands at Divine Word University, my mind drifted back to the day nearly two years ago.
I had been sitting in the office of the President of Divine Word University, Fr Jan Czuba telling him that I was withdrawing from my studies. It was only a few months into my third year studies towards a bachelor’s degree in journalism but I was convinced that I had no choice but to leave.
My two-year-old daughter had been diagnosed with what the doctor believed was tuberculosis, which had caused one of her lungs to collapse. The doctor had recommended that the child be interned in the hospital for treatment so that the medical staff could ensure proper medication and monitor her condition.
It was the biggest challenge my family faced since my decision to resume studies.
On January 26, 2000 I resigned from my job as Editor of the Papua New Guinea Magazine, a Post-Courier publication that I had helped establish, to return with my family to Madang. I wanted to pursue my studies in Bachelor of Arts in Journalism at Divine Word University. It was a key decision in my life, to leave a good job, and its benefits, and to take my young family of six children and head into an uncertain future.
I was going to pay for my education and look after my family from what I had saved up over my 15 years of working with the media. My wife and I knew it was going to be tough.
In Madang my family settled in with my mother at Rempi village about 40 kilometres along the Northcoast of Madang while I had a room on the University campus but commuted regularly to be with my family.
It was not easy for my children who had all grown up in Port Moresby to adjust to village life but after a while they did. They found more freedom to move around in the village unlike the fenced properties with security guards we had in Port Moresby. They swam in the sea, fished, walked to school, and got used to eating yams and bananas.
My wife and I were able to convince the doctor that we could keep our daughter at home and administer the medication ourselves. The doctor finally agreed that we could take the medication and administer it at home, but to follow strict dosage times.
It was then that I decided to withdraw from school. I couldn’t bear going to school during the week while my wife struggled with my sick daughter at home.
Fr Jan was immediately concerned and did not think withdrawing from studies was a good idea. He thought I might never get the chance to go back to school again. Instead, he came up with another offer to ensure my daughter received medical help while I continued to study. He offered to sponsor my studies, which would include accommodation on campus near the hospital and to join the teaching staff after graduation. I agreed since I had no immediate plans for future employment. My wife and I were grateful for the offer and moved on to the Divine Word University campus to be near the hospital.
The tuberculosis treatment was daily for six months with regular visits to the doctor for check-up. Each morning at six we had to wake little Thelma up and forced the nasty tasting medicine down her throat ignoring her energetic struggles and wailing.
Then my three children and I would rush to the road to catch the PMV to school in town. We had moved our three children to a school in town in anticipation for eventually moving DWU campus. My daughter finished classes at lunch so I would go pick her up then put her on a PMV back to the village. Then in the afternoon, do the same again for my two boys. It was a constant worry that neither I nor their mother was able to travel with them regularly. And when my children fell sick, there mother would bring them to the hospital for treatment and I would meet them in my free periods or travel home with them. I still do not know how I managed to study and did my assignments as well as pass the exams. The hardships were trying at times for my wife and myself and sometimes our relationship became strained when I couldn’t be with the family when they needed me because of study commitments.
After six months of treatment, the doctor finally said she was healed although her chest deformity would always be there. It was a great relief.
When we moved onto the campus, we squeezed into the small two bedroom unit at Lakelodge. Although, it was crowded, we were grateful that we could be near the hospital and also near study facilities for myself. My children who were used to having their own rooms in Port Moresby, slept in the living room and only once reminded me that after I finished schooling, they wanted a bigger house so that they could have their own rooms again.
So it was with great relief that I finally was able to graduate. To receive the highest award for academic excellence came as a pleasant surprise. As I walked up to receive my awards, I though of my wife Lilian, and children, Fr Jan Czuba, Daisy Taylor, Fr M’lack, Peter and Anna Muriki, Patricia and Michael Sariwa, and my close and extended family in the village who no doubt would be equally proud.

Ramu valley magic

Ever wondered what it would be like to have a spectacular view of a mountain range from your backyard? Or better still see Mt Wilhelm, PNG’s highest peak, from the comfort of your verandah?
Such panoramas of PNG’s geographical landmarks are not easily accessible by most people. However, people living along the flat stretches and foothills of the Ramu valley are daily rewarded by spectacular ‘million dollar’ views.
On clear days, especially with the El Nino dry in the region, they are greeted each morning by the towering jagged peak of Mt Wilhelm, the highest mountain in PNG.
Few kilometres south, they marvel at a unique shaped Mt Otto sprouting like a huge mushroom in their backyard.
They also have a choice of the entire Bismarck range providing a daily backdrop while they go about their chores of raising cattle and gardening.
Most office workers would give anything for such picturesque views to substitute their boring office walls.
The traffic travelling through the valley to Lae, Madang or the Highlands also share this spectacular scenery, but only for brief moments as they hurry on to their destinations before nightfall.
The view in the Ramu Valley is alive and changes by the hour. In the morning the mountains are crystal clear, their details sharply illuminated by the light of dawn. As the day heats up, the view becomes hazy and the outlines of the mountains fade into the blue sky. After midday, the clouds began cluster around the highest peaks until they cover the top of the ranges.
The Ramu Valley is enclosed by two mountain ranges. They are the Finisterre towards Rai Coast and Bismarck, which is the gateway into the Highlands.
Fresh mountain breeze blow continuously through the valley floor rustling kilometres of kunai grass and cooling off the hot Madang sun. Few trees and shrubs dot the grassland as far as the eyes can see unlike the heavily forested mountain ranges.
The early route into the Ramu Valley from Madang has been through Rai Coast and over the Finisterre ranges. This is the route that the famous Russian naturalist and explorer Nikolai Mikluoho-Maclay had wanted to explore when he stayed at Bongu in1877. However, in his diary he wrote that attempts to get the people of Bongu to help him venture over the Finisterre were unsuccessful. The people regarded Maclay as a supernatural being, but that was not enough to convince them to risk travelling beyond the mountains and into the unknown. He never got to see the Ramu valley leaving the honor for explorers after him.
Pioneer missionary Fr William Ross used the route when he began his famous walk into the Western Highlands from Madang.
Today the highway out of Madang cuts through steep mountains into Begesin and Usino before dropping into the valley.
Most parts of the highway remain unsealed in the mountains despite a European Union funded project to upgrade and seal the road from 1998 to 2002. As a result, the mountain passes sometimes become inaccessible during rainy seasons. This has implications for a multi-million oil palm project planned in the valley. It means the terminal for the project will now have to be situated in Lae rather than Madang, causing the latter province to lose out on export revenue from a project in the province.
Travellers are well served with numerous little roadside markets selling roasted corn, fresh coconuts, watermelons, and betel nut. A bigger market at Usino junction sells a variety, which include fruits, vegetables and greens.
The long stretch of sealed road in the Ramu provides a smooth and enjoyable ride. However, drivers risk falling asleep on the wheel while driving at high speed. Fatal accidents have happened and travellers are warned to be careful. They can take regular breaks at roadside markets or refresh themselves at one of the many sparkling creeks that gush from the mountains into the Ramu River.
Unfortunately, armed hold-ups have also been experienced along the Madang Ramu highway section and travelers should always take precautions. Travelling in a convoy is a good way of discouraging hold-ups.
The Ramu Valley is suited for agriculture and cattle farms prosper for miles. Farms at Dumpu already provide fresh meat for supermarkets in Madang and other urban centres. Customers can also buy whole beasts at the farms.
Vast spaces of land are still available waiting for the time when government’s agriculture policies are translated into farmlands.
Ramu Sugar already prospers in the southern most part of the valley and there are plans for an oil palm project as well.
Settlers in the valley raise pigs, cattle, poultry, ducks and geese. The rivers are also reputed to hold gigantic catfish that can tear nets and the best way to catch them is by spearing them!
The Ramu nickel project is also in the area however its development is delayed as an investor is still being sought. If the project goes ahead it will bring a lot of changes into the mostly uninhabited area of the Madang Province.
The valley’s potential for commerce is immense and local tribes who foresee the benefits are currently fighting battles in court over land ownership.
If you have an opportunity to travel to or from Madang on the highway, take it. You will enjoy the experience and appreciate the country better.

Madang history captured in new book

IT was the famous Russian nobleman and scientist Nikolai Mikloucho-Maclay who named the Madang coastal area the “Archipelago of Contended people”.
Maclay was the first European to spend more than two years between 1871 and 1883 living amongst the Rai Coast (Maclay Coast) people (“Rai” being the native corruption of “Maclay”) and explored the coastal and interior areas of the province.
Other explorers, missionaries and government officers were also attracted to the area, among them, the late District Officer Kassa Townsend who wrote the following in his diary in 1922.
“Madang was, and perhaps still is, the most attractive township in the Territory. Built around the indented shore line, just inside the narrow entrance to its perfect harbour, the various bungalows and offices that Imperial German Government and several German companies had built stood surrounded by lawn and shrubs in profusion.”
The history of Madang has now been documented in a 450-page book titled Madang by author and former kiap James Sinclair who has authored many books on PNG subjects. The book was commissioned by Sir Peter Barter and Sir John Middleton and published by Divine Word University Press.
With the foreword written by Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare, the book traces the story of Madang since the contact with the outside world beginning with Maclay up to recent times.
Compiled from formal records and anecdotes taken from those associated with the development of the province and town, the book provides a colourful and interesting, yet sometimes tragic, insight into the early years. The accounts come from an assortment of people – explorers, missionaries, plantation owners, miners, fortune hunters, Chinese entrepreneurs and government officials.
The establishment and development of the German colony in Madang was the direct result of power play thousands of miles away in Europe between the British and Germans who were carving up the Pacific region for themselves. The Germans established the famous Neuguinea Compagnie and arrived at Port Constantine on Rai Coast on October 11, 1884. Thus began the long contact Madang - then known as Friedrich-Whilhelmshafen by the Germans - was going to have with the colonisers.
The German connection still lives on today in names such as Dallman (Passage), Bismark (sea/range), Alexishafen (mission), Hagen (Mount) and Hatzfeldthafen (mission) and many of the plantations they established still exists today. The Germans were even responsible for the name “Madang” which they took from a little island at Finschhafen where the German settlement in New Guinea began.
Sadly the manner in which the Neuguinea Compagnie went about acquiring land for its plantations in Friedrich-Whilhelmshafen caused deep resentment amongst the local people.
A Compagnie official Joahann Stanislaus Kubary acquired vast tracts of land for plantations from unsuspecting local people paying for it with trade goods such as knives, mirrors, tomahawks, coloured beads and cloth. He purchased from the Bilibil (Bilbil) Island people all the land on the main land from the Gogol to Gum Rivers and the interior. He did the same for the land from Gum River to the present day Madang town purchasing it from the Yabob Island people. Of course, all the land did not belong to the Bilibil and Yabob people and it was obvious they did not understand what Kubary was doing. Judge F. B. Phillips corrected the blatant injustice in 1932 however; the resentment caused by the original land grab is still being felt today.
Unlike Maclay, the Germans and the local people did not get on well together. The Germans whose motives were to acquire land for business and profit soon met with resistance. The people understandably resented the acquisition of their land and did not want to submit to the authority of the colonisers. They despised having to provide labour to build roads and plantations in lieu of head taxes that they were ordered to pay. Plantation managers and workers were attacked and the Germans retaliated harshly by carrying out punitive raids on the villages.
The situation came to head in 1904 when the local people plotted secretly to attack and kill all the Europeans living in town including the District Officer. However, the plot was betrayed by a local man and armed police managed to foil the attack. Justice was harsh. The ringleaders were rounded up and executed by police firing squad and the remaining Siar island people were exiled to the mainland.
The book also includes chapters on the work of the Lutheran and Divine Word missionaries who apart from spreading the Good News also concentrated on providing formal education and health care for the health of the people.
Much of the early history in the book is told from the colonialists’ point of view for the simple fact that they had kept proper records of their activities. Therefore, if the book suffers from anything, it is the heavy concentration on the experiences of the early colonialists. The absence of the voice of the indigenous people is noticeable throughout the chapters and only appears towards the era after independence.
The book records all the major events beginning with Maclay’s contact through to the war years and development up until Independence. Of course, it is not possible to record in detail all the events in the history of Madang and the life and experiences of people like Maclay, the Lutheran and Divine Word missionaries, the work of the patrol officers and other influential people like Yali are recorded in detail elsewhere.
There are numerous colourful characters and some of their experiences are told throughout the book. One example is the story of the bronze Hagen Eagle that was erected over the grave of Acting Administrator of German New Guinea, Curt von Hagen in the early 1900s. In the 1950s the Eagle suddenly appeared in Mt Hagen and became the symbol of the town. According to former Madang resident Hec Longmore, the eagle was found by a patrol officer in Saidor and brought to Madang. It ended up with Longmore on his verandah where it seemed to have caused a lot of entertainment. Longmore says:
“People were always trying to lift it. I used to bet young blokes twenty quid if they could carry the Eagle from my verandah to the Madang Hotel bar. It was solid bronze, must have weighed at least 130 pounds . . . it wasn’t the weight, it was the awkward shape. One young German bloke carried it to the hotel, and dropped it on Flo’s bar, and broke it! Flo charged me twenty quid to get a new sheet of laminex …”
The book is illustrated by an interesting collection of photographs and the contemporary painting on the cover by internationally renowned Madang artist Larry Santana adds a local touch making it a valuable record of history of the province and a collector’s item. To get a copy of Madang inquire at Divine Word University or the Madang Resort, or log onto info@dwu.ac.pg.

Battle for democracy in the friendly isles

In 1968, a young Tongan man arrived in the territory of Papua and New Guinea as a youth worker with the Methodist Church in Rabaul.
Kalafi Moala, then a restless 19-year-old looking for meaning and purpose in life, had opted out of studies in New Zealand to pursue missionary work.
He spent four years in Rabaul and still treasures the experience in PNG.
“It was a part of my growing up, a search for answers which I found in PNG.”
His time in the territory was the beginning of a journey that would eventually see him become a key figure in the dramatic reforms that are happening to the system of government in his island kingdom of Tonga.
Meeting him at Penang in Malaysia last month at the Asian Media Information and Communication (AMIC) conference, the big friendly Tongan with a hearty grin and a booming voice seemed an unlikely person to be advocating revolutionary changes in his country.
Spend a moment with him and you will see why. His sociable demeanour will soon have you associating him with the stereotypical imagery of Tonga – that of friendly tropical islands filled with happy contented people.
However, there is a serious side to Moala. And back in his homeland, things have not been quite so ‘friendly’ for some time now. In fact, this is what he had travelled half way around the world to Malaysia to talk about.
Moala is the founder and publisher of Taimi ‘o Tonga (Times of Tonga) newspaper which has been in production for the last 17 years.
It never occurred to him that setting up an alternative newspaper in Tonga to the established media owned by the government and churches would be a risky endeavour.
His aim then was to offer an alternate voice to the majority of commoners (ordinary people) in the Kingdom and to challenge the absolute power of the King and the nobles who ruled the kingdom.
The Kingdom of Tonga is made up of 171 islands with a population of 100,000 living in Tonga and 140,000 outside of Tonga. Of those outside, 70,000 reside in US, 41,000 in New Zealand and 29,000 in Australia. It has a constitutional monarchy government with the highest executive power vested in the Privy Council which is made up of the royal appointed cabinet and is presided by the King (or his appointed representative).
Parliament is made of 30 lawmakers – 12 are occupied by cabinet ministers and two governors appointed by the King; nine representatives of the 33 noble titleholders; and nine representatives elected by the rest of the population. A prime minister appointed by the King heads up the cabinet.
The structure of the government makes Tonga an authoritarian, undemocratic country, under almost absolute rule of a monarch, whose wishes is often regarded as ‘divine’ and must be obeyed.
Unlike elsewhere in the Pacific, in Tonga political power and domination is guaranteed perpetually by birth to an elitist family who have used the power structure to make themselves wealthy at the expense of their ordinary people.
The establishment of the independent Taimi O Tonga immediately posed a challenge to the ruling elites who had no control over the paper. The Government’s response was ruthless and unrelenting aimed at crushing and silencing the dissenting voice forever. Moala and his Taimi O Tonga bore the brunt of a regime bent on maintaining power and status quo.
Over the course of the 17 years, Moala found himself unlawfully imprisoned, was banned from his country of birth for four and half years, subjected to death threats and other indignities, prosecuted on drummed up charges; his newspaper office in Nuku’alofa raided by police over 12 times in a 3 year period; his colleagues detained several times for many hours for questioning; and eventually the government amended the freedom of speech and press freedom clause of the 130 year old constitution in order to introduce new media and newspaper legislations that would ban Taimi ‘O Tonga from being published and distributed in Tonga.
The persecution would have broken a lesser man, but not Moala. Instead the government’s repressive actions to silence him only strengthened and convinced him and his Tongan readership and supporters that what he was doing was right.
Amongst the many charges against him and his newspaper, were ones associated with articles ran by the paper which were deemed ‘seditious, inciting violence, causing disaffection for the King’, and so on. Yet those articles were normal interviews with church ministers, academics, and a column pointing out the inconsistency in the King’s decision to open a cigarette factory in Tonga despite the fact that he had campaigned against smoking for the last 12 years. In PNG and other Pacific democracies, these articles would have hardly raised an eyebrow.
Taimi ‘O Tonga also challenged the infamous royal economic schemes of King Taufa’ahau Tupou IV, which was losing millions of dollars for Tonga and, besides causing acute embarrassment, also cost the country economically.
“Our king is well known for a host of failed projects or simply plans that never got off the ground for one reason or another,” Moala said.
He said these projects range from bringing toxic and nuclear waste to store in Tonga, building oil refineries for Iranian crude oil, bringing old tyres from USA to be burned in Tonga for fuel, changing sea water to fresh water and using the process to generate electricity, starting “Tongan agricultural projects” in Malaysia, PNG and Hawaii, investing the country’s trust fund in high risk insurance which ended losing US$26 million, registering of ships flying the Tongan flag which some ships ended up carrying arms and personnel suspected of terrorism, off-shore banking, his insistence to have a national airline which recently went bankrupt and is estimated to cost the country over $50 million, and many such failed schemes.
He said one of the most oppressive assumptions made by the ruling elite was that commoner people are not only ‘stupid’ and ‘barbaric’ but they do not know what is good for them. So the ruling elite must decide what is good for people.
Moala and Taimi ‘O Tonga’s battle for changes in Tonga finally began to produce results. In the last two years, there has been progress in Tonga towards reform.
“This started when we took the government to court over the Constitutional amendments and the new media and newspaper legislations”, Mr Moala said.
In 2004, the Supreme Court of Tonga overturned the Constitutional amendments and declared unconstitutional the new media and newspaper laws. The judicial decision not only ended the legislated control of the media by government, but also enabled Taimi O’ Tonga and other independent media to operate in Tonga.
“It started a series of events that took place having a domino effect, in which the powers at be and the country have become more open toward greater freedom and political reform,” he said.
This year there have been dramatic changes in Tonga. A new Prime Minister Dr Feleti Sevele became the first commoner Prime Minister appointed in Tonga, who is also an elected Member of Parliament and one of the leaders of the pro-democracy movement. The country has also witnessed several major protest marches averaging over 10,000 marchers, a crunching civil service strike demanding pay rises of up to 80 per cent, a hiking of the lowest level of civil service pay so as to keep up with the raises imposed by the highest levels on themselves.
Several ministers were asked to resign, and a new crop of ministers was appointed to form a new cabinet more open to reform. Three of these ministers were elected members of Parliament as people’s representatives.
Moala said Tonga is entering a new era were the government is seizing the initiative for reform and are working to reconstruct Tonga politically and economically to reflect a more democratic structure.
“The issue now is no longer whether there is going to be reform but that reform is taking place right now, and it is only a matter of time when elected officials will be running the government, making government in Tonga finally accountable to the people.”
Looking back Moala says: “The last 17 years have been fulfilling.”
He has written a book about his experiences titled Island Kingdom Strikes Back, which was published by Pacmedia in New Zealand in 2002. Today he lives with his family in the US while Taimi O Tonga is being produced in New Zealand and circulated in Tonga, New Zealand, Australia and US. He is writing his second book titled In search of the friendly Islands, which is about Tonga.

Islanders struggle to survive in settlements

Little Walter Iarakau staggered home from the shadows of the coconut plantation. His tiny naked body stooped under the weight of the large sack of coconut slung over his shoulders. His skinny arms and legs, bulging stomach and large pale eyes showed he is under-nourished and sick. But he has little choice. He must work if he is to eat.
Walter is an orphan who lives with his grandfather at the new Manam settlement on Potsdam Plantation near Bogia in Madang. His parents and only sister were killed in a rampaging flood of boiling lava from the Manam volcano eruption in December, 1996. They were among 13 Budua villages killed.
His people can do little to help him except offer an occasional plate of food. They too are struggling to survive in harsh conditions with food shortages, no proper water supply, no services and no means of earning money.
The people are bitter and angry. Almost four years after they were evacuated, they have not been able to find a permanent home promised to them by the Government.
“Many of our people are suffering, sick from hunger and poor water supply,” said Colin Bade, Budua village leader and Yabu Council member.
“The Provincial Government has abandoned us. As a leader in the community, I’m very sad.”
In September last year, after waiting for almost three years at the crowded camp at Bogia station, the refugees finally moved into Potsdam. This is one of the four plantations bought by the National Government under Prime Minister Sir Julius Chan in 1995 at the cost of more than K1.2m along the coast at Bogia to resettle the disaster victims. The plantations are Potsdam, Asuramba, Mangem and Malagere.
But the settlers have encountered more problems at Potsdam.
“The resettlement is supposed to go with infrastructure. But the Provincial Government had no plan to resettle us,” member Bade said.
The refugees now find themselves isolated from services such as education, health, safe water supply, land for gardening and resources to build houses. They are also facing constant food shortages.
“We have no food. You can see my garden around me here,” said Adolpha Bule, 29, indicating tiny plots of sweet potato, casava, taro and bananas growing around her small hut.
She and her husband have six children to feed plus extra mouths driven to their doorsteps by hunger.
“Our people continue to faint from lack of proper nourishment,” she said.
“The kaukau (sweet potato) is not ready but I am already digging them up,” she said holding up a tiny fibrous pink root.
“We used to be supplied rations,” Mr Bade said. “But the last rations were supplied on May 23 this year. The Government did not check whether we had food or had settled in well.”
The Government’s resettlement plan on the plantations was for the settlers to sub divide the plantation into blocks for each family. The blocks would have enough land for houses and gardens, and families could also harvest coconuts on their block for money. However, the purchase of the plantations have attracted other problems.
“Outsiders are moving in to take control of the copra. We need urgent help in moving out the intruders,” Bade said.
Instead of blocks for each of the 57 families, the settlement is lumped together in one large area. To the north and south of the Potsdam settlement, local people are claiming ownership of the plantation, thus preventing the settlers to use land and coconuts from the rest of the plantation for their needs.
“We have been given the okay to make copra but we cannot. We need police help to move out the intruders,” Bade said.
At the moment the settlers are sharing the few coconut palms around their settlement.
“We make about one bag of copra for each family. That’s about K25 a bag. It is not enough,” said Mathew Boamera, 34, married with seven children.
“We have to go all the way to Madang to sell our copra. Transportation cost is K7 one way and that does not leave enough even for one bag of rice,” Mr Boamera said.
Francis Bule agrees. “I came back with only K10,” he said after meeting transport and other costs from the K22 he received from his copra. “That caused problems with my wife.”
Mr Boamera has no money for school fees. Two of his children are living with wantoks and going to school at Bogia about three and half hours walk away. They are considered luckier than some 60 settlement children who have no school to attend.
“My son says they are going to be expelled for non payment of fees,” Mr Boamera said. He owes the school K105.
“There is no way to get the money to pay . . . They know our situation but they do not want to help us,” he said desperately.
Three people have died, one infant and two adults from what villagers say is malaria. They could not get medical help in time.
“We carry our children and walk to Bogia when they are sick. If we take off at 8am we arrive at about 11:30am,” said Mr Boamera.
“When more than one child is sick we struggle. Sometimes when we are too sick, we just stay and hope to get better,” said Mrs Adolpha Bule.
Water is also a problem.
“See these,” one settler bared his chest to reveal patches of ringworms. “I never had this on the island.” He blamed the wells they have dug which lie idle. People are walking a fair distance to a creek to fetch drinking water and to wash.
Meanwhile, three donated water tanks sit idle in the settlement.
“We do not have iron roofs to catch water,” Bade said.
In the last decade, PNG has experienced three major national disasters besides the nationwide drought. There were two volcano eruptions on Manam and in Rabaul and the tidal wave destruction in Aitape which killed more than 2000. The Government has responded positively to Rabaul and Aitape disasters setting up authorities to take care of resettlement, rehabilitation, infrastructure and provision of services to the victims. No such authority has been set up for Manam.
“The Madang Governor, Jim Kas, promised the people to look at disaster allocation in 2001 budget for Manam,” said Manam Island people’s representative and spokesman, Peter Muriki. “The people wanted a fund to be set up for potential disaster on Manam. They also wanted a Manam Disaster Authority to be set up.”
Manam island villages have petitioned the national government early this year through the Madang Governor’s office. In their petition they are asking for a disaster plan for Manam, for the status of resettlement on the four plantation areas, for a Manam disaster authority to be set up, for a review of school fees and educational needs, and for an audit of all funds and goods given during the Manam disaster appeal.
“We have had no response since,” said Mr Muriki.
The Acting Madang Governor, Pengau Nengo, has promised to immediately look into the settlers problems. Assuming office recently following the suspension of Madang Governor Jim Kas, Mr Nengo admitted he was not aware of the situation.
“These are citizens of Madang and we must assist them,” he said. “The Provincial Government gives full support for the resettlement of the islanders.”
“I will talk with the administration and if we need to enforce the rule of law, we will bring the police up there,” he said regarding problems of local people claiming parts of Potsdam plantation.
He said if genuine landowners are unhappy then it is a sensitive issue and we have to sit down and sort it out.
“We must make sure that people affected must be taken care of. We have to sort this problem out politically, and administratively to allow the islanders to live a life worthy of a people.
“I do not want to see citizens of Madang suffer,” Mr Nengo said.
For little Walter Iarakau, help can not come quick enough. Being an orphan in a normally caring Melanesian society alienated and struggling to survive, he is suffering from neglect, with no parents to feed, cloth and care for him. He has known no happiness, nor a childhood, and there is little chance he will ever get an education. That is if he survives the sicknesses that threaten his young life.