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“Welcome back!” greeted the Bishop of the Diocese of Daru-Kiunga. We were touched that he was there to meet us when we stepped off the plane. We returned to Kiunga, in the Western Province of PNG for a working visit to the Diocese; it has been nine months since we finished our placement.
Esther and I were attached to the Diocese of Daru-Kiunga as volunteer lay missionaries for 26 months between 2010 and 2012. Esther was the financial administrator, and I was the HR manager. Between us, we had to formulate and implement systems and processes to enhance the transparency and accountability of Diocesan operations. At the end of our tenures, we had trained a religious priest to take over as Financial Administrator, established finance and HR procedures and produced the Diocesan policies and procedures manual, as well as manuals for the Diocesan and Parish finance committees. Training the local administration office staff till they could confidently handle the accounting and HR functions was an achievement we were especially pleased with.
It was a string of emails from the administration office of the Diocese after our return that prompted our trip back. We were hard put trying to answer all the queries so we emailed them and proposed the following: we have cleared one month from our calendar between August and September 2013 and we were willing to return to Kiunga, conduct an audit of the systems and processes implemented, and train the new staff they have employed if necessary. The next thing we knew, we were being sent tickets for our flights.
When the bishop drove us into the Mission Compound, it was like we never left. We were welcomed back with open arms and put to work straight away! Yep, some things never change.
But we did arrive on a sad note. Blasius Iwik, the Education Secretary of the Diocese passed away suddenly three weeks before our planned arrival. It was a shocker as Blasius had worked closely with us in the administration office. Seemingly, he was excited at our return; he shouted “hallelujah” in the administration office when told of our impending visit, we were told.
We got wind that things were amiss the moment we started catching up with the Diocesan workers. There was talk of Blasius’ death under mysterious circumstances – it happen suddenly and without warning; that it was an act of vengeance by a principal who misappropriated funds and was brought to justice by Blasius; the same principal engaged a witchdoctor to place a curse on Blasius; this was ultimately the act of the sanguma – evil spirit – called down on Blasius; this was ‘all true’ as the perpetrator of the act admitted to it (under cohesion?); there will be payback! Which will happen on the last day of the housecry – the end of the mourning period; justice will be swift, it was promised – the said perpetrator will be brought to where Blasius fell and summarily executed!
The Bishop will be celebrating mass at Blasius’ home with his family on the last day of the housecry, and the family had invited us to the mass. We were concerned that the payback planned might happen while mass was being celebrated. We knew the bishop’s stance on payback; he had spoken out strongly countless times, and in countless homilies, against the system of payback. We warned the bishop about the rumblings we heard from the ground and he acted swiftly. A string of people was summoned to the bishop’s office, one after the other, and counselled. He was intent on circumventing whatever plans were laid.
The bishop was visibly tensed when he celebrated mass that last day. Thankfully, nothing happened. Presumably, He managed to nip it in the bud.
Payback was a recurring theme, or nightmare, in the local narrative during the 26 months we were here. The PNG brand of Catholicism is one with a heady mix of animism and native spirituality – read witchcraft and black magic. We and many others felt that this was spurred mainly by fear born of ignorance. (Read: There will always be Payback)
Wanton Ignorance - Ignorance propagated through poorly educated children
And we were confronted with this wanton ignorance – we don’t know how else to describe it – on a regular basis; where we find general knowledge not so general, and common sense not so common. What is to be expected with teachers so undertrained? What is one to expect of the products of their tutelage? We were often told.
With an equivalent of a year 12 education, one can apply for a place in a teachers’ training college where, after 6 months, the graduates are considered teachers. If one has good year 10 results, they might be given a waiver and allowed to attend the college. But, in all fairness, this is resorted to due to a dearth of suitable material to start with.
But what does not make sense is that the country has more than adequate resources to remedy this. In 2013, the country posted a GDP of over US$ 15 billion [1] as well as projected reserves of over US$ 2 billion [2]. PNG has also been posting GDP growth of 5 to 10% annually. Western Province is supposedly the richest province in terms of natural resources and is a major contributor to the nation’s GDP. But Western Province is, in fact, the poorest province – in terms of infrastructure and development – in PNG. About 65% of households have no running water, no proper sanitation and no electricity. We had to help some of the mission workers set up solar panels in their home so they could have a little light at night and charge their mobile phones.
How did things go so terribly wrong?
When money doesn’t go where it’s suppose to go, there is usually only one answer…
PNG’s governments are notorious for corruption, and even run the risk of turning the state into a fully-fledged kleptocracy [3].
So says The Economist. The 2012 Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index scored Papua New Guinea at 25 – Scores range from 0 (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean) – and ranked it 150 out of 176 countries. The same study also ranked PNG as the most corrupt country in the Pacific region [4].
Corruption in government starts from the ground up. The irregularities observed in just one polling station included the following: under-aged voters; block voting; scrutinisers marking ballot papers; common roll flawed and/or not followed; bribery and/or vote buying [5]. I got a taste of these ‘irregularities’ during the 2012 parliamentary elections. The Diocese supported the democratic process and so gave the mission workers time off to cast their votes. But the process was one where the mission staff was given the runaround; they were directed from polling station to polling station to find they were not on any electoral roll.
At the same time, names of known ‘refugees’ were on the roll! Does one need to be a citizen of the country to vote? I asked. Yes? How can one be a refugee and citizen of the same country at the same time? They shrugged. Seemingly, the incumbent’s only hope of coming in was on the ‘refugee’ vote, which he ‘campaigned’ hard for and, evidently, got. And, of course, there was that little technicality of making sure they were eligible to vote, which seemed to have been adroitly handled.
The staff affected just laughed it off. This was not the first time this has happened to them; the workers in the mission were not particularly fond of the incumbent, I was told. I was revolted and volunteered to write petitions and letters for them to seek redress on the matter. But they would not hear of it. That’s just the way it is, they tell me. Due deference it seems must be given to a person’s position, after all he is one of the bikpelas – the important people, the ‘big shots’. But what makes matters worse is:
There is a general feeling among civil servants that if the ‘big shot’ politicians can get away with the misuse of public funds and abuse of power, then honesty and accountability is not required in subordinates. Given the low pay many civil servants receive, it is not surprising that opportunities for using public office to supplement their meagre incomes are exploited [6].
Endemic corruption in the government has woven the acceptance of corruption into the social fabric; it is now viewed as the way of life in PNG. A civil service job is viewed as getting on easy street, and a seat in government is viewed as a road to riches. That is the reason why any seat in government is so hotly contested. In the 2012 parliamentary election, there were 3435 candidates contesting for 100 seats [7]. And the game plan is: once in, take what you can for you might not get another chance.
This country was not ready for independence – self-rule, I was often told. Seemingly, they were pushed into it due to ‘bad’ timing. The proposal for making Papua New Guinea a seventh Australian state, an option favoured by some expatriates in the territory [8] caused much discomfiture for a 1960s Australia. So much so that the government of the day speculated that Papua New Guinea statehood would create an enormous problem for the ... colour-conscious Australia to face. The admission of New Guinea as a first class state ... would mean unlimited migration into Australia of a brown, primitive people constitutionally eligible for every social service ... and equality of suffrage [9]. PNG’s independence came not by choice, but through rejection; akin to aborting an unwanted child.
Unwanted though the child may be, not so mother earth PNG – the child’s provider; something interesting was happening between the period when PNG gained self-governance in 1973 and when they attained independence on 16 September 1975.
In 1970 mineral exports were a mere 1 percent of total exports. Within 2 years, this figure had risen to 55 percent. By the start of the 1990s the contribution of the mining sector to total exports had continued to rise, reaching 70 percent [10].
Evidently, deals were already being penned with the mining corporations prior to PNG’s independence. So, as Australia was getting ready to pull out, the way was being paved for the mining corporations to move in. And move in they did, all too soon establishing their reign.
The Mining Corporations moved in…
… and all too soon established their reign!
It was a lucrative reign for the mines, and the people who allowed the mining. Presumably, not having to contend with operating the mines under the purview of Australian laws and enforcement was helpful too. It is always advantageous to have borders within which you can throw the book away, and then write your own.
The pollution and ecological disaster on the Fly River is now part of the annals of PNG history; the price for the 55-fold jump in mining exports over two years, followed by a steady and increasing revenue stream into the country over three decades. Western Province, being the richest province in terms of natural resources and a major contributor to the nation’s GDP, is a major contributor of that revenue stream. What has it got to show for its ‘contribution’? The price paid? To this day, it remains a province with no infrastructures for health, education, communication, electricity, water and transport; saddled with the distinction of being the poorest of the poor in PNG.
When the mission employees were confronted with these facts, I sensed disinterested apathy generally and lackadaisical support at best. The grind of their daily lives has taken its toll. (Read: Cost of Living at the end of the world)
A Latin phrase used to describe colonialists’ policies in their colonies during a less enlightened period of history comes to mind: Propter vitam vivendi perdere causas – To lose the reason for living, for the sake of staying alive. This was a despicable policy used by corporations, individuals and states in India and Africa during the 19th century [11]. Evidently, it is thought that a submissive and compliant workforce can be had through this policy: subsistence wages does not allow workers to think of much else other than keeping their families and themselves alive.
Sadly, this has seemingly become a political imperative for governments who demand acquiescence at all cost. Furthermore, the policy of ‘keeping them poor and keeping them ignorant’ is a self-sustaining one; once started, the cycle of poverty and ignorance perpetuates itself.
Corruption can grow unchecked because low literacy rates in Papua New Guinea inhibit public awareness and scrutiny of the acts of public officials [6].
The propagation of ignorant huddled masses has allowed the unimpeded growth of corruption in PNG. Four decades of democracy – read: four decades of plundering – later, PNG is a country rich in gold, oil, gas, copper, silver, timber and is home to abundant fisheries, with a polity amongst the most undeveloped in the world.
The deliberate propagation of poor, huddled masses has…
…led to the unimpeded growth of corruption in the country.
The United Nations Human Development Report 2013 (UNHDR 2013) classified PNG as a country with LOW HUMAN DEVELOPMENT and is positioned 156 out of 187 nations evaluated [12]. In 2011, PNG was positioned 153 of 187 nations [13], 3 positions higher. PNG has regressed in human development over 2 years.
The people of the country are moving backwards as the country gets wealthier. Obviously, ignorance is bliss. Not for the country but for those running it. Sadly, the unchecked corruption has resulted in the corruption of the human spirit. Being confronted with the daily spectacle of a people who have been seemingly stripped of their dignity and self-respect was distressing.
Thirty years ago, I went to bed at night with my front door unlocked, the CEO of a processing plant told me. After spending over three decades of his life working and living in PNG, he is saddened by the social decay he has been witnessing first hand. Now, to leave your door unlocked for any length of time is to invite trouble, he added. Pre-independence, they were laid back but they were honest, they had pride and they had dignity, he emphasised sadly.
If it was valuable to you and you don’t safeguard it, then you don’t deserve it; you deserve to have it taken from you! That’s how they think, a youth worker in the mission told me. What’s sad is that many also seem to see this as a way of balancing the injustice; addressing the gross imbalance between the haves and the have-nots, he added.
The weight of history, one of colonial racism followed closely by post-colonial exploitation, will encumber the PNG psyche for a long time yet. The hope that this burden can be thrown off has to come from within; hope that can only come about if the local populace is able to shed light on the ignorance and fear that impede them. All too often, discussions on the ‘PNG problem’ whittle itself down to the unsavoury behavioural traits of the local populace, not the societal conditions and/or context from which these ‘traits’ derive. There is seemingly a failure to understand the ills of policies (past, present, colonialist, post-colonialist or otherwise) and their complicity in cultivating these ‘traits.
What do we hope to achieve? Can we change anything? Esther and I were often asked.
Long-Piak (撞壁) is a Hokkien [14] metaphor often used in Singapore. And the imagery it evoked had allowed me to weather the worst. Literally translated, it means ‘to knock (oneself) into a wall’, and used to indicate an act of futility, foolish optimism or just plain stupidity. The English equivalent of the metaphor would be ‘running into walls’.
Long-Piak (撞壁) is a Hokkien [14] metaphor often used in Singapore. And the imagery it evoked had allowed me to weather the worst. Literally translated, it means ‘to knock (oneself) into a wall’, and used to indicate an act of futility, foolish optimism or just plain stupidity. The English equivalent of the metaphor would be ‘running into walls’.
Walls big and small were erected. A big one was against transparency and accountability. The concepts were the antithesis of the societal and cultural ‘norm’ holding sway in PNG.
Walls big and small were erected. A big one was against transparency and accountability. The concepts were the antithesis of the societal and cultural ‘norm’ holding sway in PNG.
Many were driven by desperation in Kiunga: the only work available in town were mainly minimum wage jobs, if you were lucky enough to get it. Many resorted to living by their wits to supplement meagre incomes; for a people who live mainly on one meal a day, it could mean a family either eating, or not eating, that day. The desperation often presents itself in an impenetrable mask of subservient sycophancy, where motives had to be shrouded and truths massaged or worse, simply ignored. Getting what you want was often a case of telling the powers that be what they wanted to hear; spin a good yarn and ask for the money. Desperation born of poverty and ignorance had corrupted the individual and social conscience. Is it any wonder that ‘transparency’ is viewed with scepticism? And lip service paid to it is not followed up with action?
Many were driven by desperation in Kiunga: the only work available in town were mainly minimum wage jobs, if you were lucky enough to get it. Many resorted to living by their wits to supplement meagre incomes; for a people who live mainly on one meal a day, it could mean a family either eating, or not eating, that day. The desperation often presents itself in an impenetrable mask of subservient sycophancy, where motives had to be shrouded and truths massaged or worse, simply ignored. Getting what you want was often a case of telling the powers that be what they wanted to hear; spin a good yarn and ask for the money. Desperation born of poverty and ignorance had corrupted the individual and social conscience. Is it any wonder that ‘transparency’ is viewed with scepticism? And lip service paid to it is not followed up with action?
The proverbial two-step-back-for-every-one-step-forward shuffle, under the circumstances, was a common occurrence; one causing a wave of hopelessness to sweep over me every so often. But that was when the expression came into its own: it can be used as a term of derision or ridicule and, at the same time, one of disarming humour. It had allowed me to take a step back and laugh at myself – my foibles and inadequacies – as a lay missionary. I had been told often enough that a good sense of humour was needed to survive in Kiunga.
The proverbial two-step-back-for-every-one-step-forward shuffle, under the circumstances, was a common occurrence; one causing a wave of hopelessness to sweep over me every so often. But that was when the expression came into its own: it can be used as a term of derision or ridicule and, at the same time, one of disarming humour. It had allowed me to take a step back and laugh at myself – my foibles and inadequacies – as a lay missionary. I had been told often enough that a good sense of humour was needed to survive in Kiunga.
In two succinct syllables, it had lightened the sad human condition that is PNG and encapsulated what needed to be done to lift it out of its heart-rending predicament.
In two succinct syllables, it had lightened the sad human condition that is PNG and encapsulated what needed to be done to lift it out of its heart-rending predicament.
The populace is hemmed in by the walls of ignorance and mired in the muck of poverty. And if nothing is done, they will be perpetually condemned to this state, as the endemic corruption that plagues the country needs to erect ever-higher walls of ignorance, for the squalid poverty and the corresponding desperation that results is what allows the corruptors their tenacious hold on power.
The populace is hemmed in by the walls of ignorance and mired in the muck of poverty. And if nothing is done, they will be perpetually condemned to this state, as the endemic corruption that plagues the country needs to erect ever-higher walls of ignorance, for the squalid poverty and the corresponding desperation that results is what allows the corruptors their tenacious hold on power.
Thus, an occupational hazard and a job requirement...
Thus, an occupational hazard and a job requirement...
To keep running into those walls
To keep running into those walls
but be resigned to the fact that
they will not crumble and fall
in your lifetime.
To know that you are but one of many
who will cause those walls,
one day,
...to fall.
...to fall.
Endnotes:
1. The World Bank Group at: < http://www.worldbank.org/en/country/png> Accessed 12 October 2014
2. Global Finance International at: <http://www.gfmag.com/gdp-data-country-reports/201-papua-new-guinea-gdp-country-report.html#axzz2ZGbdxTOb> Accessed 12 October 2014
3. The Economist, Near neighbours, worlds apart at: <http://www.economist.com/blogs/banyan/2011/08/papua-new-guinea-and-australia> Accessed 21 July 2013
4. Transparency International, Corruption by Country/Territory <http://www.transparency.org/country#PNG> Accessed 21 July 2013
The Corruption Perceptions Index ranks countries/territories based on how corrupt a country’s public sector is perceived to be. It is a composite index, drawing on corruption-related data from expert and business surveys carried out by a variety of independent and reputable institutions.
5. Varey, John. PNG Political Parties and Parliament Insights at <http://www.cdi.anu.edu.au/.png/2012-13/D/2012_10_PNG_Elctn_Obsrvtn_PNG/2012_07_JV_TI-PNG_Elctn_REP.pdf> Accessed 16 July 2013
6. Mana, Bui. An anti-corruption strategy for provincial government in Papua New Guinea at:
<https://digitalcollections.anu.edu.au/bitstream/1885/41606/3/gov99-5.pdf> Accessed 17 July 2013
7. Inter-Parliamentary Union, PNG National Parliament at: <http://www.ipu.org/parline/reports/2247_E.htm> Accessed 16 July 2013
8. John Goldring, The Constitution of Papua New Guinea: A Study in Legal Nationalism, (Sydney: The Law Book Company Limited, 1978), p. 13.
9. Merze Tate, "Australia and Self-Determination for New Guinea," The Australian Journal of Politics and History 17 (August 1971): p. 253
10. <http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/economies/Asia-and-the-Pacific/Papua-New-Guinea.html> Accessed 13 July 2013
11. Modern History Sourcebook: Thomas Babington Macaulay (1800-1859): On Empire and Education
<http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1833macaulay-india.asp> Accessed 13 July 2013
12. United Nations Development Programme, Human Development Report 2013
13. United Nations Development Programme, Human Development Report 2011
14. A dialect of the Chinese language
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