Robert@PNG

Monday, 21st of November

I am heading back to Wagang village and I am excited. It is Monday morning and I am told that the bus to Wagang leaves from the Rainbow store in town anytime after midday. Nelson and Mukela with their son Henri decide to accompany me into town and make sure I get on the bus OK. The four of us catch a PMV from Unigate and head into town together.

The Rainbow store is right next to Lae main markets, a pretty busy section of town. We arrive and as usual there are people everywhere. One of the many PMV stops in Lae. There is uncertainty… we hear that the roads have been washed away due to heavy rains. No one is sure if there are any PMV's headed to Wagang. We sit and we wait. We sit and smoke and we chew some buai. We interact. People everywhere, certainly no whites. I feel at ease.

A Raskal approaches, he is drunk and abusive. He rants and he raves and I know he is looking for trouble. I'm not scared. He approaches me aggresively and a couple of the lads come to the rescue, I sit and I look. I am still at ease. Passerby's stop and gather, more people come. The lads chase the raskal away and all goes back to normal very quickly. I breathe a sigh of relief and thank the lads. This white man interacts therefore this white man remains safe.

The PMV turns up and we find out that the road is definitely washed away. The PMV will only go part of the way, the rest will have to done on foot. Nelson suggests strongly that I delay my trip and head back to UNITECH with him and his family. I think about it briefly and decide to go. 

I farewell Nelson, Mukela and Henri and hop on the PMV truck. The driver and Bos Crew have something to eat and drink, cherw some buai and after about 45 mins of waiting we finally depart. I feel on top of the world. Needless to say I am the only white person on the PMV, I interact with the other passengers. We travel as one.

We cross a few rivers and finally reach the “end of the road” after about 2 hours. The driver decides that this is as far as the PMV will go and gives all passengers a 1 Kena discount on the PMV fare. We get of the PMV and all begin to walk. Some people are fast walkers and they go on ahead. I team up with a local from a village beyond Wagang, forget his name. This man will walk with me and ensure that I arrive in Wagang safely. Protection everywhere.

3 hours later…

As we approach Wagang, I see some villagers walking towards us. I recognise Jethro, clan elder and good friend. He some of his family with him. I recognise a few faces and as we get closer, I can see the smiles. I feel happy and relieved. We greet each other and they cannot believe that I decided to come afterall. They thought that the roads (or lack of roads) would be enough reason for me not to come. We wander into the village together. Everyone is excited, including me.

Wooden floors are hard, very hard. To sit on, to sleep on, to eat on. No chairs, no pillows and nothing to sit on, just the hard floor. Over the next four days I would get very acquainted with the essence of “hardness”. Especially my arse.

I carted in a bag full of supplies for Jethro and his family. Salt, sugar and batteries. Some marbles for the kids and some sweats. A few packet of smokes for the men. In PNG, generosity is appreciated everywhere you go. Giving is a part of the PNG way of interacting. There is'nt really that much difference between giving and receiving. One and the same.

After initial greetings, some dinner (yams, bananas and rice) and sharing the story of the trip into the village, we sit around and start telling stories. I hear that there is a land boundary dispute with the neighbouring clan, some of the other clan elders come to Jethro's haus to discuss options. Police, court house or pay back ?? All in Tok Ples and Tok Pisin. I understand one but not the other. I am allowed to sit in and listen. The problem gets nutted out and a decision is made. Jethro is to approach one of the elders from the neighbouring clan in the morning and try and iron things out.

We go to bed…  to sleep, to dream and to rest.