Robert@PNG

I had the opportunity this morning to attend and witness a Community Court. Community or village courts are a common occurrence in PNG, it is at these gatherings that many local issues get dealt with rather than at district or provincial level.

Community elders lead this local court process and both parties gather with their wantoks. All parties and also those in attendance are given an opportunity to speak their minds. The aim being that the conflict gets resolved at a local level. Most court cases in PNG happen at the village or community level. The proceedings of the court are overseen and facilitated by one or more village/community leaders.

The court case I attended this morning in East Taraka was to do with a conflict between a man from Simbu and a man from Mt Hagen. Apparently the Simbu man had his jaw broken sometime last week by the Mt Hagen bloke. Situations such as this one can get out of control very quickly around these parts and escalate to full blown warfare. Pay back is a fact of life in PNG and justice in most cases is swift and effective. The purpose of these local courts is to diffuse conflict before it gets out of hand.

I was told yesterday that the court would start at around 10am this morning. The place was the Ward 6 Council Office, a building about 5 mins walk from the UNITECH main gate. When I got there at about 10:15 this morning (with camera in hand) - I was obviously early as people were just hanging around…  waiting. It wasn't long before I was jostled in with the Simbu folk (my tambus!). We chewed some betelnut and spoke for a while - some of them I had met through Eli and others I had not met yet. We spoke about the trip up to Kaubasis
later this week with Eli and her father.

Now that I have lived in PNG for 18 months I am just now starting to get an insight into the whole clan/extended family thing. PNG people identify with their clan or tribe rather than their immediate family. Uncles and aunts (as we know uncles and aunts) are all Dad's and Mum's to PNGers. Others in the extended family are brothers or sisters or cousins. There is something about this extended family thing that is easy to grasp, yet there is something else that remains elusive to me (as a westerner). I have said previously that “interaction” in PNG is the key. The key to staying safe but also the key to learning about PNG, it's traditions and customs and above all it's people. PNG has given me something very special, something that Sydney was never able to deliver. A sense of belonging. PNG has given me sense of belonging. 18 months and I have fallen in love with this land and its people.

Back to the court case….

The proceedings went for about an hour or so and about 6 men got up and spoke. The end result? The end result was a payment of K540 by the Simbu's to the Mt. Hagener's.  There is an expression in Pidjin I really like : Wanbel i stap. When translated literally it means : “One stomach is here”.  Essentially it translates to : “We agree”. So at the end of the proceedings and once the cash was handed over, counted and shared out…  the men and clans involved in the conflict, walked up to each other and hugged and spoke : Wanbel i stap.

The above photo was taken this morning at the court proceedings and if you look closely you can see the elder in the middle holding some cash that was given to him. This photo was taken at the end of proceedings once all differences had been ironed out. I have posted this photo into the Lae photo album.

Yet again I feel a sense of privilege to be here in PNG witnessing and experiencing a way of life so different to my own back in Sydney. I man could stay here foreever let me tell you!