It is frustrating to see that the
good campaign led by the students for good governance has now become a slugfest
between certain ethnic groups. Recent reports of fights between students in
UNITECH and UOG campus is beginning to deviate the nation’s attention away from
the objective of the boycott. This has already stirred strong feeling of regionalism
among individuals. What good will these actions have on our nation let alone
the end goal that the students are pursuing at the risks of their studies and
future? The more these sorts of incidents continue the general public of this
country and the international community will begin to doubt the students’
intention. This is where the students if they are not careful could end up
becoming their own worst enemy.
Subsequently, there are now
growing frustrations among the general public that the student led protests are
now turning out to be a contest between several ethnic groups. A quick glance
through various pages on social media sites like facebook attests to this.
Admittedly the exchange of foal languages between clusters of people in a
public domain like facebook demonstrates certain level of hypocrisy on the part
of the commentators. Most if not all seemed to lose sight of the fact that this
is about saving “mother PNG” and has got nothing to do with personal vendetta
or ethnicity.
Regionalism has and will always
be our nation’s “Achilles heel” so long as Papua New Guineans are prepared to
put their individual, family and tribal interests ahead of the nation’s
interest. Infact history will show that PNG was only given birth because the
people of this country whether they know it or not “put aside their various but
unique differences” to pursue one goal. PNG as we know it today is a result of
those great sacrifices. Therefore we owe our freedom and nationhood to our
forefathers. As sons and daughters of these great men and women it is our
moral, ethical and national duty to preserve this at all cost.
We are all indebted to “mother PNG”
for providing us with abundance of resources to support our livelihood and our
aspirations. Yet we have all at certain points in our lives taken her for
granted whether we know it or not. Our socio-economic and political landscape
clearly depicts a nation still grappling with the regionalism problem. People
are recruited and jobs are given away more on “whom you know basis” than on
merit. Even settlements throughout the country are set-up based on ethnicity
and there are politicians who see fit to encourage this rather than utilizing
an integrated approach where settlements become “melting pots” of Papua New
Guinea. The political landscape in PNG is becoming more polarized on the
“regionalism” grounds and that has led to the appointment of “wantoks” to key
positions. Case in point is the claim by the Opposition that the Permanent Parliamentary Committee is comprised of 3-4 MPs from Southern Highlands. As such it has
repeatedly knocked down the Opposition’s application for the “Vote of
No-Confidence”.
Regionalism is a fallacy because
it has the potential to cripple our nation. It is a potent that could weaken
“our patriotism” and eventually kill our national unity, the glue that holds
our unique and diverse nation together. In fact the very constitution that we
are up in arms about because we sensed that it has been violated promotes
“nationalism”. The spirit and intent of the constitution is such that regionalism
should only be warranted so long as it promotes the nation’s interest.
Regionalism should not compromise nor pose threat to national interest.
Fighting corruption is the duty
of patriots and not ordinary men. The students have demonstrated that with
courage albeit several students have been wounded by the police. Nevertheless,
the reality is that facing up to a nemesis as daunting as the government will
require patient, courage and determination. From the outset it is important to
understand that though the battle is against the government it is important to
overcome all prejudices and obstacles that will thwart one’s own momentum. Thus
the greatest adversary is oneself, the greatest evil is one’s own evil. There
is a saying “if one wants to conquer the world he/she must first conquer
him/herself”. From this standpoint students should ask if they stand a chance to
conquer this battle if they are divided individually or as a group.
Time heals but it also test our
character and resolve. The longer the battle there is bound to be frustration
and cracks of disunity will begin to appear. Such a time calls for maturity and
clear conscience. Anything short of this is sure to lead to a failure. In such
a turbulent time the nation is calling for “men” to be separated from the
“boys”. This is the time when commonsense and wisdom must prevail over hearsay
and rumours. We should set our sights on PNG and nothing other than that.
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