Source: "Red Soil"

The Land Theft of more than 5 million hectares of Papua New Guinea is a huge deal overseas, but not in Papua New Guinea. It’s funny how foreigners walk into the country with that knowledge at the back of their minds but upon spending some time realize, no one’s serious, as seriousness should have gotten.

A young Papua New Guinea girl holding a poster: Land is Life. 

They (foreigners) would learn that Papua New Guineans need their land, it is part of their existence and one cannot separate land from these people.  They belong to the land and the land belongs to them. Men cannot exist without the land, so everyone cares for and protects the lands.

These foreigners will continue to learn that land is communal, owned by communities and not just one person. That land is with the people a hundred percent, and not like in their countries where their government owns it.

Imagine what they think when they learn the Papua New Guinea ways and then try to understand why Papua New Guineans are not raging over the theft of more than 5 million hectares at all. Imagine what they might’ve thought when they learn that Papua New Guineans can connect with nature and make it work for them, and yet they haven’t done anything of the sort but relax. Surely these foreigners must think the people are stupid ignorant fools to not help themselves, don’t you think?

How is that so, when PNG is said to have a lot of educated, literate, intellectuals, etc, with more graduating everywhere every year and yet, no one’s smart enough to raise their hand, stand up and simply say, ‘Stop this immediately Mr Peter O’Neil!’

This is basically because those who will stand up and fight for their land are NOT those intellectuals, they are those simple people back in the villages who knows what land is 110% and even more.

The countless number of educated, literate, intellectuals on the other hand can really talk but to themselves, as they’re currently doing on the social networks and that’s all, it all stops there. Apart from 2 or 3 concerned NGOs, none of these so-called ‘elites’ have taken the responsibility to tell their brothers, sisters, fathers, mothers and grandparents back home what has happened and is taking its toll. That is why this cruel SABL land theft is continuing.

What good are you if you’re educated and cannot help yourself and your country? How do you manage to stand tall with no guilt and say the magic words ‘I am a Papua New Guinean’? Or do you even know how to say that with pride at all anymore?

Most elderly people in some of the remotest parts of the country’s initial reactions are often, with tears in between sobs they say, “We are not ignorant or stupid, we need information, please do keep coming back to keep us updated.”

The Popondetta people are fighting the illegal Malaysians, the Turubu people have gone to court and won but the illegal logging continues, the Kimbe people, and there’s the Bosmun Ramu people, the SABL whistle blowers who confronted and petitioned their MP and the Government regarding this ‘Great Land Theft’

 Logging in Papua New Guinea. 

Imagine if these provinces stood with each other on that issue, and imagine if we all stood with them as Papua New Guineans, about saving Papua New Guinea, that lousy problem that’s now life threatening will have been gone in minutes.