A Real Dream of Political Development in Papua New Guinea

It was the night of 10^thDecember, 2011, I was sleeping in my house at 8 mile settlement of National Capital District, Papua New Guinea and had a dream. Before the actual dream revealed to me, I did not have hard thought or even discussed with other persons of anything relating to the political crisis in the country or others.

However, in my dream, I was in my village namely, Lyapilam of Upper Laigap, Laiagam district of Enga province, where I was born. I was some 100 to 200 metres away from my house with a male friend from East Sepik Province.

While I was standing there, a young boy came very close to me and as irritating and forcefully disturbing me from almost every movements that I made and also any speech that I was trying to speak. I got very tired of that young fellow and asked my Sepik fellow. “Who was that young guy and who brought him here?” In reply, the friend of mine from East Sepik said that the young lad was his relative and he was brought there. I frankly told my friend that the young man was so disturbing and so what do you think you could do with him? Maybe, he might cause other problems as well.

While the young lad was listening and standing close to us, the Sepik fellow admitted that the land by which he erected his house, was mine (me). In addition, he said that I was the one who allowed him to build his house on my land. Up on saying this, the Sepik fellow instructed his young lad to go back to his own home. After receiving the instructions from the elder Sepik, the young man walked away while I and fellow Sepik, were standing there discussing some issues.

After a while, we stopped talking fact to face and moved away from each other, concentrating on our own affairs. In the process of moving around the area, I just turned around and saw that my Sepik fellow was gone without notice, or not informing me. To my surprise, his house was broken down and all the materials used to build it, were taken away and only the old kunai grass used as the roofing were left on the ground foundation. I started looking for my friend but it was not possible in any way.

In the western side of my village, I could see that the thick pitpit bush was on fire and the tongues of flames were red hot and about to reach the sky. The fire completely burned the bush and it extended to the used kunai grasses left by the Sepik fellow’s house, was also consumed. After completion of burning of the used kunai grass, I precisely noticed, that there were several tunnels created by rats in the ground foundation of the Sepik fellow’s house. When the used kunai grasses were burned and that also surfaced the hidden tunnels were unearthed, of the ground foundation of the house in question and the rats were exposed to above.

To describe the rats, to my surprise, size of all them similar to the size of the rabbits, with big eyes, fatty body structure and round shaped belly and they were very clean indeed. Their appearance caught my full attention. “What are unique rabbit-sized rats on earth?” I asked myself, with universal nature in question.

All of sudden, an unidentified fellow came with an iron bar and smashed the heads of the huge and well fed –rabbit –like rats, which were trying to hide in the tunnels but the fire completely destroyed the tunnel networks. I also assisted the fellow in question to kill these over natural sized rats with a strong iron rode. These creatures were trying their very best to take cover within the purposely created tunnels but it was all impossible and they just have hidden only portion of the bodies. Still they were easily seen from above and were being killed one by one.

My interpretation of my dream.

I as the Engan man who represented Sir Tie Abal, who was the first appointed Chief Minister to be the first Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea, by the Coloniser-the then Australian government before 16 September,1975, if I am not wrong. However, due to being uneducated and thus underestimated himself and also having respect for fellow man, Sir Tie Abal willingly allowed or supported Sir Michael Thomas Somare to be the first Chief Minister and eventually to be the first Prime Minister of the country. In my dream, the land was mine, where the Sepik friend built his house. That can be interpreted that first self-government of Papua New Guinea was to be established upon Sir Tie Abal. Sir Tie Abal allowed Sir Michael Somare to establish the government on the ground that was prepared by Australian government for sir Tie Abal to establish the government.

That young lad in my dream represents the young Sepik Politicians of National Government who used Sir Michael Somare’s government to disturb and work-against fellow Engan politicians and others who are the sons of the forefather politicians who were precisely trusted by the Colonizers-Australians, as the foundation of the land by which was to establish the government of this country before the Independence or otherwise.

In my dream that matured Sepik fellow did admit that I was the landowner and his house was built on my land by the virtue of my consent. By this, we clearly see that Sir Michael Somare did and do inform the young Sepik Politicians that the Engan Sir Tie Abal had mutual understanding prior to first establishment of the self-government, and eventually to provide way for him to be the first Prime Minister of this young country and he (Sir Michael) do have considerations and respect for Engan Politicians and others. We can confirm this statement by seeing when Sir Michael Somare was Prime Minister several times; some of the top positions in both government departments and statutory bodies were given under his directives to be occupied by natural Engans.

However, the young Sepik Politicians and bureaucrats did considered that principles of Sir Michael Somare but, at a very lower degree. Such unprecedented actions of these young Sepik politicians and bureaucrats created gap between the long lasting relationship of Sepiks and Engans.

According to my dream, the house of the Sepik fellow was dismantled and removed by himself, without my notice. There was no remains of residues but only the used kunai grasses of the roofing of the house in question, were left to be seen on the ground foundation. [This part of the dream actually symbolises the change of government of Sir Michael, to O’Neill-Nemah Government on the 2^nd of August, 2011, while Grand Chief Sir Michael Somare was hospitalized in Singapore Raffle Hospital].

Somehow, fire that started on the western side of my village which burnt all the pitpit bush and forest, and eventually extended towards the area where I was standing. In the matter of few minutes, the fire continued vigorously and caught on the used kunai grasses left by Sepik fellow’s house, in accordance of my dream. [The fire represents Powerful intervention of the Universal God who heard the prayers of the faithful Christians and the silent majority and so precisely the Heaven’s mighty wind changed the government of Sir Michael Somare and established the Peter O’Neill government of interim purposes where waiting for the real and better government to be established at the right later, if I am not wrong].

In reference to my dream, the Rabbit-sized-Rats who had created tunnel networks under the ground foundation of the Sepik fellow’s house, which symbolised the corrupt people who have or having deals and schemes which were or are in place, created purposely to mismanage and misappropriate government money and assets for benefits of few. After the tunnels were surfaced by that burning fire, the corrupted officers and their illegal schemes exposed to the view of the new government and the public as whole.

The unidentified person used iron bar to kill the rabbit-sized-rats, represents the current Sweep Team of Lawyer Joe Koim and others who were and are promoting the anti-corruption [exercise for benefit of the developing country and welfare of the people of this nation, others parties who may have interests in this country and the international community], trying to investigate and prosecute those who were involved in and are involving in corrupt deals and schemes who were and are trying to use the tunnels to hide among them or to escape through these venues from the government’s Constitutional office such as Ombudsman Commission and the public. Never the less, some of these secret schemes were no longer hidden from the public and thus some of these corrupted officers were exposed, with their illegal activities involving millions of kina and state assets worth of some billions of kina as well.

Some of the money which was diverted by the corrupt officers and others, from the budgeted-for-purported projects or recurrent areas or other new projects for pursuing to add development to this young developing country, was recovered by the Sweep Team, which amounted to some hundreds of millions.

The dream is clearly interpreted as per scene or otherwise. With this, we can see that the change of government of Somare to O’Neill for interim purpose only, is of the interest or the universal intervention of the Heavenly King of all Kings and Lord of Lords, so there should not be any political fighting for power by the previous government.

They have to or should without any reservation, accept the acceptable alteration and support the new interim government to serve and to provide the much needed services and plans to implement the ongoing and new projects, with the main motive of developing this young country to next level, in order to cope with other nations of ever changing world.

With that, the government has to change in accordance to the relevant provisions of the constitution and others laws that govern the processes of voting in and voting out of government in the floor of the National Parliament, to serve the interests of the majority people of Papua New Guinea, without any fear and favour.

The foremost priority of the general public and the public mechanisms and the stewards of the statutory bodies should concentrate on implementing the actual government policies rather than serving their own illegal individualized interests, and serve the people with pride.

As we can summary that there is no perfect government in this sinful world, but we shall try our best to do our best to serve this country with pride and self-respect to the fullest of our abilities, without any reservations.

However, as for I and my house, we are waiting for the Gid chosen government to come in and reign when the right time comes, in order to serve the interest of the 7.6 million people of the country and not forgetting the others of foreign origins, who were, are or willing to be part this country, regardless of much published negative and unproven happenings of this country.

To conclude, I shall quote the old principle that can make sovereign and well-determinated people of this beautiful country thus we say “united we stand firm and divided we fall”, so that others will not take advantage if the latter situation we will create, either intentionally or the opposite. Therefore, we all shall stand with pride all heartedly, without reservation, and sing the National Anthem together loudly, with motion for progression towards the direction which is in focus for development, and to implement the vision 2050 as the mirror and road-map for us all.

Dreamt, Interpreted, Compiled and Presented by:

Mr. Mek Hepela KAMONGMENAN-LLB(Hors) (UPNG), PCD, CTA

(LAWYER AND ASSOCIATE LECTURER OF SCHOOL OF LAW, THE UNIVERSITY OF PAPUA NEW GUINEA)