My People, My Dream

The cold winds from the Torricelli range blew down along the foothills of the Torricelli Mountains as it met the rising current of warm air from the sea and the beautiful Sissano lagoon. Somewhere further up inland, in a sago leaf thatched roof of a small hut, walled with sago branches, I lay whimpering. The cold morning breeze from the virgin rainforest sent shivers up my spine as the blanket could only offer a small protection from the strong cold. As I lay on the old damp mattress made cold by the morning dampness, I heard the geckos and the beetles that made their home in the small hut squeaking. They were singing a song in their own language that no one could understand. Listening to their beautiful squeaking voices, I heard a rhythm in my half-conscious mind, a pattern of a lyric that somehow makes sense in my human ears, forming words and stanzas that is familiar to my people. The song sung by the insects echoed the all too familiar sentiments experienced by their human folk in their ecology of life.

We as a people have been struggling for a very long time. We have struggled to carry our market produce to town. We have been walking over the years for about 7 to 8 hours to reach Aitape. On the journey we were subject to the conditions of nature,  floods and heat were our foes. We were exposed to the elements of nature and are at their mercy.

Our fellow kinsmen in the furthest north, the East and along the Torricelli range experienced the same sentiments. They walk for days to get to Aitape. They climb steep mountains, walk down deep gullies. They are exposed to cold without proper protection and clothing as they walk. Many have fallen in this walk and quest for light and have never rose again. Many more will fall and perish in the rugged uninhabited jungles of Torricelli as I write. Those who have conventional form of transport fail to sustain it over the years because of the rugged and extreme road conditions that we have.

Along the coast from the East to the West, the sea at times was not favourable. Mother Nature in the years gone by and still counting has called my people to pay the price of her services with their lives. Yet my people still braved the storms for that ultimate price, to see the light, the light that is slowly diminishing.

Finally with unanswered questions and a troubled mind, I fell into a deep sleep and dreamt a very beautiful dream. The dream brought smile into my face and peace into my heart.

I dreamt that my people were smiling. My people from the East to the West, from the Mountains to the Coast and the beautiful Isles were all smiling. They were smiling because of the much improved road system, from the furthest East to the furthest West and from the Torricelli ranges to the coast.

My people now were able to make their ends meet. They were able to sell their garden food and sea food because of the much improved road system. I dreamt that ships started sailing into our harbour. Yes, I can see their moorings on the port that now look majestic in the light of the setting sun. This time, countless ships passed not beyond and outside of our Isles but into our shores. I dreamt that our little town look dazzling as the dying ambers of the setting sun shed its beams on it. Yes, there was buzzing of activities and as I watched with interest, a group of women and children hurried out of the air ticket office brandishing in the air their tickets. Wow! I heard them talk to other bystanders, that, they will board the plane next day at our very own airport.

I was still smiling as the first rays of the sun slit through the sago palm walls of hut and dazzled my eyes. I open my eyes to the sound of my kinsmen and women beside the morning fires in our small family gathering hut, only to realise, that it was only a dream.

It was only a dream, but we have a dream. West Aitape Inland Grassroots Development Inc. as a community based organization has a dream. We strive to add value to the lives of our people. Though we do not have the financial strength to carry all of our objectives, we are committed and determined to deliver services and developments to our people without cost. We have pledged to go to extreme extents to deliver community developments within our power and capacity, to put smile on the faces of our people.

Our ultimate dream is to see our people happy. In this, we believe and conquer with few other countries of the world that, success for our people is not measured in GDP but in GNH. GNH simply means Gross National Happiness. We will be content and happy when our people are happy.

As the year 2019 is about to end, WAIGDI is please to reflect that we are on the verge of achieving one of the most important feature of our Organization. That is, to fully implement and carry out the “eco-tourism” project to empower our local indigenous people and communities. We believe that Tourism is the Catalyst for change ,and we will continue to press on till Aitape-Lumi becomes the Tourism hub of the province and the new pearl of Papua New Guinea.

We cannot fulfil all the cries of our people and put smile on their faces at this instant, but at least we give a try.

It is worth trying and it is satisfying to die trying than experiencing the pain of seeing our people suffer.

Yes, let the dream go on, perhaps, perhaps it may be that one day, this dream will become a reality for my beautiful and innocent people. But for now let us keep on dreaming.

 

Reference

Photos- courtesy the author's family

Others are accessed from https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=Islands+of+Aitape