SOMETIMES the front page of The National provides the kind of stark contrast that is impossible to avoid.
That was the case on Friday; the positive news of one of this country’s largest-ever energy investments was matched by a tragic picture.
A few sheets of corrugated iron, allegedly a seriously injured man and two raped sisters provided a grim reminder of life as it too often is in our country.
And that is a tragedy.
There is so much that is positive, so much that is worthy of praise in Papua New Guinea that incidents such as the torching of four shanty houses near Port Moresby simply should never occur.
The frightening possibility of such a contrast is all too clear.
The hydro power station that will cost in excess of one billion kina is a major landmark for our country.
Those Papua New Guineans who will be involved in planning and constructing this giant source of energy will be among our most gifted graduates and business leaders, the men and women who will help take our country into a future of unlimited possibilities.
And what of the 20 or so men who raided the makeshift settlement at Gereka?
Their justification for this outrage will almost certainly be payback.
We have no intention of debating the rights and wrongs of that situation; suffice it to say that primitive – yes, primitive – behaviour as demonstrated on the outskirts of this nation’s capital city is utterly unacceptable.
In the past three weeks the world has been stunned at the outbreak of violence in the African nation of Kenya.
Kenya has long been regarded as one of Africa’s better-governed and more successful nations; at least on the surface a form of elected democracy appeared to have taken root.
The economy, while not booming, was nevertheless far ahead of the situation in some other African countries, such as Zimbabwe.
Then came the elections, little different in basic form to our own national elections – and the outcome proved to be a savage confrontation that has seen hundreds killed, thousands rendered homeless and the nation brought to its knees.
It now seems that there is more to this violent clash than was at first thought, at least by observers outside of Kenya; long existing and deep-rooted tribal animosities appear to be fuelling the situation.
Do we want the same kind of scenario to develop in our country?
It is nonsense to imagine that such an outcome is not possible in PNG.
It would be safe to say that not one major resource investment in this country has been achieved without much controversy, heated argument, clashes between landowners and on-going demands for “compensation” and other dubious requests for unearned and undeserved benefits.
And lurking in the background is the spectre of Panguna, when dissatisfaction over a mining agreement led to 15,000 or more deaths, the shattering of a long-established society and the creation of bitterness and hostilities that have not disappeared, but merely been stored away in the back of people’s minds.
The construction of a vast energy facility to provide hydro-electric power to the huge Ramu mine project promises to bring many other benefits to the country.
Power will become more readily available to other mining companies already in the country. The capacities of both the Morobe and Highlands grids will be greatly augmented.
It is possible that power will be more readily available to the many scattered rural villages within those grids, providing another example of the benefits of resource investment.
These developments – and we should remember that they have been a feature of the PNG economy since well before independence – have been possible because our country has a reasonable level of political stability and we have been able to avoid the huge tribal clashes that have bedeviled many African nations.
Yet no-one would characterise PNG as a trouble-free nation.
There needs to be a far more determined effort on the part of our educated population to ensure that others less fortunate at least grasp the future that is within reach.
Now is the time to abandon pay-back killing, sorcery, total disregard for the law and the unalloyed greed of rampant compensation demands.