Mex’s revenge with a difference
* JACK METTA reflects on events in the Eastern Highlands that augur for a change for the better  *
DO I detect the winds of change blowing Eastern Highlands way, or is it just a token gust signalling a phase in life we all go through; that the lifestyle we are living is not appropriate anymore for our age?
Two separate events in the province over the recent past indicate that the winds of change and the spark of hope for a better society are flickering. And if anyone had sat up and noticed, then it would be in their interest to fan and stoke that spark of hope into a raging fire that would eventually erase the fear and misery of our society.
Criminal elements in the notorious Barola Hill area of the Eastern Highlands province recently publicly apologised to the general public, and particularly travellers on the Highlands Highway, for their criminal actions over the years, and have vowed to work with the law and order sector and their community to maintain peace and good order.
The public apology and the commitment to maintain peace and good order was made in the presence of top police brass and officers from the Eastern Highlands administration on the occasion of the opening of a new Barola police post two weeks ago.
The Barola Hill along the Highlands Highway between Kainantu and Henganofi had been a haven for armed criminals to ply their trade on the unsuspecting public for many years.
It’s notoriety is known far and wide and travellers would have dearly loved to give it a wide berth if they could but in reality couldn’t so it’s always a drive through the area with one’s bile in his or her throat, a prayer on the lips and hairs on the nape of one’s neck standing on end.
Violent armed robberies, some leading to deaths, rape and abductions, harassment, abuse of human rights, wanton damages to property, and other serious crime has given Barola Hill, a picturesque setting on the highway, its notorious reputation of many years.
Veteran cop Snr Sgt Dick Tambua, who had been involved in the fight against crime in the area for years, realised that he was fighting a losing battle and that crime would continue to fester if a significant change was not forthcoming.
He eventually zoomed in on community policing as the only way out and initiated the police post.
The wind of change that is following these initiatives are gathering momentum with some of the most notorious and hardened criminals in the area announcing their reformations and committing themselves to work for peace and good order.
On the other side of Barola, in the notorious Stone Block Settlement at North Goroka, Mex is trying to get “even” with the criminal elements for holding him up and robbing him of his meager possessions in broad daylight two years ago.
And he has engaged the services of some of Goroka’s household names in criminal activities to help him.
Mex or Menu Max Tairo Fessma is a gentleman by nature who had gone about eking an honest day’s living out of the squalor of the settlement most of his life.
When he became a victim of an armed robbery perpetrated by his own neighbours, he was prompted to pay them back.
And he thought long and hard about it, eventually deciding that when he did take his ‘revenge’, he wanted the affect to be permanent.
He instigated his plan and later engaged the services of reformed criminals Mark BH Opehama, Hendrich bin Bishop and John Maima to ensure that his revenge is indeed, permanent.
When the time came in mid 2006, the College of Trade Technology (COTT) was born at the old North Goroka theatre.
“When I was robbed, my instant reaction was revenge,” Mex as he is popularly known, recalls. “But I asked myself, what would I get out it? I wanted a revenge that yields something worthwhile, something that would direct the youths onto a different, more rewarding path in life.
“I believe our youths are resorting to criminal activities because they are not coached in the ways that they should go. So I came up with this idea of setting up a training college for wayward and disadvantaged youths to learn a trade and hopefully earn an honest living using the skills that they acquire from this college.”
Like all new-born creations, the first years are always the most difficult.
Mex encountered difficulties luring young men and women to take advantage of the trade courses on offer.
“This was compounded by the fact that trainers and facilitators for the courses were also hard to come by,” he recalls.
“Then, there is the problem of funding, the lack of which is reflected in the lack of learning facilities,” Mex said.
Mex solved the problem of luring students by engaging ex-gangsters Opehama, bin Bishop and Maima, all currently involved with Goroka Settlement Authority, an entity fighting for the rights of settlers to live respectful and productive lives in their chosen town of residence.
The GSA is also responsible for about 4,500 youths in settlements in and around Goroka.
The former gangsters do not want the youths to take the path that they had trodden for many years.
“Living a criminal life is living dangerously. You do not have freedom. You are always hounded so you are always on the run. We don’t want that for our youth. We want them to learn a trade or acquire skills that would benefit them in the mainstream life,” Opehama says.
For trainers, Mex turned to community-based organisations, NGOs and the University of Goroka to source skilled people to train the youths. It is working.
Just over two years that COTT has been in existence, over 100 young men have secured jobs as skilled tradesmen and women in the fields of carpentry, motor mechanics, electrical, plumbing, electronic technology and office management.
“The skills training we provide for the youths is unique in that most of the youths are under-educated or they have no previous education background,” Mex explained. What we are doing for them now is that we taken them on board as they come and give them hands-on training. They learn quickly because they are determined to succeed,” he mused.
He says so far the college had secured 10 business houses from mechanical workshops to mine sites throughout the country, who have made a commitment to take on students from COTT for practical apprentice duties.
“Several companies have also shown keen interest in engaging our female business students to take up official posts in their respective companies.”
Mex is pleased with the private sector response. “This is a very good sign because these students now have the opportunities to become career men and women and their future is secured.”
But Mex’s revenge is short of sweet … as yet.
“We have funding problems; we’d like to secure some funding to be able to buy computers and other necessary items and locate in a reasonable place to be a good learning institution. We have written to several donor agencies and NGOs for help but have not received anything positive back.
“I think COTT is doing a service to put our young people on a road to better things and the powers that be ought to take that into consideration and remember us with some funding,” Mex says.
He is fully supported in his sentiments by Opehama, bin Bishop, Maima and University of Goroka academic Dr Michael Unage, who is the chairman of the COTT board.
“We are chipping away at the roots of our woes and it is in the interest of all stakeholders to help because in the long run, we are building a future and a peaceful and respectable environment for our children,” Mex said.
Indeed, we are reminded of the Wise Counsellor’s words: “Enemies are made, not born…”
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