| Sports |
Nothing's really
changed for the Hagahai's
By KEVIN PAMBA
One morning in 1993 a strange sight caught the attention of
school-teacher, Joe Bolo Alkan at the remote Tapikama community
school in Baiyer River, Western Highlands province.
Mr Alkan had just transferred in and wasn't familiar with the
surroundings. He was taken aback by what he saw.
On that morning, a grown man was standing amidst school pupils
at the assembly ground in one of the class groups.
He did not take much notice at first thinking the man was a
parent keeping company of a nervous child.
The assembly ended and teachers and pupils went into their
classrooms.
At recess Mr Alkan saw the man coming out of class with other
kids but headed straight for a tree alone and began reading a
book. He appeared lonely and lost.
The sight troubled Mr Alkan. So at lunch he went straight for
the man under the tree and asked who he was. The man, with
barely comprehensible Tok Pisin replied that he was a "sukul
mangi" (student). Still troubled by the response, Mr Alkan,
quizzed the man further.
Before they launched into how the grown man had become a "sukul
mangi", Mr Alkan sent him to the nearby trade store for some
biscuits and soft-drinks that they could share for lunch and
talk.
The man in his late 20s identified himself as Naipua Masipe, a
Hagahai tribesman.
The mention of the name "Hagahai" instantly grabbed the
attention of Mr Alkan, as this was a name he has seen making
headlines in the media.
The Hagahai people made news in the 1980s and early 1990s as
Papua New Guinea's last tribe to be discovered by modern
civilisation.
So Naipua Masipe became of great interest to Mr Alkan and soon
they were best friends. He had been brought to the school by
Baptist Missionaries working in the area to help the plight of
the Hagahai people.
Soon after the teacher from Jimi in Western Highlands province
adopted Naipua to be his son.
In the following months, Mr Alkan formally adopted Naipua as his
first-born son and renamed him, Nickson Bolo. He named him after
his favourite United States President Richard Nixon, claiming
that one day this unusual student could become an important
person like the President.
In their days at Tapikama community school, Mr Alkan and Nickson
Bolo used to walk to the Hagahai tribal land, a good
three-to-four days walk away in the jungles of the hinterlands
of Madang Province.
Mr Alkan recalls that on the first trip to the Hagahai
territory, the tribal people wanted to cannibalise him but was
prevented by his adopted son and his biological family.
When Mr. Alkan transferred out of Baiyer River, his adopted son
went with him to Eastern Highlands province.
At the end of grade six Nickson found he ould not continue. He
was a below average student all along and couldn't muster the
marks to continue on to high school.
Mr Alkan then enrolled him at the Catholic Vocation Centre at
Mingende in Chimbu province. Still Nickson could not cope with
the rigors of modern education. The teachers wanted him removed
but Mr Alkan persuaded them to keep him "because he is my
special son".
Today, Nickson has basic carpentry skills and is back in his
Hagahai tribal homeland.
He left several years after what Mr Alkan said was over minor
family arguments.
Early this year Mr Alkan, now retired since 1998, took the long
journey to the jungles of Hagahai territory looking for his son,
Nickson.
"I went to get him back," said Mr Alkan.
But there was a hitch. Nickson had just married and his wife,
also a Hagahai native, was about to give birth to their first
child.
Mr Alkan stayed to witness the birth of his son's first child.
The child was a boy, his parents named him Joe Bolo Alkan.
During the time Mr Alkan was waiting for his name-sake to be
born, he witnessed the sorry state of affairs in the livelihood
of the Hagahai people.
Mr Alkan said nothing has really changed since he first went
there in 1993. He said the local people have also told him that
little has changed since their so-called discovery in 1983.
There is no road link, no health facilities and no primary
schools, except several elementary schools with no primary
school to feed the students to.
The only link to the outside world is by a tiny missionary
airstrip at Mamusi and on foot to Baiyer River or Jimi in WHP or
Simbai in Madang province.
Mr Alkan said the people have shown a great interest in his idea
of forming a self-help association to begin addressing their
predicaments.
The Hagahais dug deep into their pockets and contributed K6000
to establish the Hagahai Community Development Foundation Inc.
Nickson Bolo and Mr Alkan are both executives of the now
registered association.
Mr Alkan said the Foundation will work to address seven key
areas which the people have identified.
The seven key needs include, community housing, water supply,
rural electrification (solar power), primary school, rural
sub-health centre, two foot bridges and income generating
activities.
Mr Alkan said the Foundation has wasted no time in seeking help
and already the Education branch in Madang has agreed to set up
a primary school in 2009 while governor of Madang, Sir Arnold
Amet is in support of what they are doing.
He said the Foundation will be formally launched on November 7
at Namusi airstrip and Sir Arnold is expected to be among
invited guests.
The Hagahais have been at the centre of medical research
controversy in the 1990s when researchers were accused of taking
away the blood samples to overseas laboratories for testing for
cell researching without following proper patenting procedures
and compensation.
 
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