Breed positivity, not violence

 INTER-SCHOOL rivalries exist in every country.

These extend from the physical arena of fist fights and sporting competitions to debates and academic excellence.

School rivalries that exist in Papua New Guinea, therefore, are not unique nor are they going to go away.

It is violence between rival schools such as we have seen repeatedly displayed in Lae and Port Moresby that is worrisome.

Today, a young man is dead and another is fighting for his life at Angau Memorial Hospital in Lae.

Missiles were thrown before heavily armed police officers arrived and fired warning shots.

The Bugandi students were believed to have been shot at that time after the two rival groups ignored police warnings and advanced on each other

They are the victims of a flare up of violence between two old rivals, Lae Secondary and Bugandi Secondary.

It is frightening to imagine the kind of spectacle this must have been for residents at Eriku judging from the still pictures our Lae journalists took of the clash. 

There are young students, some looking not a day past 13 and in school uniforms running at full tilt with bush knives.

Quite obviously this was not a school fist fight. 

It resembled more a tribal fight where one side meant to do the maximum harm to the other.

What could have inspired such hatred?

We remember not too long ago the two schools came together in an emotional peace ceremony which included “breaking spears” in a symbolic gesture to end the violence of the past.

They also  planted trees to signify future peace and cooperation.

What could have been the cause of this latest flare up? 

For what rational benefit could these young people be engaged in such violent physical confrontations?

Parents, guardians, teachers and other family members put a lot of trust and confidence in every young child that moves through the education system.

The government has allocated hundreds of millions of kina this year and every other year into the future because the leadership believes in the education of the next generation of leaders.

No parent, teacher or guardian, and certainly not the government, wants to see a generation  of uneducated people whose only answer to any test or challenge is violence.

It is certain that only a few individuals are responsible for the latest spate of violence but the tragedy is the unthinking support of the few by so many of the student body on each side.

This kind of emotional, impulsive behaviour is the high road to personal ruin and the sooner the students at Bugandi and Lae secondary and every other student body in the country understand this, the better.

There are a lot more friendly ways to challenge each other – on the sporting field, in the academic field and in innovative areas where the school as an institution can create wonders.

That said, we must add that government, society and even parents also have a duty to assist in controlling violent behaviour among the young.

To what extent has the violence that rocks our nation on a daily basis influenced yesterday’s clash?

It is highly plausible that it has a great deal of impact.

Aggression is not bad at all. It is the manner in which aggression is expressed that is often the problem.

It is a competitive world out there and those who succeed in life at the corporate, individual or national level, are those who aggressively pursue their missions and goals.

Young people, by their nature, are aggressive. 

It falls then to their mentors, be they parents, guardians or teachers to nurture and channel the aggression towards achieving positive goals.