Embrace our uniqueness

ONE nation, one country, and one people in a 1,000 plus tribes within a multitude of biodiversified and uncultured culture, ethnicity, language and diversity. So unique are we Papua New Guinea.Let us embrace this and celebrate our richness in every corners of Papua New Guinea without restriction.
PNG did not import our uniqueness, it was here.
Before the white men came, we had a government system, a court system, a commerce system, and a marriage system.
We built canoes for fishing and trading, and sailed with accurate navigation skills, we produced clay pots for cooking and had an agricultural system, we had architectural practices and we built houses, we produced oil and salt, we produced sago, we produced clothes, and we practiced conservation.
We knew manufacturing.
We had a coronation that turned boys into men and girls into women.
We lived in our tribes and regions guided by principles, ethics, norms and boundaries.
And, in fear of guilt and shame, we lived a guided life.
The coast and the inland knew each other of their existence through trade and commerce.
We respected each other.
White men thought our mainland and islands were barren. When white men first set foot on our shore, they were astonishingly stunned, surprised and overwhelmed.
Let us not put any bounty on our uniqueness.

Dr James Naipao,
President, National Doctors
Association