From 6 Deutsch Mark to the mountain top

By CYRIL GARE – freelance journalist
THEY called him Mentok back in Karau.
In 1946, his father, Ludwig Somare Sana was concerned that Michael was not going to be exposed to good education. Sana instructed from Rabaul that Michael should leave Karau to go and attend school in Wewak.
Any child in PNG, seeking inspiration to push on in life should not look far to read and appreciate the early childhood struggles and upbringing of the Grand Chief himself, father of the nation and ‘Kwila bilong Sepik’.
Before the war in 1942, Ludwig took Grand Chief’s mother Bertha Painari, his two sisters, Maki and Rosa and returned to Karau on recreation leave. It was during that time that Ludwig was initiated and inherited the Sana chieftainship. While Ludwig was on leave, the Japanese invaded Rabaul. Ludwig hurried back with his wife and two sisters leaving Michael back in the village under the care of Saub, Ludwig’s elder brother.
Later that year, the war came to East Sepik. Michael’s grandmother hid him in mangrove swamps as warplanes flew over Murik lakes. Japanese soldiers eventually occupied Karau.
His father’s decision to leave him behind following the news of WW II is prophetic including the ability of Michael’s grandmother to hide him in the mangroves of Murik Lake from the falling bombs and air raids of the Japanese.
“The Japanese were friendly people. They brought many presents of food, clothes and all sorts of good things and they passed around plenty of whisky. So our people had a big celebration on the arrival of the Japenese”, Sir Michael says in his autobiography, Sana.
The Japanese did not go only as fighters. They also gave some basic military training to the older children, (12-15 years) and younger ones like Michael were given some Japanese education.
A captain Sivata had acquired some basic pidgin and was able to communicate with the kids. The children were not forced to school. The parents were asked politely to let their children to school.
“I remember at first the other children were frightened of the Japanese, but I wasn’t because I had lived in Rabaul and I had seen many white people before. To us Japanese were people,” Michael says in his book.
The children learnt to count and learnt Japanese vowels and consonants and practised some Japanese words and were taught songs including the Japanese national anthem – Kimi ga o wa. They even went down to the beach and bowed to the sun with eyes closed. Michael and his village kids attended Japanese classes until the Allied Forces went into Karau and took the Japanese as POWs (prisoners of war) on a boat.
Philip Kanura, a former kiap and coordinator of the Murik Resettlement project recapped on Michael’s story as told by his father, John Kaiba, a great leader and luluai of the Murik lakes.

“You too my young people, I see wonderful lights in your eyes, the energies in your bodies and the hope that is in your spirit, I know it is you, not I who will make the future. It is you, not I who will fix the wrongs and carry forward all that is right with the world.” – Nelson Mandela.

Kaiba played a fundamental role in the early educational development of this young boy who was to be the Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea.
Adhering to instructions by Ludwig, Michael accompanied by other boys from the Murik lakes including Kawi from Darapap, Bantaro from Kaup and elder son of Kaiba, Leo Kaumb from Kaup and Kabase (he was younger) paddled from Karau to Kaup.
The next day, Kanura’s father took captaincy and sailed the boys along the eastern coast only to reach Sawarin (near Brandi High School) before night caught up.
There they spent the night with Kurabo, an uncle who was half Kaup and Sawarin.
The next day, they continued their voyage to Meni village (Wewak). They brought Michael and boys to Wewak Hill where the old colonial administration centre was situated and enrolled them for schooling.
However it wasn’t long before the government primary school was relocated to Boram where the current power house is situated.
Young Michael found more freedom there with the support from uncle, Hubert Aupai who was a teacher at the Boram government primary school. Hubert was the father of Andrew Imang and Stalin Jawa.
“The school was tough with many strict rules and regulations.”
His headmaster was a Mr Stamper, an Australian ex-army officer who was tough.
Young Michael was little cheeky in those days and found himself in conflict with rules and was beaten a lot by the cane wielding teacher.
“Once I remember a teacher lifted me up by my head and threw me twice against the blackboard. But I did not worry one bit. I wanted an education and I was prepared to go through with it no matter what.
The more they beat me the more I proved to them that I was a good student. I grasped things quickly and topped the class in examinations so the teacher put up with my cheekiness.”
He enrolled alright but along the way, despite being a good smart, intelligent kid, he became sightly anti-social which got him suspended from school.
So Bantaro took him back to Kaup. On learning that Michael had been expelled from school on disciplinary grounds, Kaiba reached for his ‘savings’ he kept neatly and secretly in the wall of his house. The savings was a six Deutsche Mark (Germany currency with today’s value around PGK13.00) to go and pay out the misdemeanour that has caused the expulsion of Michael.
“I am very proud of this decision of my father, he was directed by the wisdom and good spirit of God”. Kanura paid tribute to his late father, John Kaiba, who died in June, 1992 who made it all possible for young Michael to receive an education and reach that jutting mountain peak where nothing has held him back since.