Reflections of a lifetime

NATION

By MULAI ROBBY
CELEBRATING Independence Day is a time to remember, especially when reflecting the journey Papua New Guinea came since September 16, 1975.
After 48 years as a sovereign country, has PNG achieved real independence? Is PNG really united? And can citizens proudly sing the national anthem and theme song One nation, one country one people now?
I posed the questions but honestly I cannot answer them satisfactorily in the same language as every other country man.
Attending a job training in the former West Germany 1988, my group of 12 Asia-Pacific colleagues went on excursions to see several nominated study sites both in country and neighbouring East Germany and Belgium.
The study trips were to a local zoo, an open air historical village museum, a synthetic (hard material) factory, a world-recognised scientific research center, the second busiest seaport in Europe, West and East Berlin, and the seat of European Union Parliament in Brussels.
During my high school days, I read war comics which always painted good pictures of heroic deeds by American soldiers. When the Germany trip came I took the chance and was really looking forward to visiting the seat of the two wars and Berlin cities.
The week-long visit to Berlin was really a trip back in time. First it was business as intended. Two days were reserved for sightseeing of the two Berlin cities which included historical places, the Berlin Wall and East Berlin and East Germany.
History had it that East Germany was a socialist country mostly controlled from Moscow, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) while West Germany was a democratically governed country.
After World War 2, Allied Forces divided Germany into four parts; USSR had the east, United States of America took the south, France selected the west and United Kingdom had the north.
The city of Berlin was also divided into four parts, a piece each to the four allied forces.
USA, France and UK then allowed their controlled areas to become Federated Deutsche Republic. The Allied Forces maintained their special power status until 1990 when they agreed to let Germany unite.
The 1961 Wall fenced off West Berlin from East Berlin and East Germany. As the Wall stood it had huge impact on people on both sides of Berlin.
To the East the wall was a political, economic and social protection for its people while the West viewed it as suppression of people’s liberty. It separated people from their families, relatives and countrymen.
Along the West side of the Wall wreaths were laid at places where somebody died while attempting to escape east to the west and died trying.
At viewpoints, people mounted raised platforms and viewed the other side of the wall. My group joined in with others at one viewpoint. Seen were two walls, the main wall and there’s another about nine meters inside East Berlin.
Between the two walls was a no-man’s land – a death strip for intended escapees. We were told East Germany securities were to shoot at anyone attempting to escape.
All my training and working life was geared towards keeping an open mind on every issue dealt with. But the visit to the Berlin Wall reminded me I was only human. Early next morning the group fronted at Check Point Charlie, the main gate open to and from East Berlin and East Germany. Many people were already there and formed long queues. Visitors were thoroughly checked through the gate. Cameras were not permitted for use at the gate but allowed in East Berlin city. There was a money exchange facility at the gate for visitors’ convenience.
My group spent the whole day in East Berlin. A tram ride took the group to a small town of Hagen outside the East Berlin city and towards Poland border for lunch. A short time was spent sightseeing the surroundings and it was time to return to Check Point Charlie and West Berlin.
A year later 1989, the Berlin Wall crumbled and the two Germanys were united as one country a year later, 1990. Inwardly I was relieved minus a souvenir from the wall.

New Germany
But the reunification marked the new Germany and was younger than Papua New Guinea.
Papua New Guineans were united as one country at Independence in 1975. The divider word “and” was removed from the erstwhile Territory of Papua and New Guinea, and we called our country independent State of Papua New Guinea, which lives on today.
Of course no country is utopia. Every country has issues to deal with internally if not internationally. Yes, the new Germany has states, PNG has provinces. Germany achieved political unity, same as PNG but I say both countries still have economic, social and even cultural issues to deal with.
These are nagging elements that eat into the fabric of our society preventing us from calling our country united Papua New Guinea. There is this something called peer jealousy in all sectors, in politics, business, at work places and in social build-up in society.

Divisions
From the top of the structure one would see, while there is paper work in place spelling guidelines, in practice not all decisions made were based on merit. More than often regionalism, provincialism, district wantokism, tribalism, clansmanship, mannerism and even religions and family ties influence decision-making. There is nepotism at work places and service delivery is to whom you know first. These are facts of life in our country which we must deal with.
Until recently provincial day celebrations were stopped in the National Capital District with authorities citing conflicts and blaming them on ethnic groupings as reasons and interruption of smooth national Independence Day celebrations. And now, the NCD governor has called to ban provincial flags from being flown in Port Moresby but the national flag only for national unity.
The fact remains that PNG, the land of diversity, has many and related ethnic issues hindering our real unification. These are facts of life in our country. We must work together to balance our diversity with national ideals.
Then, and only then we can proudly sing our national anthem and thewan nesen, wan solwara, wan pipol theme song.

• Murai Robby is a freelance writer.