Young guardian-Home coming for Tongan

KIUO OK


Young guardian

She has snorkelled the islands of Madang and scaled Papua New Guinea’s highest peak, Mt Wilhelm, and for close to a year West Australian Hannah Jensen has called Goroka home.
Through the Australian Youth ambassador for development program, Perth-raised Hannah is constantly captivated by her PNG experience since taking up voluntary duty as a Child Protection Officer within the Eastern Highlands Provincial Government’s justice system.
“My breath is constantly taken away when I sit on my verandah and watch the neighbour’s kids playing on the lawn with the mountains in the background are bathed in the golden Goroka sunlight. This is my favourite way to relax after work and is probably the thing I will miss most when I leave,” Hannah says.
With a love for travelling and a desire to experience different cultures Hannah put aside her studies and decided to broaden her horizons.
At the age of 20 she volunteered in the South American nation of Guyana and has not looked back since.
Prior to coming to Papua New Guinea, Hannah worked as a clinical psychologist in the Kim-berly region of Western Australia.
That experience, unintentionally laid the foundations that would lead to her placement in PNG as it involved working in remote indi-genous communities.
“I have always been passionate about child rights and I believe that working at a government level in developing countries is really important. That being said, I did like the idea of going to PNG, it seemed challenging and exciting.”
Driven by a passion to keep doing things that constantly challenged her Hannah knew she had her work cut out for her when she touched down in Goroka.
“When I first arrived there was no child protection framework — no system to work in. This combined with other differences, like the con-cept of ‘PNG time’, and not knowing how any of the systems work made for a difficult first few months.”
Now three quarters through her 12-month stint in the Eastern Highlands Jensen has found that her personal motivation has come with its rewards.
She proudly boasts having settled in to the “Nokondi” way of life that she can speak Pidgin, cook kaukau, uses coconut milk in every meal, and has made in-roads in her place of work.
“I think my biggest work highlight has been gaining funding to employ a child protection officer within the provincial government. This has meant that I have a wonderful counterpart to work with and I am happy to know that the work that I am doing will carry on once I finish.
“I feel really lucky to be in my position. I have really interesting and challenging work, I have an amazing support network of friends, a great house with lovely neighbours and the opportunity to experience village life on a regular basis.’”
With the ability to view the child welfare scene in PNG from the broader perspective of an AYAD volunteer, Hannah knows that her work has only touched the tip of the iceberg.
“I would like to see more import-ance placed on the social services by the national and provincial governments. ‘Cross cutting issues’ are relatively new concepts in PNG and as such, are poorly supported.”
Hannah also has the satisfaction from being the person who has taken the child welfare ball rolling in the Eastern Highlands with the hope that her time spent here has made a difference.
“Work-wise, I think that there are definitely some things that will remain growing. I have made some wonderful friends, and if I have a fraction of the impact on their lives that they have had on mine that would be great.”

Home coming for Tongan

When the Tongan rugby league team runs onto the Lloyd Robson Oval to take on the Papua New Guinea Telikom
Kumuls in the SP Brewery Pacific Cup challenge on Sunday, there will be someone sitting at the side line.
He will be watching the matches and wondering if his boys will come out of this battle as champions in the
Pacific or go down to the Cook Islanders, Fijians or host PNG.
He will be particularly watching the PNG Kumuls for he has classified PNG as the “god father” of rugby league
in the Pacific region.
Tonga’s tour manager George Moala is not new to PNG. He learnt to play rugby league when he was a student back
at the University of Technology in Lae in the later 1970s and coming to PNG is like coming home.
For Moala is also the father of late Captain Jennie Moala, the pilot of the doomed Airlines PNG aircraft that
crashed into the Owen Stanley ranges at Kokoda recently. While the memory of his daughter will be at the back
of his mind, the founder of rugby league in Tonga 21 years ago has a lot of say about PNG league.
“I got all this experience from playing rugby league here in PNG while being a student. It was all through
the influence of former Kumuls center late Opini Geno. I believe PNG is still the ‘god father’ of rugby league
to us,” he said with a smile on his face.
Same sentiments were given by other teams like Fiji and Cook Islands. The three visiting teams who will be
battling against the host PNG Telikom Kumuls this weekend has placed PNG as the god father of rugby league but
that will all come to the fore when they head onto the Lloyd Robson Oval this weekend.
The unpredictable Cook Islands will lock horns with Fiji Batis tomorrow while Tonga will have to prove its
strength when they take on the home side, the PNG Telikom Kumuls.
NRL player and Fiji captain Wes Naiqama expressed the same sentiment and praised the organisers for a very
good concept with an ultimate price at the end of the tournament.
“It is great to play for an ultimate price at the end where you want to rub shoulders with powerful rugby
league playing nations like Australia, New Zealand and England and that we have fought hard for it,” said the
27-year-old Fiji captain.
Meanwhile Cook Islands coach David Farleigh said the challenge was to put up the best players on show ,
bearing in mind that PNG is more passionate about the game.
The winner of the SP Brewery Pacific Cup will book a ticket to the four nations rugby league challenge
including Australia, New Zealand and England and that is the ultimate price.

COVER STORY

Out from the graves . . .
The grave yard is overgrown with bushes. The plain white cement headstone is sun bleached and cracked, the epitaph is faded and moss covered at the sides.
But in this simple grave under the scorching Papuan sun lies one of PNG’s greatest heroes of World War II — a man of remarkable courage — a man of the true warrior class who rose
above his humble uneducated beginnings to shine on the battlefield among foreign troops.
The mighty Waria Valley is the final resting place of one of its finest sons and a legend of Papua New Guinea — except the legendary exploits of Sergeant Major Sega Birito is sadly,
unknown outside his native Waria land.
Having visited the Waria Valley last week and being privileged to pay my respects at his graveside, I feel it my obligation to re-tell the people of PNG, Australia and the USA, of the
fearsome Waria warrior who served all three nations with the highest credentials.
This is the story of a simple village boy from Sopa village in Garaina who fell in love with the police force, signed up with ANGAU in 1926 at Wau and served the New Guinea Armed
Constabulary, going on long range patrols all over Papua and New Guinea with patrol officers, gold prospectors and even missionaries.
Birito later served on Bougainville Island as a policeman and it was his knowledge of that part of the country that was to distinguish him in battle during the war.
When hostilities commenced in WWII, Birito was on holidays in Garaina planning on getting married when ANGAU recalled him to police headquarters. He was immediately bundled off
for scout training with the now famous coast watchers.
Strong and fearless, the tall rangy Waria warrior came to the notice of the Americans while undergoing specialist training in Melbourne, Australia.
The US Navy Special Forces, forerunner to the Navy Seals, enlisted Birito (or rather snatched him) from the Australians in Melbourne after noticing his remarkable courage in training
and engaged him as a scout in their “M” Force.
The simple boy from Waria, appreciated for his camaraderie with the Australians and Americans, and known for his fearless spirit in battle, landed with the US Marines at Tulagi and at
Guadalcanal. It was on Bougainville that he distinguished himself in gallantry.

His Bronze Star citation read: “Constable Sega, ANGAU, distinguished himself with meritorious achievement at Bougainville, Solomon Islands, from September 22-28, 1944. While
making reconnaissance into enemy territory, he came upon a village occupied by hostile troops. Crawling among the native houses, he collected information regarding enemy strength
and dispositions. After reporting this information, he returned with a combat patrol which successfully attacked the village. On a later recon, he located a hostile camp and leading
American troops, assisted in killing 14 of the enemy.”

Sgt Major Sega Birito is the first and only PNG soldier I know to have received the American Bronze Star for gallantry in combat.
Gen Douglas MacArthur, the US general famed for his ‘I shall return’ promise to take back the Philippines from the enemy in WWII, conferred Sega Birito with his star at Wau.
Birito saluted the mighty US General as 10,000 of his tribesmen armed with bows, arrows and clubs applauded from the sidelines in a resonating cheer that echoed down the Waria
Valley.
At the Queen’s Coronation in 1952, Birito was invited to visit England but fell sick at the last moment.
However, when the Queen did visit PNG in later years, the Bronze Star hero met the Head of the Commonwealth.
She conferred on him the Queens Medal for Exemplary and Long Distinguished services to the Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary.
In Garaina, beside the old RSL (Waria) building stands a simple stone flagpole. It was erected in 1973 by the American Government in appreciation of Birito’s services to the US Marines,
following a visit by Col Douglas Hubbard, director of the Admiral Nimitz Centre in Fredricksburg, Texas.
Why would the Americans send such a high ranking officer to visit an old policeman in an unknown part of PNG? The answer lies in his Bronze Star citation.
Americans revere and worship their heroes and Birito to the US Navy’s “M” Force was a fearless hero whose exploits are held in high regard.
His only complaint against the Americans was crooked job a medic did on his ear, which had been partially shot apart by enemy fire.
The US Marine medics did a pretty hasty job on their trusted forward scout that when the wound healed a few weeks later, his ear was set a bit crookedly, which he blamed of robbing
him of his once handsome looks!
The Americans erected a memorial cairn which reads: “To the memory of Sergeant Major Sega Birito of the Royal Papua New Guinea Armed Constabulary whose personal efforts
during the Pacific Campaign in World War II resulted in his being awarded the American Bronze Star for gallantry, while serving with the United States Forces on Bougainville in
September, 1944. In grateful appreciation, erected by the Government of the United States of America and the Admiral Nimitz Center.”
Birito, the son of a mighty chief, died in 1976 — a year after independence — at about 70 years of age.
Now his son Amos, the councillor for Ward 11 in the Waria Local Level Government, is taking up a new fight in his father’s respected name.
Amos wants the Australian, PNG and US Governments to fund the building of a government centre and a double classroom in Garaina.
Amos said: “I don’t want any other benefit; certainly I don’t want any money. I just want these governments to recognise the efforts of my father during his service to the armed forces
and to erect a building in Garaina to house the local level government offices.
“I also want to see a double classroom built at Garaina Primary School and both buildings to be named Sega Birito so that younger generations will know and honor the memory of this
foot soldier.”
Cr Amos is the 7th born of Sega Birito and his wife Teira Ponito, both of Sopa village.
The Birito clan is Baru (deceased), Steven, who was a police inspector, Lyn, who now works for Trukai Industries, Jack (deceased), Naru, Reuben, Amos, Eero, Martha and William.
Cr Amos can be assured part of his problem has been solved with the arrival of a new VSAT telecommunications system, linking the Garaina Station with the rest of the world.
The system was recently installed by Telikom PNG technicians Henry Esara, Gideon Kore, both Waria boys, power engineer Brian Inamo and engineer Peter Khaya.
In the days of old man Birito, there was no such telecommunications. Now with a vibrant visionary young leader in local MP Sam Basil, the winds of change are descending on the
windswept Waria plains.
Mr Basil, who only collected seven votes from 4000 voters in the last election, has promised K2 million from his district services improvement funds to revive the Garaina Station and
kickstart the ailing economy of the once vibrant tea and coffee industry.
Waria LLG president Morokai Gaiwata is upbeat about the future of Garaina. On the list of musts are the return of police, a dozer and an ambulance for the health centre.
One old man told me: “Member is giving us a lot of money. But before that money comes, law and order must return to Garaina.”
True words of a wise old man.
As he was departing the beautiful valley, an old lady stepped up to Mr Basil and gave him a string of dog tooth and said: “This is the money of my forefathers. It has lasted for
generations. You are giving us K2m but will it last?”
On the plane back, the maverick politician, feared in the halls of Waigani for his no nonsense approach to tackling corruption, showed me his dogtooth money: “This Valley will rise
again,” he promised.
Certainly, for better or worse, one councilor will be watching and waiting, Cr Amos Sega.