The dreams of ordinary Papua New Guineans


By GOVERNOR GARY JUFFA MP

My grandmother had a dream to own a turkey. She had seen one of these feathered creatures in a book of animals my mother had bought me. When my uncle who was an agriculturalist, came around to visit, she asked him whether such creatures were sold in Papua New Guinea. He said they would be sold in due time when the Department of Agriculture was promoting poultry farming. She was so pleased with him and said she would place an order now and would start saving up. Every so often when I was flipping through the pages of my book as she baked, she would insist that I show her the page with the turkey. “I want to own a few turkeys.” she would say with a wistful smile. “Can you imagine them in our farm?” And off we would go telling outrageous stories of a farm full of turkeys and goats and horses and cattle in Kokoda strolling among the cocoa and coffee trees as she baked her scones to sell at the Kokoda Station market the next day.

That was her simple dream. Sadly, she died without ever owning a turkey. To this day, the very memory of those discussions, her dreams, makes me exceptionally sad.

Everyone has dreams.

Every year more then 60,000 school leavers enter Papua New Guineas job market, most certainly with dreams and hopes of finding a job and earning a living. For a very select few, they come true, for others, the dreams and hopes evaporate and are replaced with reality, bitterness and struggle, accepting whatever one can. Every one wants a good life, not everyone gets it.

What is a good life? There are of course many possible answers but basically it is to have a home, to be gainfully employed, to live in a safe and secure environment, to be able to provide, to care for ones parents and the ones you love, family and friends to be able to enjoy the simple things in life that make life sweet, listening to a favorite song or watching a movie, sharing a cup of coffee, playing with your children, hearing them laugh and be happy. That is a good life.

Such a life eludes an increasing population of Papua New Guineans. When the dream of a good life fades away, there is stark reality. Eventually, one has to make do with reality and let go of dreams, even if for only a while, although only for a while can be anywhere between tomorrow and a lifetime. It is true that the choices we make determine the paths we take. Many do not understand this simple fact of life and their choices are not carefully thought out, they are not rational and they are not sufficient to ensure a good life.

But is it their fault?

Have we become monotonous products of our times? What with the education system and what surrounds us in forming our opinions and developing our ideologies, our parents, our peers and what we are taught by media, the perceptions that information available forms in our minds, the dreams and hopes they conjure, to go to school, learn, graduate and get a job, pay our taxes, behave obediently and live in step to the tune of whatever propaganda the government and industry tell us, whether directly or indirectly, did we stand a chance really? Could we have known better?

Who knows…one can only speculate.

Opportunities make dreams come true. The opportunities that will most certainly present themselves as a result of increasing exploration and discovery of our resources, globalization and increased investment. But will these opportunities be ours to seize? Globalization, the freeing up of trade and the encouragement of free market philosophy is marketing these opportunities to the world.

They are no longer our dreams, they are for whoever can seize these opportunities, who ever has the means, who ever wields power in the form of money and therefore influence.

Already we are competing with citizens from other economies, already our protected sectors of business have been opened up to off shore investors and already we are becoming spectators on our own land and already our country is being packaged for sale to whoever comes along for instance with a bag of money…in a jet perhaps…citizenship application in hand…

And who should guard our opportunities and therefore our dreams? Those who have been mandated, the keepers of our gates, the gates to our future?

Sadly, the keepers at the gates to our future have abandoned their responsibility, they shirk their duties and do not aggressively guard against the exploitation and marginalization of their people, no, instead many are happily selling the opportunities, the dreams of their people for their own selfish gain…

So what happens to the 60,000 school leavers? Only 4000 will find it into Universities. Only 10,000 will find meaningful employment. Where will the rest of the 46,000 go? What about next years 60,000?

What happens to their dreams?

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