Rebecca Walker, PNG
27 May 2010
Five Aussies, a nun, a priest and a skipper take an amazing
Easter trip around the remote west coast of Bouganville, PNG.
There were five Aussies, a nun, a priest and a skipper... And
five days!
Living in Bougainville for two years was amazing, tough but not
without its golden times and friendships. I was living in the bush
in a rehabilitation centre that was run by a congregation of local
sisters, and while life was basic, and at times very challenging,
it gave me a unique insight into the Bougainville community - which
is still recovering from 10 years of a bloody internal
conflict.
Three other volunteers (Andrew Roberts, Linda Duncan and Mick
Zuino) decided to join me and Kirstin Lange to celebrate Easter.
One of the beauties of living with a congregation of nuns, within
the Diocese of Bougainville, is that Easter is one of the biggest
celebrations of the year. So when deciding what to do with my
friends, I decided to:
a) Go somewhere that is not readily accessible to the usual
tourist
b) Go somewhere where we could enjoy a true Catholic celebration
of Easter...
I decided and planned for us to go down the West Coast, one of
the most inaccessible parts of Bougainville, as the only access is
by boat. I also planned that we would visit three different
parishes, and stay the four main Easter days with a dear friend,
Father Louis Lobosi in his parish of Kurio.
The three volunteers that were not based in Bougainville all flew
in on the Wednesday before Easter, and we stayed at the Nazareth
Centre, Chabai - where I was based for two years.
On Holy Thursday we all headed out early by boat - tanks full of
fuel and friends ready to wind down and enjoy some well earned time
out, our first stop was Tsimba to see Fr Victor. He is based
at a small parish which sits on top of a cliff looking out to the
ocean. This is fairly usual for the parishes along the west coast
which is lined with tall cliffs. Where the cliffs meet the ocean,
the most amazing black beaches stretch out with waves crashing on
the shore. When we arrived in Tsimba, Fr Victor gave us a tour,
some coconut to quench our thirst and a few laughs.
The first night, we stopped at the large mission station at Sipa
and spent the night with a visiting priest, who was helping Fr
Victor out with Easter services and duties. Fr Andrew Billy is a
Bougainvillian priest who is working on Papua New Guinea's
mainland. He is coming up to retirement, and told us captivating
stories about his time as the defence force Chaplin! He gave a
wonderful homily, and the first of many Easter services, and
community reconciliations.
Sipai is a large mission with a school (which can be loosely
called an aid station). It has a large church and 100 steps to get
to the top of the cliff. Before that little end of the day
exertion of energy, we had to moor the boat somewhere safe. As we
transited from ocean to river, feeling like we were in an Indiana
Jones movie, with skipper resisting the temptation to don the life
jacket, we headed upstream. Andrew has keen eyes and as we moved
upstream, he was the one who spotted the croc. It was big enough,
not huge, but certainly not small. We all scrambled for
cameras and were happy to be in the safety of the boat as we moved
slowly along.
A little disconcerting was the fact that about 20 meters
upstream I saw a block of rocks, so I knew we couldn't stay in the
boat and move through. I turned and asked our skipper,
Phillip what was next, as he pulled up at the rocks. He smiled,
somewhat nervously, and told me we were close to where the boat
would be moored, but we all had to get out and push. With a sweet
smile, I looked somewhat surprised and asked whether we should be
worried about the fact that there was a croc in the water.
Don't worry, not at all, was the response - it's tame.
Ha... yeah right! So we all jumped out and pushed the boat...
quickly... laughing and really not thinking about what in fact we
were doing, and got to dry land as fast as possible. We were
in blissful ignorance until we were told that it was croc season,
and kids can be taken, but not adults, apparently the crocs are too
small. Little comfort! But quite the adrenallin rush.
We climbed the steps and settled in for the night. Mass in
the afternoon was full and nice. We were witness to a large
reconciliation between a number of clans, which was a special
occasion, and as the two lines of people shaking hands came to
shake hands with us, I really felt that we were there representing
Australia - and helping these communities to reconcile with
Australia. What I have come to discover is that
reconciliations are key to this culture - especially to deal with
the trauma that was caused during the crisis - family members
killing family members, communities traumatised by violence.
And as we were about to find out, reconciliations hold a very
special and significant part of the ongoing healing of this small
island community.
The following morning we were up and out early. Phillip
came to me in the morning and told me that the women would stay on
the beach (where we saw a shark cruising up and down the coast) and
the men would help him with the boat. Given the croc the day
before, I was happy with the gender differentiation! We
waited on the beach and were eaten by sand flies. The boys
came, and sure enough, the croc had made an appearance.
We headed to our final destination of Kurio and as I had
remembered it from an earlier trip in February, it did not
disappoint. I have been lucky enough to find a few places in the
world that really make me feel at peace, and this is one of
them. Sitting on top of the cliff looking out to the ocean,
it is very special.
Father Louis was there when we arrived. It was the morning
of Good Friday and we settled in, had something to eat and took a
look around. I sat with Fr Louis and told him of our
experience in Sipai, with the reconciliation and the profound
effect that it had had on us Australians. The following days were
filled with swimming at the river, laughter, walking and visiting
local villages, catching up with local friends, sleeping and
resting - and of course heading to church. We all agreed that the
house would be the perfect place for a horror movie setting. It is
beautiful and given its past (with accompanying graffiti from the
crisis times) you just know it's haunted!
The highlight of the trip without a doubt, came at the end of
Saturday Mass. The mass was wonderful. Fr Louis had used some
amazing symbolism and had given a great homily. We had been there
three hours into the night, at the end of the Easter Vigil service,
when Fr Louis got up and made mention to the congregation of the
fact that Australian friends were with us during this time.
He proceeded to comment that the relationship with Australia and
Bougainville was a good one, that many parishes across the island
had raised money for the bush fires, but that the relationship was
not without its past. He mentioned the Australian involvement
with the crisis and the Australian support of the PNG Defence Force
during 'the time of revolution', and that this had brought great
sadness to Bougainville, but that Easter was a time of
reconciliation. He invited any of the congregation, in this
time of reconciliation, to come and shake hands with the
Australians (in this culture the hand shake is very powerful and
means PEACE, and reconciliation). We were dumbfounded and were not
expecting this at all - Fr Louis is a man of few words but very
graceful and powerful when he talks. He has an amazing
presence about him, and this was very very special. The
service finished, and over the next hour, the congregation came and
shook hands, at least 500 people came.
It was powerful, it was unforgettable, and it was the first time
this community had had a chance to reconcile this relationship in
this manner since the end of the crisis. It was amazing and we all
felt really privileged to be part of it.
That night was spent talking and talking. The other volunteers
wanted to know about what happened here; about the crisis stories;
about what they had just experienced and been witness to. Also to
hear stories about the trauma, but the incredible positivity and
openness of the people to heal.
Early Sunday we were up and said goodbye to Fr Louis, Phillip
and his sister (three siblings who have a very close and special
bond). It made me think of and miss my own brothers, and I
told them this. They promptly adopted me as one of their own. I now
have two new brothers who look out for me, and make sure I am OK in
Bougainville - and a new sister. The siblings went for Mass at
Torokina, Father's home community and one of the other parishes he
looks after. They were to arrive back the next day to take us all
home.
So we swam, slept as we hadn't had much from the night before,
we ate and generally were just happy to be there. And we had lots
of local visitors drop by.
Monday morning we got up early, having been told several different
times that the boat would come and that we would leave. We wanted
to be prepared, but not rushed, and we were in no rush!
Heading home it seemed surreal. Easter was over and tomorrow
Andrew and Linda would fly out as they were both working the next
day. We slowly made our way home; almost running out of fuel, going
for a swim, the boys caught a big Mackerel on the way - quite the
fighter that fish!
What an amazing place, of extremes, and no shortage of golden
people and wonderful memories.
Rebecca Walker, returned volunteer, Bouganville, PNG.