Highlights In The Shadows: 47 - Riots
Owen Clement tells of violent and shocking incidents in Papua New Guinea.
To read earlier chapters of Owen's life story please click on Highlights In The Shadows in the menu on this page.
A young Kraft Food representative, a newcomer to Papua New Guinea, decided to attend a rugby game in Moresby one Friday evening. A woman supporter of the Chimbu tribe had questioned the masculinity of one of the Goilala players.
The incensed man leaped over the barrier two rows in front of the young representative and attacked the woman
The young Australian became very alarmed when he saw the enraged Chimbu supporters and players swarm across the field towards him armed with machetes, knives and sticks. Realising he was in the midst of a tribal conflict he fled from the grounds, along with other terrified spectators.
Peace seemed to have been resumed the next morning as he wandered through Moresby's Koki market examining the native merchandise. However, as he turned a corner he was suddenly confronted with a screaming mob of Goilala's. They snatched one of the Chimbu' men walking along beside him and killed him in 'pay-back' for the loss of one of their tribesmen killed in the melee at the sports ground the day before.
Our thoroughly alarmed young visitor booked a seat on the first flight out the next day to Australia.
He was breakfasting at the Gateway Hotel near the airport early the next morning where he had stayed the night when a carload of painted tribesmen drove into the parking lot of the hotel below. They rushed up the stairs, snatched and dragged one of the restaurant guests screaming in terror down to the lot below and decapitated him in full view of everyone. Tragically the victim was not a member of either of the tribes carrying out the "paybacks". This complicated the situation in Moresby as a new tribe set out to carry out their payback on the murderers of their tribesman. The traumatized young Australian was probably the first passenger to board his flight. The Kraft representative did not realize that he was in no danger unless he had accidentally killed or injured a native of Papua New Guinea.
Although we expatriates were aware of what was happening at the time, we did not believe that we personally were in danger.
I was at the Moresby golf course one Saturday afternoon when a tragic incident occurred.
The ball an Australian golfer drove off the first tee deflected off a limb of a large tree halfway down the fairway and struck the top of his young caddie's head killing the boy instantly. As soon as the other golfers realized what had happened they rushed the distraught man away from the club before he could be identified. The lad had been the golfer's regular caddie and had often successfully selected a different club to the one his golfer had asked for. The family of the boy never knew the identity of the golfer. Thankfully they agreed to being financially compensated.
I could have easily caused a similar incident as my fairway drive narrowly missed a villager’s head when he and his cohorts were squatting in the middle of the sixth fairway. It was not long after these two events that the club decided to rebuild another course out of town in a more isolated area.
Jan's parent's visited us just prior to this incident. Jan's father, after a short stay returned to Australia. Jan's mother stayed on, successfully organizing a job for herself for a few months.
When Jan's mother, Jan the children and I came home on the Monday afternoon of the weekend killing at the market we found every louvered window and door of the house closed and all the curtains drawn. After much calling out, a very frightened Peru emerged dressed in his going-away clothes complete with shoes and socks. It was the first time we had seen him dressed this way. His newly painted red tin trunk was packed and he had already arranged his replacement. Considering it too dangerous to stay in Moresby being a Chimbu, he had decided to return to his village in the highlands.
While we were driving him to the airport, he suddenly ducked down behind the front seat and urged us to quickly drive past a group of men walking down the road. We knew then that he must have been personally involved in one of the killings.
Peru stayed hidden as we drove through angry mob lining both sides of the entrance to the airport administration building.
We watched him nervously walk through a cordon of police to the ticket counter before boarding his plane.
© Clement 2007
