A Crisis of Identity



 

Many years ago as an undergraduate studying Philosophy, I undertook a module entitled ‘Self and Society’.  The course examined the place of the self within society and how identity could impact and affect engagement with the same.  We considered how we evaluate ourselves and how we attribute worth; but also issues around the correlation of humans as individuals within a relational context. 

We asked whether engagement with ‘groups’ affected our behaviour and the value structures upon which we base our decisions.  Finally we explored societal constructs and looked at the impact that social perceptions and behaviours had on individuals and their understanding of self and identity.

I was particularly intrigued by Sartre’s assertion that humans are 'condemned to be free’; the idea that if there is no such thing as human nature our ‘essence’ must be based purely on our experiences.  We are condemned to be free because we are entirely responsible for our actions and behaviour, and are therefore ‘left alone, without excuse’.  Authenticity and individuality are earned and not learned.



                        



                      Enga Province                             Autonomous Region of Bougainville

As I walked around the 38th Papua New Guinea Independence Day celebrations held last weekend in Brisbane, I marvelled at the spectacular diversity of ethnic groups in PNG, and mused over the what it means to be Papua New Guinean in a country only a few of years older than I am.     There is no doubt that cultural traditions are an incredibly important of PNG life and that tribal identity forms a very large part of individual identity.  However, the divisions created by those tribal lines can equally create a barrier which prevents people from seeing themselves with a national identity. 

 

Tolai & Western Highlands Province

At this event it was a pleasure to see people celebrating their tribal differences but embracing and having pride in the fact of being Papua New Guinean.  There was a sense of unity and togetherness which transcended tribal lines, but importantly this celebration was taking place outside PNG.  Within PNG itself that sense of national identity doesn’t seem to have been embraced. People talk about themselves in terms of their tribe, their clan, their village, their region, their province, and maybe eventually as Papua New Guinean.

 

Bougainville Island

Tufi, Oro Province

I remember sitting in Piccadilly Circus, London, having a beer with some friends from PNG. I was chatting to two guys, both from Goroka where I will be living.  I asked them whether they knew each other back at home.  They looked nervously at each other and pulled an embarrassed sort of face.  I had no idea what I had said that could have prompted that response so I just smiled (equally nervously).  Slowly, one of the guys turned to me and said: ‘No.  We wouldn’t be friends in PNG.  Our tribes don’t get on and it would cause problems.  Now I know him if I saw him in town I might nod to him because I know he’s a good guy, but we couldn’t be friends. We couldn’t sit and have a beer together like this.’  I was flabbergasted. I really didn’t know how to respond. Two highly educated, intelligent men didn’t feel that they could be friends because those tribal lines were so firmly drawn.  Their individual identities were so firmly entrenched in their tribal identities that they were prevented from enriching their life experiences through relating to each other.  They felt that only outside of PNG could they just be Papua New Guinean.

Gorari, Oro Province

It made me really sad but it also explained many things. With over 850 linguistically distinct indigenous languages in a population of around 7 million, and with literally thousands of clans and tribes PNG is an anthropologist’s gold mine.  So it is basically impossible to talk about PNG culture as an entity in itself.  It’s not.  Instead it is thousands of little world’s coexisting in a shared space.  The media likes to portray tribalism with rose tinted romanticism; a simple, beautiful, colourful existence holding onto history and refusing to yield to the blandness of homogeny.  And it is that.  However, it is also responsible for so much heartache, and bloodshed, and anger, and pain, and a cycle of brutality and violence which has no place in any society.

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Addressing EthnicViolence in PNG

You will often hear people in PNG talk about their wantoks – the people whom they consider to be a part of their community whether related or not.  Interestingly in Tok Pisin it means ‘one language’, but this refers to a person’s tribal language rather than a language which unifies all Papua New Guineans.   To understand life in PNG it is vital to grasp the concept of the wantok system.  It is the social glue which binds the nation together, it is a safety net for people who have limited access to social welfare services such as health and educational facilities, but it also holds PNG back from developing an effective civil society and perpetuates corruption and theft. This unwritten social contract requires individuals to assist their wantoks in times of need.  It doesn’t just ask that you prefer the interests of your wantoks, it confers on you an obligation to do so.  However, in recent years the wantok system has been abused and (as one PNG friend put it) perverted from its positive traditional roots and generous intentions.

Manus Island

It has been bastardised in such a way that PNG now holds the tenuous accolade of most corrupt country in the Pacific and one of the top 25 most corrupt countries in the world according to Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index.  Government resources and development money is often divided regionally.  However, without good governance structures in place and without transparent reporting mechanisms, it is all too easy for those in power to divert funds in order to benefit themselves and their wantoks.  Knowing that a period in office has a finite timeframe individuals gather in all that they can and squirrel it away for their own purposes, rather than using those resources to benefit all the people in that region.  Frequently individuals will be found jobs by a wantok regardless of whether they are competent to carry out that role or skilled in that area. 

So, you end up with serious capability issues and a malevolent greed which pervades local, provincial, and national government.  Recently, Australia’s 7 network ran a story on its Today Tonight programme alleging that half of PNG’s national budget is lost to corruption each year.  This allegation angered Prime Minister O’Neill who demanded a public apology leading 7 to defend its reporting and issue a further statement.  Interestingly though Mr O’Neill did not deny that this level of corruption exists, he instead (incorrectly) questioned the level of the figures and the source of the funding.

Central Province

But it is not just in the world of politics that regionalism and the wantok system negatively impacts, detrimentally affecting life for Papua New Guineans. Constructs such as payback are responsible for wanton brutality and a vengeance which is destroying the very heart of PNG.  Last week the Australian media went into frenzy after several Aussie tourists were injured and two PNG porters were hacked to death with bush knives on the Black Cat trail.  The drug fuelled attack is thought to have had its roots in a tribal disagreement over who should have the right to act as porters for tourists trekking the route, and payback killings have reportedly now begun.  However, these sorts of stories are everyday occurrences in PNG.  I felt quite irritated that international media sources don’t show the same interest and regard each and every time a PNG life is lost in this brutal way.  Absolutely it should be reported and should be condemned, but a sharp spike in reporting seems always to coincide with white foreigners being involved.  Why isn’t the same regard given to PNG lives?

The wantok system relies upon recognising the value of the individuals who form part of a community.  Bride price and compensation are therefore inherent parts of many cultures in PNG and were intended to have positive connotations.  However, the positive intention of those concepts has been eroded to the point where life is commoditised and where many women become enslaved in a system which makes it almost impossible for them to live with dignity and respect.  It is not unusual when a woman is raped for financial compensation to be paid to her husband; essentially a payment for damaging his goods.  When bride price is paid, it has traditionally been viewed as recognition that the woman is of such importance and worth that a payment should be made for this precious individual.  However, the imbalance in gender equity means that the status of women is frequently reduced to that of an asset; to be dealt with at the whim of her owner/husband.  People often ‘joke’ that the three most important things for a PNG man are his land, his pigs, and his wife – in that order! 

If a woman leaves her husband because he is beating her, she may be required to repay the bride price.  This is a tall order where the cost could be as high as K200,000 (about AU$85,000 or £50,000) but where GDP per capita is only about K4500 (or AU$2000/£1,200) per year.  In cultures where the husband also has responsibility for providing for his wife’s family, another layer of complication, economic injustice and disempowerment is added.

I spoke recently to a young mixed race (PNG and Australian) lady who described to me her confusion growing up as the only ‘white’ pikinini (child) in her village. She explained how difficult it was to understand why she was treated differently. Her cousins were black but they were still her wantoks so why was having a white father important?  Where individual identity is so closely aligned to tribal identity a whole generation of young people born to parents in mixed marriages (whether cross cultural or multi-national) are having a crisis of identity.  Who are their people?  What is their culture? Where do they belong?  Without having a sense of being Papua New Guinean for its own sake these young people can find it very difficult to find any space which is theirs.

Dogura, Milne Bay Province

Tribalism is sacred to Papua New Guineans, and is a vital part of maintaining a rich diversity which respects and honours cultural roots and the heritage of thousands of years. But I firmly believe that it is possible to retain that essence whilst departing from a destructive regionalism which operates on a divide and conquer basis and is governed by greed and corruption. Through strong leadership and the establishment of transparent governance structures I hope that one day the wantok system will return to its roots as a positive support structure to assist those in need, rather than a system to be exploited and abused.

Papua New Guinea Tourism

Louise Ewington