Port Moresby: Scarred Beauty

Port Moresby is a tale of two cities, with corners of staggering poverty and violence found only a stone’s throw from comfortable havens of affluence. Andre Vltchek takes a tour of all the city has to offer.

The Royal Papua Yacht Club would not feel out of place in any rich Australian or New Zealand City.

On seemingly endless outdoor terrace overlooking elegant sailboats and Moresby Harbor, expatriates gather for cold beer, exchange latest stories and political gossip. Laptop computers are connected through the fast wireless network; slot machines in a gambling room swallowing and regurgitating coins with silkworm speed and happy sounds.

Not far away from the bay, an impressive six lane highway is climbing, and then cutting through the mountain, connecting the center of Port Moresby with Waigani, the government district. Sun is reflected from the glass and steel of modern and elegant high-rises.

From the angle of Royal Papua Yacht Club, Port Moresby appears to be serene and wealthy; proud capital of Papua New Guinea, fascinating nation of 6 million people, countless islands, abundant natural resources and 867 languages.

Ten kilometers from the center, Mile 6 Settlement offers sobering alternative to idyllic vistas depicted on the colorful postcards on sale in gift shops of expensive hotels. Here, the walls of dirt-poor dwellings consist of rusty metal sheets. Thousands of families live with no access to clean drinking water.

According to one of the residents, only handful of families can afford to send their children to school and great majority of men and women are lacking permanent job. Hundreds of settlement dwellers are hanging out aimlessly at the sides of unpaved roads, staring to the distance, playing cards, boozing-up or chewing betel nut.

One of the largest and oldest villages on the outskirts of the city is called Hanuabada. It is built over the sea on stilts, in order to prevent flooding as a result of changing tides. With more than a hundred years of history, Hanuabada (the Great Village in local language) looks similar to Kampong Ayer in Brunei or traditional water villages in Kalimantan/Borneo.

But in PNG, it is a microcosm of countless problems this country has to face. Evidence of poverty is everywhere, from lack of sanitation to lack of shoes on the feet of many children. When the tide is slow, seabed can be hardly visible through the thick and smelly layer of garbage.

Our car was blocked by several makeshift barricades and groups of angry villagers can be spotted at almost every corner. Two days earlier, the intoxicated son of one of the MPs ran over and killed two children from Hanuabada, and the village exploded in spontaneous outrage. As elsewhere in and around the capital city, racial and communal tension is reaching boiling point, while the trust in politicians and their goodwill had long but faded.

Mr. Araka, one of the local community leaders, explained: “In the Port Moresby area, there are 250.000 migrants and only 30.000 natives Motu people. The entire capital area is developed on Motu land and the natives are being pushed to the edges of the city. They lost almost everything and emotions are running high.”

Most of the settlements consist of economic migrants from the highlands, escaping harsh life of subsistence farming, hoping that Port Moresby will fulfill their dreams of well paid jobs and exciting life. Unfortunately, only small fraction of the migrants would manage to find any kind of job, rest of them will be forced to make ends meet by relying on seasonal work. Some have to turn to crime in order to survive.

One of the oldest settlements is called Nine Mile Settlement and it consists of political and economic refugees from neighboring Papua, where conditions are even harder.

Port Moresby is encircled by squatter settlements of various levels of desperation. In many of them, tension is high. Original inhabitants of the area blame economic migrants from the central part of PNG for stealing their land and work opportunities.

Communal violence is not uncommon and the crime rate in the country in general and in the capital city in particular is one of the highest in the world, although exact statistics do not exist. Mainly due to the crime, Port Moresby is repeatedly rated as the world’s least livable city on earth (in 2006, it shared this dubious distinction with Algiers).

PNG and neighboring Solomon Islands are often described as “the last frontier”, countries which are visited only by a handful of independent travelers. The deteriorating security situation is only one of the reasons keeping foreigners away. Traveling in PNG is extremely expensive, almost everything has to be imported and companies often adopt “high-risk, high-return” approach. A return flight to one of remote areas of the country may easily cost US$700 or more.

Despite its many problems, PNG is one of the most fascinating places on earth, with hundreds of powerful and unique cultures, breathtaking islands and unspoiled jungle, fauna and flora which can be hardly matched in its diversity by any other country on earth. Crime aside, Port Moresby proper is tidy and in many ways well organized city, political and cultural capital of this unique and complex nation.

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Port Moresby may not be Paris, Tokyo or Melbourne, but considering its size (around 300,000 inhabitants) it offers vibrant cultural life and entertainment.

The National Museum is the most impressive institution of its kind in Melanesia. Although somewhat dilapidated from the outside, it hosts some superb examples of totems, masks and shields, as well as a magnificent outrigger canoe.

Splendid Parliament House was opened by Prince Charles in 1984 and built in traditional Sepik-style, with mosaics depicting Papua New Guinean motifs. The interior is decorated by huge Sepik masks and splendid butterflies. The chamber of parliament is famous for its epic (and often physical) battles; almost all heavy chairs are now screwed in to the floor, as MPs have a tendency to throw them at each other when possessed by political zeal.

Port Moresby has something unheard of in the city of its size in either Pacific or Southeast Asia: MAT – Moresby Art Theatre. In October it performed a well crafted version of Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest.

Music is everywhere, from the Constable (Police) Band marching through Port Moresby center on the weekends to diverse and exciting club culture. Due to relatively large number of expatriates based in the city, it is not uncommon to encounter Philippine or Australian stars and starlets performing at sleek Gold Club, Mustang Sally’s or other well established night-spots. Citizens of Port Moresby are determined club-goers. The hottest nights are from Wednesday to Saturday and the action hardly starts before 10 p.m., sometimes much later.

The local music scene is extremely strong, with support from the area’s FM station. Almost every village has its own string band. Fusion of jazz-rock and indigenous sounds is very popular. PNG has produced world-famous artists, including Sanguma and George Telek who has been touring and working in Europe and Australia. Ben Hakalitz and Baruka Tau performed with Yothu Yindi in stadiums in Brazil and to close the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

The contemporary art scene is also vivid, despite the death in 2003 of Mathias Kauage, PNG’s internationally acclaimed painter. Paintings, sculptures and masks can be found in several galleries or right on the street. But much of it, including dance, songs, sculpture and body adornment, is strongly related to rituals, particularly in traditional towns and neighborhoods.

Probably the greatest symbol of PNG classical art is its magnificent masks and totems, displayed right in the middle the major avenues of the city, decorating lobbies of all important hotels, banks, offices and government buildings.

The great outdoors are to be found just outside the capital. The National Botanic Gardens has a two-kilometer-long boardwalk passing through the lush tropical jungle and excellent display of local fauna and flora. Divers would appreciate Sinasi Reef and wreck of cargo ship MV MacDhui right under the surface of Moresby Harbor, sank by Japanese plane in the early days of the World War II.

But the highlight of any visit to Port Moresby is a drive to Varirata National Park, about 90 minutes journey on well paved Sogeri Road. Varirata National Park offers walking trails, bird-watching and magnificent panoramic vistas from well maintained lookouts. National Park is being considered for the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Along the way to Varirata National Park, there are several breathtaking sites, including lookout offering majestic view of Rouana Falls, as well as the entrance to Kokoda Trail and Bomana War Cemetery, where 4.000 Australian and Papua New Guinea WWII soldiers are buried.

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PNG gained independence from Australia in 1975 but the citizens of Port Moresby are still comparing their city to Australian metropolises. Despite the great difference in incomes in Australia and PNG, the center of Port Moresby (with both eyes half-shut) resembles midsize cities in the rich world. Infrastructure and city planning are good.

South coast along Ela Beach is dotted with elegant villas and condominiums. Ela beach itself is public and free, consisting of seaside promenades and playgrounds for children. Streets of Port Moresby are wide and well maintained, with comfortable sidewalks and well-organized and dedicated areas for parking. Modern buildings are of relatively high quality and the port is spotless and efficient. In many ways, the capital of PNG is better planned, maintained and organized than any city in Southeast Asia, with the exception of Singapore and KL.

But the first impression is deceiving. Some street corners are being taken over by the “rascals” – street children, often thieves, many of whom never entered the classroom. Sidewalks are red from betel nut spits (chewing betel nut is national pass-time in PNG and other Pacific nations. Betel nut is legal and mild narcotic). It is not recommended to walk on the streets of Port Moresby after sundown; violent attacks, rape and even murder are common.

After 6PM, taxi comes with two men sitting at the front seats: driver and the body-guard. Hundreds of desperate men and women are sitting on the sidewalks, waiting for any kind of work which could come their way. And the “settlements” encircling the capital speak about the desperate need for change in this fascinating but battered nation.

What went wrong? PNG is extremely rich in natural resources and if managed well, it could become one of the greatest magnets for tourism from all over the world. But as it is now, its GDP per capita is 750 dollars a year, equal to that of its poor neighbor – Indonesia. Adult literacy rate stands at disturbingly low 57%, poverty rates are intolerable (while there is a lack of exact statistics), health problems (including HIV/AIDS infection rate) are on the increase.

Corruption and mismanagement are partially to blame for the present situation. Country’s vulnerability to exploitation by multi-national companies (especially when it comes to mining and logging) is another serious problem. After the independence, PNG suffered from several natural disasters, from the civil war in Bouganville and from strained relations with its neighbor – Indonesia. There is a constant flow of refugees from Papua to refugee camps across the border.

The fact that PNG consists of hundreds of distinct cultures (people feel allegiances to their tribes, not to the country as a whole) doesn’t help to govern it as one nation. And those who govern it are still too embedded in their own clans and their personal interests. Since the independence, not one government served its full term, being forced to resign through no-confidence vote.

This unique nation consisting of deep traditions, hundreds of cultures and languages, outstanding beauty as well as natural wealth, may be reaching the crossroad. If social explosion would erupt, it could lead to a long and bloody communal fighting, to a civil war which would make any progress impossible for many decades to come. But if the reason and dedication to social change could prevail, PNG would emerge as one of the most fascinating and diverse nations on earth.    

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