They brought their laws - laws that took away our rights
By Scott Waide @ Talking Edge PNG
Arua Arua Miria, a Motuan from Hanuabada is an angry man. Over the years, his people have seen their traditional hunting and fishing grounds taken from them through “legal’ and illegal means.
Like many other Papua New Guinean communities, Motuan land was communally owned until the arrival of the British in 1884. Commodore James Erskine raised the Union Jack on Motuan land, declared it a protectorate of the British Empire and made laws that – over time – took away the land rights of the traditional landowners.
“The white man arrived just 200 years ago. We were here 2000 years before they arrived.
“They brought their laws – laws that took away our rights. Our ancestors placed their fingerprints on agreements, documents they didn’t understand,” Miria says.
High rise buildings, nightclubs and offices stand on what used to be traditional hunting grounds. Beachfronts were reclaimed by a construction company in the 1990s and is now the site of multimillion dollar developments. On the opposite side of the Harbour, the Interoil refinery stands in stark contrast to the savannah surroundings. The large processing tanks shimmer in the afternoon sunlight. This is on the latest development that has imposed new restrictions on the Motuan way of life. There is now an invisible buffer zone in front of the refinery where speedboats aren’t allowed.
Boga Daroa, another Motuan elder, sits in his home and faces towards the City of Port Moresby. His view of the refinery is obstructed by the corrugated roofing of his neighbors house.
“We’re seafaring people, how can you stop us from using the sea?”
Today, the break down of their society is evident as elders struggle to maintain order amongst a large population of young people. The Motuans of Hanuabada have become a group of people on the verge of extinction. With no more land to plant food and a polluted seafront, the elders are now beginning to hold discussions about land rights.