FELIX BARAKA
An entry in the Rivers Prize for
Writing on Peace & Harmony
IT was in 1986 when Petrus was introduced to western education. Petrus from the Telefomin district, the only son in the family.
He had left his village to attend a mission-run boarding school in Aitape and was a committed student who got good marks.
One day, watching the school tractor slicing the grass, he expressed interest to the driver.
“Would you like to drive?” asked Palai, the tractor operator.
“I would like to,” replied Petrus. “Would you teach me?”
But the school administration would not allow a student to drive a tractor.
A week before the long vacation, the school principal, an Australian, called Petrus to his office. He told Petrus he had scored higher marks than the other students and asked him what he wanted to do in life.
“I want to be a tractor driver,” replied Petrus.
“Are you serious?” The principal asked.
“That’s all I want to become,” Petrus replied.
The principal paused. “Come to my house tonight,” he said.
“OK!” said Petrus.
That evening, Petrus went to the principal's house.
“Petrus, you’re a very bright student and you cannot become a driver. I called James Cook University and they agreed you can study civil engineering.”
“But how can I? My mother just died and my father is a subsistence farmer. He is old and I am the only son who can take care of him.”
Petrus was sweating when the principal told him everything was arranged.
“Go home and talk with your father and, when you come back next year, inform me of his decision,” the principal advised.
Petrus set off for home. He boarded the PMV from Aitape to Wewak, then the motor canoe to travel up the Sepik River, and walked from there along the track to his village.
It was evening when he arrived and, as the sun’s last rays poked through Torricelli ranges, Petrus saw the bearded old man, his father, digging the garden plot beside the house.
“Hi Petrus, iukam nau, ha! Oloman, san igo daun pinis ya,” his father exclaimed. "Hey Petrus, you've come! Heavens, and it's after sunset.")With tears streaming down his face, Petrus walked speechless to the old man. He could feel the loneliness of his father.
“Oloman, mi ting baim bai ol skul mangi i kam wantaim amamas, tasol nogat,” his father joked. ("Hey, I thought schoolboys would bring happiness, but it seems not.")
It was then Petrus began to tell his father of the arrangement for him to study at James Cook University.
At the end of January, when Petrus was ready to go back to school, his father called him and said, “Pikinini, em wanplela, K20 mi haitim gut stap blo yu long karim igo long skul. Em ya tu wanpela poket bibel Pata i givim lo mi. Yu ken holim na karim igo.” ("Son, here's K20 I put away for you to take to school. And also a pocket Bible the priest gave me. You have it and take it with you.")
Petrus’s tears were like rain.
“Ssss, yu no ken wari,” his father said. “Mi bai dai, na tamoro bilong iu bai olsem wanem. Yu mas go long skul na kisim save bilong lukautim bus graun bilong iu.” ("Don't worry. If I die, the future is yours. You must go to schol and be educated so you can look after your land.")
Petrus and his father walked down the track to the canoe site on the start of the journey back to Aitape.
“Petrus, mi lusim yu tasol long hia. Yu save long rot pinis, yu wokabout igo painin wanpela kar na kalap na igo. Ples i longwe, na mi mas go bek na wokabout igo long nait,” said his father tearfully. ("Petrus, I must leave you here. You know the road well and can find a vehicle to take you on. Our village is quite far and I'll be walking through the dark.")
After he arrived at the school, once more the principal invited Petrus to his house.
“So what’s the news for me, Petrus?” he asked.
“Yes, my dad said I can go!”
Just a week later, Petrus was taken to board the plane for Port Moresby and Australia.
Petrus had in his old back pack the K20 and the pocket bible given to him by his father.
Petrus felt ashamed when he saw other people wearing good clothes.
The principal took him aside. “Listen, seeing other people having luxury doesn’t mean they are better than you. In fact, you can be much better than them. You have shown that with you academic results.”
In Australia, Petrus focused on his studies in civil engineering. He treasured the small pocket bible and the K20 his father has given him.
It was some years later that Petrus graduated with a bachelor of civil engineering and travelled back home.
He reunited with his father, returning the K20 and the pocket bible.
Today, Petrus is a happy man with a fine family. He always made his father happy until the old man passed away in 2011.