Tribal Fighting

Jeff writes:

While we were living in the U.S., I first heard about tribal fighting in Papua New Guinea from a missionary we had supported here. Deb served in the Western Province of Papua New Guinea. Her descriptions of tribal fights conjured up visions of warriors slugging it out with bows, arrows, spears, and shields much like in the Westerns I had watched as a kid. Unfortunately, nothing could be further from the truth.

In the past week I have heard about three major fights going on near to us in the Highlands where we serve.

Aviamp Fight

The first is in the Aviamp area and has involved hundreds if not thousands of people. People have been killed. Houses have been burnt to the ground. Gardens have been destroyed. Rival factions have set up roadblocks on public highways. They stop vehicles looking for enemies to kill. Our student cell group was scheduled to minister at a church in the heart of this troubled area this weekend. Although it appears the fight is dying down, right now it looks like our visit will be cancelled.

Bunumwo Fight

The Bunumwo area is a short drive from our campus. Fighting has been going on there off and on for many years.

A student from Bunumwo came to my office to tell me that his clan had attacked another clan. They did this to retaliate for a man, who had his arm whacked off with a bush knife by a drunken youth from the “enemy” clan. The payback came swiftly as a group of my student’s tribesmen snuck up on their enemies’ houses in the dark of night. Waiting until four in the morning, they attacked.

Wielding bush knives and shooting guns, they rampaged for two hours burning houses and wrecking gardens. At the end of the attack 500 people were homeless and without food. Miraculously, no one was killed because the inhabitants had already fled.

Now the victorious tribe is demanding 100,000 kina ($40,000.00) for the loss of the man’s arm. When the other side asked about their destroyed homes, the winners said that at least they could rebuild their burnt houses. The man, who had lost his right arm, could not.

Keep in mind that there are literally “churches on every corner” in these areas. Professing Christians are involved in these fights. Why?

Loyalty to one’s clan is the reason.

These are not necessarily tribal fights but tribal wars. Although PNG is a sovereign nation. her people are loyal to their tribe first and the nation second. Each tribe sees itself as a mini-nation. Because this is true the participants think that they can ignore the Scripture, which says, “Vengeance is Mine. I will repay, says the Lord!” (Rom 12:19; Deut 32:35)

Chimbu Fight

The third fight is underway in Chimbu Province, which borders our Western Highlands Province on the east.

Elijah (not his real name) is one of our CLTC staff members. He and his family are living in fear of retribution here on campus because of a tribal fight going on in his area. He does not leave his house at night and has taken other precautions to protect his family.

The fight started about six weeks ago, when Elijah’s tribe was attacked by their enemies. Elijah’s tribe’s enemies had pooled their money to rent military machine guns at a rate of K1000 ($400.00) per week. In addition, they bought bullets at K20 ($8.00) apiece. These costs are incredible when the average wage people receive to pick coffee is under 40¢ per hour and a mature pineapple sells for around 80¢.

The reason the enemy tribe attacked was for payback for a fight they had lost nearly 30 years ago!

That fight started out as a land dispute.

In it Elijah’s tribe killed many of their enemies and burned countless houses. His tribe took over their land and gardens, and their enemies never forgot it.

Even after being soundly whipped in battle, the enemy tribe resorted to guerilla tactics to gain revenge.

One especially gruesome attack took place in a hospital. An enemy tribesman pretended to be injured and was wheeled into the emergency room for treatment. When the doctor, who belonged to Elijah’s tribe, came to help him, the “patient” cut his throat with a concealed knife. Why? Payback.

The tribes keep score. Instead of touch downs and home runs, the only thing that counts is a death for a death. In the old days this meant the death of a warrior. Today, anyone’s death will do. Parents tell the old stories to their kids, so they will know the score and so they will take revenge.

Hence, for thirty years these tales have been told and retold.

About a year ago the time for revenge had come, but uncharacteristically, the enemy tribe tried another tactic at first.

They went to court to get the disputed land back. The judge ruled against them because they had no clearer claim on the land than Elijah’s tribe. Having failed to gain their objective legally, they returned to the old ways. They chose to take what they thought was theirs by force.

Elijah’s sister’s house was one of the first to be burned to the ground.

The surprise attack also took place at night. Her house was set alight. It was not a bush house mind you, but a permanent solidly constructed one like the house in which we live. She and her family fled in the darkness. Unfortunately, a young male relative, who had just come that night to stay, was cut down by machine-gun fire and died.

In spite of this attack, Elijah’s tribe did not retaliate. Again more houses were burned, and calls for revenge began to build.

In hopes of heading off more violence government officials came to try to make peace with the warring factions. We prayed that they would be able to stop the fighting. Their efforts appeared to bear fruit.

However, the enemy tribe attacked again at a high school.

All tenth grade students in PNG are currently taking compulsory exams to see if they will be allowed to enter eleventh and twelfth grades. Thinking that things had quieted down a number of students from Elijah’s tribe went to school to take their exams.

Students from the enemy tribe saw them come and reported that fact to their tribal leaders. Men with guns were dispatched to kill the kids.

One boy, who was Elijah’s nephew, noticed that they were coming and urged thirteen other children from his tribe to escape through a second-floor emergency exit. He said that he would follow, but before fleeing himself he wanted to lock a classroom door on the first floor to slow down their pursuers. What he did not know was that his killer was waiting for him down below. When he descended the stairs, he was shot to death. His heroic act saved the other’s lives.

This second death really created more pressure for retaliation. Now Elijah’s tribe gathered their guns and attacked. They burnt many of their enemies’ houses and ruined their gardens.

However, there is something to praise the Lord for in the midst of this violence.

A group of Elijah’s clan has refused to enter into the cycle of violence. While most of their neighbors have emptied their houses of all their possessions to carry them to a place of safety, these folks are depending on the Lord and His protection. By day their neighbors come back to their emptied houses to work in their gardens, but at night they flee to the mountains.

Elijah’s immediate family members have refused to leave, and they have refused to finance the counter attack.

Elijah told me yesterday in my office that he has a house in his village with his possessions in it and that in the interests of peace he is willing to lose that house and his things if necessary. At the same time he and this little group are standing up for the principle of allowing the Lord to watch over them, their possessions, gardens and houses, and, if required, for Him to take revenge!

Will you uphold them in prayer? We are praying for God’s protection, and we pray that if the enemies come another night that they will see God’s angels guarding this small group of homes and the people inside them.

Pray too that Elijah’s fellow tribesmen will not take retribution on him and his extended family for their stand. Members of a tribe, who either refuse to fight or to contribute money to finance the fight, are considered traitors. Their own people will plunder their houses to sell their goods to raise money for guns and bullets! Please pray that this does not happen.

Pray too that these three fights will come to a peaceful end soon.

And before you judge these folks too harshly, ask yourself what you would do if your son had been gunned down at school, and you knew that the police and the courts would be powerless to bring his killer to justice?

Sometimes it is hard to be a Christian.