Recollecting the misery of Bougainville through the eyes of an Author

A feature story of a young Bougainvillean student Author; Leonard Fong Roka

By: Reilly Pokunan Kanamon

“These traumatic experiences provide motivation and passion for me to write. I put my sense of anger and revenge into writing. It is a war I am battling not with guns and bullets anymore, but with words. I believe words can reach the ends of the world with the insight about our people of Bougainville. The generations to come can always learn from the lessons of the past’.

The Author himself, Leonard Fong Roka

Sitting in his dormitory cubical, eyes’ drifting across the ceiling, Leonard Fong Roka recalls the day he started writing. His story begins in Tumpusiong Valley that is well known as the Jaba Tailing area of the Panguna district in Bougainville.

Roka’s home area was the epicenter of the civil war and his people were the landowners. It was within the conflict, confusion and tragedy of resistance, rebellion and warfare that Leonard Fong Roka was raised.

Leonard, described by his course mates as an introvert, has a basis to be a silent achiever. He lost his father, a catechist from West New Britain who had married and integrated within the community. His father was murdered by the Bougainville Revolutionary Army simply because he was an outsider in the midst of the Bougainville crisis.  Bougainvilleans referred to outsiders as ‘red skin’.

Now as a final year PNG studies and International relations Bachelor degree student, Leonard recalls his schooling experiences during the Bougainville crisis.

“In 1986 I began my schooling at Piruana Village Tok ples School but my education was disturbed by the Bougainville Crisis in 1990 as I was doing grade four. My dreams were shattered but books were my companion during the war years. I was reading books I had with me even in the midst of the jungle.”

Though my interview with Leonard was focus on the books he had written, his facial expressions was sensitive and there was silence between us for some seconds. “Wet mi tingim gut na start gen”, (Give me time to recall and start over again”), he jokingly spoke.

For every account of the past, it seems to strike a fresh memory of Bougainville in the days of his encounter. As the peace process came in, Leonard resumed schooling in 1995 and entered Arawa High school where his passion for writing was born.

“A highlander, William Mania, was my English teacher at Arawa High School in 1997 and he was the figure that had my class writing poetry”

“He told us that it was our time to write for the world to know about Bougainville, to promote and preserve our unique culture and traditions through literature.”

“My first poetry that time was “My Panguna” submitted for the 1997 silver jubilee magazine poetry competition. It was never successful but I kept my poem and the passion of having my work published.”

‘’ I never made it to the top until I was enrolled at the University of Papua New Guinea in 2003. Here, after reading poems and stories by students in the University News bulletin, I got a rough poem published. This publication was actually the catalyst for giving me the courage to compose poetry.”

When Leonard withdrew from the university in 2004, he was writing in the comfort of his Tumpusiong Valley in Panguna, Central Bougainville. His style of writing developed in the bush where there was not professional writer beside him.

“After I left University, I was regarded as a failure to my own extended family, it was another battle in my life”, Leonard recalls.

 “I used my school fee money to build a house in jungle isolated from everyone else except for my mother who pays regular visits.”

With two writing pads and biros brought by his mother, dictionary, thesaurus and literature books, Leonard started his pursuit of writing beginning with poetry. Every day he writes a stanza to a poem and every week he writes a poem.

In 2007 his manuscript was ready and he contacted his lecture then, Steven Winduo to help him publish his manuscript of poetry. Unsuccessful with his pursuit with Steven Winduo, he sought assistance from late Joseph Kabui who was then Autonomous Region of Bougainville president.

However the passing of Kabui ended the pursuit for the second time. “This time I almost gave up looking for publishers”.

Leonard then he came across a book published by Divine Word University press.

“My first impression seeing the book was to have my manuscript published at Divine Word University press” Leonard said. He left his home land immediately after his application to Divine Word University got accepted in 2011.

“All I carried with me to Divine Word University was my certificates and the manuscript for the poetry collection titled; “The Pomong U’tau of Dreams”, he said giving a cranky laugh.

Authors first published Book

“My first intention of applying to DWU was to make contact with the DWU press, have my book published and then go back home and write more books.”

Unfortunately, he didn’t have his manuscript published either.

Discouraged, Roka forgot all about pursuing DWU press and got on to studies. It was then that he found his prayers answered. For the first time while attending a communication skills lecture, Ms. Aiva Ore from the Communication Arts Department introduced him to PNG Attitude blog by Keith Jackson.

It dawned on him that his potential was in blogging.

The provision of Information Communication Technology (ICT) services in Divine Word University became a catalyst for young Roka to venture into blogging. He found a sphere for his rich in passion writings to be read around the world with a mouse click. It was through blogging that Leonard eventually meets his publisher, Phil Fitzpatrick, an Australian author and publisher.

The PNG Attitude blog by Keith Jackson couldn’t take more of his publication and stories. He kept writing like breathing. But for once, he wanted his stories in books.

‘I just don’t like my stories to get lost on the internet, I wanted it to be in books for my people of Bougainville and Papua New Guinea to read,” Leonard said.

It was through the Pukpuk awards writing that Leonard’s work caught the attention of his publisher. It was a dream comes true in many colors seeing his first articles published in the third annual crocodile prize anthology.

Proud of his pursuit Roka said, my mate and Papua New Guinea’s award winning poet, Michael Dom, shot me an email. He asked me: “Have you thought of making a submission for book publication? I know your blog and PDF format is easy for sharing but I believe there is value in a published book’’.

Though Leonard called himself an introvert by birth, his publisher sees him as a soldier.

For author and publisher Phil Fitzpatrick, Leonard Fong Roka is Captain Bougainville like the movie Captain America which depicts courage and bravery by one man, Leonard stood for Bougainville a lone man with pen and paper.

Above his studies and workload Roka has time every day to write something for his next book.

“My style of writing developed in the bush where there was not a professional writer beside me. That’s why my style is 'raw and edgy' as Phil Fitzpatrick once described it. But I have to admit that plotting is not in me; I type as it comes to my mind,”

Roka had never gone through the painstaking process of proof reading by a friend—since there are no people around him interested in good reading.

His second book, Moments in Bougainville (short stories this time follows his successful volume of poetry, The Pomong U'tau of Dreams).

Second Book by Leonard Fong Roka

The traumatic experiences in Roka’s life provide motivation, passion, backdrop and theme for short stories which are always gritty and uncompromising, providing insights for the reader even as Roka works to exorcise some of his own demons through his writing.

Phil Fitzpatrick commented that “each of these short stories is a gem. The characterizations are strong, the narrative is fresh, the twists and turns are gripping”.

He continues on stating that at the end of reading, “the reader is left with a different view of Bougainville and the Bougainvillean people. It is as near to an insider's view as an outsider is ever likely to secure”.

Leonard’s third published book ‘Brokenville (Short for broken Bougainville) is a personal account of growing up on Bougainville in Papua New Guinea during the ten-year civil war that raged following the forced closure of the Panguna Mine by the Bougainville Revolutionary Army.

The night had grown old with our interview, from time to time Leonard grasp and shook his head, “Phew! Mi i nap lo skul, mi laik stap tasol na write.” (“I have had enough of school, I just want to write”).

Looking towards his laptop he said, “My fourth and fifth book are almost ready for publication, I have been working on them at the same time”.

3rd Published Book

While working on his final year research paper, Roka finds time every day to write for his books.

His fourth book an ethno-political exploration and mapping of the Bougainville conflict and the province’s future, is due to be published later this year or early in 2015.

On the same note his first three books have been submitted under the book of the year category crocodile prize competition. The winners will be announced on Independence Day this year.

For the young upcoming Bougainvillean writer, seeking a job was just a secondary option; he had found where he belongs, adding to the list of Papua New Guinean writers, carrying on the legacy of PNG literature.

To Leonard Fong Roka, there is still a lot to tell the world about Bougainville. “I believe words can reach the ends of the world with the insight about our people of Bougainville. The generations to come can always learn from the lessons of the past”, he said.