from
Storyboard diaries
by
Russell Soaba
Our flight to Port Moresby on 29th
December 2012 was disrupted. It was a late Saturday afternoon flight, PX 959,
and since it was a peak period it was hardly surprising that the Air Niugini
plane did not turn up at all at Gurney Airport.
We had to get back to town for the night.
Late that evening we went in search of PMV or bus
owners to negotiate transport to the airport for the next morning’s flight. No
PMVs or buses operated on Sundays, we were told.
Since we were from Cape Vogel we felt it was
appropriate to find a bus owner from that region of the Milne Bay Province. A
relative recommended Doboro and we felt relieved. She said we could find the
owner somewhere at Goilanai.
Off we went to the Goilanai Heights.
This is a posh area of the town. Much of the middle
level management populace can be found there. A lot of Rabarabas live there,
including the famous Kedu Gloria who helps us occasionally with both land and
sea transport.
Almost every door we knocked on knew Doboro.
Storyboard was amused that just about everyone there addressed him with
politeness as Doboro as well. Indeed, it is a privilege to be addressed as
Doboro in Alotau.
The word doboro means old man, but it is used
traditionally as a term of respect for the elderly and men of rank. When used
in social etiquette it has a special ring to it and is often said with a slight
bow.
After having covered the whole of hilltop Goilanai a
resident advised us that we could find Doboro at a beach residential area
called Small Wagawaga. It meant crossing the Goilanai Bridge and walking
another kilometre or so. We did. And as we did so we saw new realty estates
springing up here and there such as those by Raven Real Estate, a popular
housing enterprise with clientele comprising private and government business
houses.
But our trip bore no fruit as we did not exactly
know where seaside Wagwaga residential area was and we had to turn back because
it was dark. At the bridge we came upon a taliu, meaning a wantok from Misima.
We taliued or parlez vous’d a bit with him and he offered to take us to the
very house where we could find Doboro. So we turned back to retrace our steps and
what a blessing that turned out to be.
We found Doboro surrounded by a large family set
down to dinner. The dinner was served and all was waiting for Doboro to say
Grace. He in the meantime was absorbed in his copy of the Post Courier.
Our taliu escort introduced us and looking up from
his paper, Doboro said, “Ah, yes, I know you very well, Doboro.”
“I am pleased to meet you, Doboro,” said Storyboard
and that was it.
After saying Grace he let his family settle down to
dinner and we talked. His name we learnt then was Kevin Buyarasi.
Kevin spent many years working for private
construction firms in Lae. He first went to Lae in 1970 having completed his
apprenticeship at the KB Vocational in Alotau the previous year. His earlier
education was observed at Menapi Primary School and being himself from Mapouna
in the Dawakerekere area of Cape Vogel that would have been quite an
achievement for him and his people in those days.
Kevin Buyarasi spent about 32 years working in Lae.
It was during those years that he met his Mailu wife, Shirley. Together they
have ten children, the first being around 28years old and the last around 8 or
9. And such well-mannered young men and women the children are.
In 2009 he felt ready to quit and travel back to Alotau
where he had hoped to settle and start up a business. That dream paid off and
by 2010 he started running the little and humble Doboro bus service in Alotau
town.
We left Kevin to supper with his family after making
an arrangement for us to meet at the Nako Fisheries, Sanderson Bay, as the pickup
point from where he could take us to Gurney Airport.
When we awoke and clambered down the Nako hill the
next morning we discovered that Kevin and Shirley and a son were already
waiting for us. We checked our watches and we realized we had almost slept in
and we could miss our flight to Port Moresby. It was Sunday and Kevin and
Shirley had to be back in town for Church service with their family.
Nonetheless, it was an enlightening conversation we
had with Kevin while driving up to the airport. Starting up a business is
indeed difficult at first but one learns to get by, he explained. The vast
green landscape before us as we drove along looked more like a green desert
after the oil palm trees were felled for new ones to be replanted. It was quite
depressing what with all those trees missing. That in order to start up a
business one needed to know where one stood with capital, what strings to pull
if any and that sort of thing. We learn to get by and that is all that matters.
Yet, what really made us feel comfortable as we
drove along to Gurney Airport was that very rarely do we have people from
Rabaraba running businesses in Alotau town! Witnessing Doboro Kevin Buyarasi run
a small bus service was and is exemplary enough. We feel proud about this. He
is our source of encouragement and no matter the odds, no matter the setbacks,
political, social or otherwise, he strikes us as someone more than determined
to enable us all to move ahead.
As Kevin and Shirley drove back to town for Sunday
service after dropping us we wondered if there would be more licences given to
our people to similarly participate in businesses in the town itself. Storyboard
himself could not help but wonder amusedly if even he could be granted a
licence to operate a PMV from Alotau to Awaiyama one day.
