Wara Long-Long

By Walter Darius

By calculation you are eight years old. 2 You entered by minority vote. 2 My people did not understand your ways.

Now they wish they had not accepted you.

“ Wara long-long” is your name.

Bitter is your taste, But sharp are your persuasions.

You know my country in so short a time.

Young and old, white and black, We are all your victims.

Your home is a freeze-box, Your shirt is a glass and tin container.

Your name is popular, “Wara long-long”.

Business must have you, For their lives are in your hand.

The church pastor is your enemy, For his people you dominate.

To the country, you are a problem, You have claimed the lives of many, You ruin the home of a family.

You, “Wara long-long”!

1 “Wara long-long” is Melanesian Pidgin for alcohol. 2it is only eight years since the consumption of alcohol was permitted by law m Papua New Guinea. . . . , 3 The recommendation to introduce alcohol was made by a Commission comprised almost entirely of expatriate Australians. New Guineans then had little part in the decision-making process.

Typical hotel scene in Papua New Guinea.