You are made to be cherished and loved.

I wish I had the courage to tell my parents about what I
wanted to be.

You are a lover of poetry.
Heart so big as the ocean, yet as humble as the first drops
of rain.
Papua New Guinean women have always been looked at
differently. Maybe because it’s the colour of our skin, the texture of hair, our culture…

My cultural background is the roots to my strength.

I am proud of my ancestors.

There is purpose for the breath you take.
When she wakes up tomorrow morning, there will be
new strength to look forward to.

Black girl you were made for this world.

 

Taim mi grow up, mi grow up osem Transgender.
Pasin na wei blo mi osem em kain osem ol meri. Taim
mi skul yet, kam, kam antap. But then ol femili blo mi
no aceptim mi lo mi usait.

Blood blo mi bai move osem em wankain osem mi.

Mi stap meri, mi dress up meri so bai mi stap meri yet.

They are beautiful because they are full of love.

You’re expected to make sure that food is ready, laundry
is made, everything in the house should be perfect for
a Papua New Guinean woman…but it’s not that.

I’m an academic, I’m a sportswoman, a single mum
who has had to finally say no to certain things that
have disrupted my family unit.

Going to school overseas, coming back, my parents
made sure I did go home to their villages. That has
helped me treasure my culture and I’ve passed that
onto my children.

Everything in life, nothing is free and nothing is
impossible.
Taim mummy blo mi wok hat lo displa kain, mi wok
long lukim hat wok blo em.

God created us to be equal both male and female.
Culture is good and bad.

We are becoming better educated in the ways of the
white man but many of us still value the ways of our
tumbuna.
PNG is our home, PNG is our lewa.

Sometimes just by going too much and adapting to the
new changes you lose your identity.
By seeing how women are doing it, I’m just wondering
how they gather their strength.
Like in the police, especially women, you don’t wear
high heels to work. And you’ll never see a police man
wearing high heels and I did that.

Remember the sacrifices my ancestors made so that I
could have the opportunities I have today.
We are trailblazers and courageous in the face of trials.
PNG women are a force to be reckoned with when we
are determined.

Don’t be afraid of the world.
Carved by traditions, held by white skin, cradled by
dark skin. I am a blend of both.

PNG women are capable they can achieve beyond a
male counterpart’s expectations.

As I grew up, I looked up to her as she had all the
leadership qualities, values and characters of a leader.

You are beautiful in your Blackness.
I don’t know who I am outside of my culture.
You are adorned in bilas. You carry your peoples on
your shoulder. They are living in your bilum.

Being a Black Pacific Islander woman is a gravity-defying dance of
cultural duality. Our bones remember the names of our Tumbunas
and our tribal names sit on the edges of our tongue. It is our map,
our return passage back to our homes. Our tumbunas whispered
into us the stars they slept under at night. Willing us to move
forward, beyond our ancestral land. Into a world that is not quite
ready for us.
Being a Black Pacific Islander woman means existing in the
intersection of multiple oppressions of racism and misogyny. There
is a level of exhaustion that comes with being invisible and highly
visible at the same time.

The ‘m e r i’ project focuses on the re-contextualizing of PNG
women. Its aim is to find innovative ways for PNG women to define
themselves. To speak their truth to power, without fear of erasure.
So here she is; meri ya kam nau, yu lukim!…
She is of collective power, on the cusp of collective transformation
and always…always rooted in rage and love.

I would like to give thanks to all the meris, ol PNG susa blo mi, who gave their time and allowed me into their hearts and minds. I am forever in awe of your quiet power and unfathomable strength. Thank you to the generosity of the Cairns Regional Council for providing opportunities such as the RADF grant that enabled me to embark on this creative journey. Thank you to the fantastic team over at the 5Five, Nicholas Mills & Tegan Koster. For allowing me to use your space, equipment, and donating your time and skills to support Black artists in the north. You continually remind me why the far north is a wonderful and electrifying creative hub of artists with a lot of heart and a lot of fire.