Just wanted to pop in to recommend to John the excellent movie Mr. Pip, which is available on Netflix (at least in the US).

A short piece for Open Democracy: https://www.opendemocracy.net/kristian-lasslett/fog-of-peace-postconflict-environments-as-sites-of-impunity-denial-and-dispossessi

A short summary chapter: http://statecrime.org/data/2011/10/winning_hearts_and_mines.pdf

A multi-media presentation on the conflict, it allows you to duck into some of the primary sources: http://www.statecrime.org/testimonyproject/bougainville

And an extended interview with ABC looking at Australia’s role in the conflict: http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/latenightlive/bougainville3a-the-forgotten-war/6280408

I think the constructive feedback you have made is spot on. On the theoretical front, there is a lot of scope for different theoretical lens, each of which can bring out it different nuances. Certainly of late, I have benefited enormously from engaging with the literature inspired by Linda Tuhiwai-Smith, which in my view opens up new ways of researching and thinking about the conflict and the deeper currents it was part of. Also the seriously under recognised work of Tinputz scholar, Ruth Soavana, is intriguing, and offers a lot of valuable insights into the how and why of resistance to extractive industries on Bougainville, drawing on local ontologies and epistemologies.

I agree also, popular histories are really important, especially on Bougainville where there is a strong demand for histories that can contribute to a local process of reorientation, which is becoming increasingly contested as strong forces attempt to steward in a range of policies that incentivise inward investment in palm-oil, forestry and mining, including of the deep sea variety.

One lacuna, that has become increasingly apparent through my work with Jubilee Australia, is the way in which local voices in the mine affected communities have been suppressed. Quite often, if they do appear, its paraphrased by experts whose own credentials of speaking for these communities is not always clearly established (there are some really honourable exceptions). Worse still, is when the complex conversations going on in the Panguna region, are ignored and misrepresented through political catch-phrases looking to ease the way for policies that are more contentious than what their backers would like to think.

Indeed, if there is a hidden history behind the Rio Tinto-Australian government-PNG government nexus, there is an equally hidden history within Nasioi communities (and I am sure that is replicated across Bougainville, in different unique ways); but unlike the former organisational actors who have been active in hiding their history for reasons pointed to in the book, for mine-affected communities, they are ready to tell their stories, if ears were willing. From the empirical research I have been involved in so many within the mine affected communities talk of profound inner turmoil, or trauma, sparked by dislocation of local histories by the seismic forces of colonialism, industrial mining capital, and the rapid changes – and associated antagonisms – the latter generated. There is also such rich local conceptualisations of this process, which have emerged through local dialogue and debate. I hope one day these complex histories and organic theory become more widely known. They need to be.

And that connects back to the book. As you rightly note, it can’t be pressed home enough, the importance of listening carefully to the voices of those whose history we attempt to understand and write about. Over the course of my research, my own interpretations were challenged and changed, as I listened to the considered reflections of Papua New Guinea leaders from the period, including PNGDF officers. Similarly, the reflections of Australian government and corporate officials were full of nuance, complexity, self-reflection and anxiety. They really told a story I wasn’t expecting, and for a period I was disoriented, but following careful reflection graspable threads emerged. The same attention to voice and story, now needs to be given to local histories, which are just as rich, and full of unexpected plots.

Congratulations on your own recent book Alex, what a fascinating topic! I have just ordered a copy, and will read it with great interest over the summer!!

Is there a book or small set of other materials that you would recommend to someone who will never be an expert but would like to be a knowledgeable reader?