The Bitter Truth

Ben is 27 years old and of Sepik Chimbu mixed heritage. He works at Foodmart in Lae City as a shop assistant. Life in the city is expensive, especially housing. He rents a small single room at West Taraka for K150 per fortnight.

Ben lives alone, so he is able to manage a simple lifestyle with his modest pay packet. One day, after coming home from work, he was scrolling through Facebook when he came across the profile of a lady in the “People You May Know” section. Ben thought she looked beautiful, so he sent her a friend request.

The next day, he saw a notification that she had accepted. Her name was Jane. Soon after, Ben and Jane began chatting frequently. They would often talk late into the night, getting to know each other. Jane told him she was a Grade 11 student at Kilakila Secondary School in Central Province.

Eventually, Jane gave him her phone number, and they began calling each other as well. Ben developed strong feelings for her. She was pretty, smart, and thoughtful, at least, that’s what he believed. One day, Jane called Ben sounding cheerful and excited. “Tomorrow is my birthday,” she said. “Could you send me some money so I can buy a phone? A Samsung A30, to be exact.” The price for that phone was about K1,500, twice Ben’s salary. He hesitated but eventually said, “Yes, dear. Anything for my honey.” Jane squealed with joy over the phone. “Thank you, my King. I love you so much!”.

The next day, Ben scratched his head. How am I going to get K1,500 so quickly? Then he thought of a co-worker who was a dinau meri, someone who lends money at high interest. Ben decided that was his only option. He approached her and made a deal, handing over his bank card as part of the arrangement so she could deduct repayments every fortnight. With the K1,500 secured, Ben went straight to the bank and deposited it into Jane’s account.

That evening, he called her. “Happy birthday, darling! I sent the money you asked for,” he said. Jane sounded delighted. “Oh, my handsome king, thank you so much! I love you very, very much!” Weeks passed, and Ben endured the burden of the dinau meri’s deductions. It took six months to repay the loan with interest.

The long-distance relationship continued, but Ben noticed a pattern. Jane often asked for money or flex cards: K50 on some days, K100 or more on others. Ben, with his limited income, often resorted to taking more dinau to fulfill her requests. But because he was so in love, it didn’t bother him, at least not yet.

One day, Ben had an idea. What if he became a dinau man himself? He could make a profit and use that money to support Jane’s needs. He started saving and eventually launched his own small lending business. Ben managed it well and soon became a popular figure in the community for dinau money.

This meant he could easily send Jane whatever she asked for. To him, everything seemed to be working out perfectly. After some time, Ben decided he should fly to Port Moresby to finally meet Jane and her family. He began saving again, enough for a return ticket and three nights at a modest lodge. When he told Jane about his plans, she didn’t sound very excited, but Ben pressed ahead.

He told her the exact date of his arrival and asked her to meet him at Jacksons Airport. She agreed, though still without much enthusiasm. The day finally came. Ben took a PMV from Lae’s main market to Nadzab Airport, checked in, and updated Jane through WhatsApp while waiting for his flight. The 30-minute trip felt like two hours to him.

He was so eager to meet his girlfriend. When he arrived at Jacksons Airport, he collected his bags and stepped outside, scanning the crowd for Jane. She wasn’t there. He called her, but her phone went straight to voicemail. He tried several more times, but it seemed to be switched off.

After some minutes, he tried again. This time, a man answered. “Hello? Who’s this?” Ben asked. “I’m Jane’s husband. What do you want?” the man replied. Ben froze. His mind raced. Husband? Could this be a joke? He had come all the way from Lae for her, and now this? He sat down in disbelief, staring blankly at the ground for almost an hour.

Reality slowly sank in. Jane had lied to him all along. All the money he had spent, all the sacrifices he had made, it was all for nothing. Ben felt devastated, disappointed, and angry. All he wanted now was to get on the next flight home. He spent a fews days at POM and went back to Lae empty handed.