On the Rock

I'm back in Papua New Guinea, the other end of the island. Not much has changed in Port Moresby. Major road construction projects are winding up and it's easier to get around it seems.

One such project is an overpass built expressly for a big regional political meeting coming up in two years time. This overpass will swish dignitaries directly from the airport to the meeting site and

by-pass all the traffic and potential carjacking points and scenes of poverty. These meetings are great to expose these countries to world leaders, but I wonder about resources better spent on things like food and water and health care. But maybe there's some bigger plan.

The Australians have contracted with the Papuans to put a refugee camp here.  The Aussies  have taken a hard line against people coming to their shore by boat.  It may not make the news back home, but they intercept folks coming by boat and put them in camps where conditions are considered pretty bleak. On the island of Nauru, distressed refugees are immolating themselves to protest conditions. Recently the Supreme Court in PNG ruled that these camps in Papua New Guinea violated the constitution and they should be closed.

Coincidentally, on Papua, some refugees have been let out of the camps to live in the community as regular citizens.  A number of them, though have asked to move back into the camps citing safety reasons.

I just finished reading “Savage Harvest” by Carl Hoffman. He goes back and investigates the disappearance of Michael Rockefeller way back in 1961.  The grandson of John D  Rockefeller was off collecting primitively art in western Papua when he disappeared while boating off the coast. Despite an extensive search his body was never found. It was thought he was swept out to sea or was even by sharks, but was also rumored he swam ashore and was eaten by cannibals. I leave it to you to read more, but the book is fascinating look at some of the ageless spirituality that infuses the people of this region.

On my way to the airport, the driver told me an interesting story.

We passed by a rock, a huge boulder of granite. He told me that back in 1990 as they were building the road to the airport they had to carve a pass over a mountain.  They carved down through the mountain and hauled all the rock down to the harbor and dumped it there. They packed it all down and have started building on it as reclaimed land.

But, he pointed to the big boulder that had been fenced off by the side of the road, and said that they hauled that particular rock down to the shore 5 or 6 times, but every time they did they found it moved back to its original site up the hill.  After a few times, they decided they needed to talk to the rock to see what the problem may be.  

They found landowners who had some rights to the land and they asked them to come talk to the rock. They did, but the rock didn't listen until finally, they found an ancestor of some of the original people of the Port Moresby area. They had been displaced to up into the hills when the city was built. These people came and they talked to the rock and the rock talked back and they were able to reach a compromise where the rock would agree to be moved to the side of the road, but didn't have to go down to the beach.

So there it sits. Some 5 tons of stone. They've even built a little wall around it. Whether that's to keep the rock in or people out is not known.

He proceeded to tell me about a sacred spring that is inhabited by a snake spirit.  No one is allowed to swim there or fish there.  But, a the end of the dry season, when everyone is hungry and tired of the dust and the heat, they send someone up into the hills to splash about and make noise and soon after a flood comes and usually kills some people or destroys things.  

The loss is a payment to the gods, but at least they have rain.  

“Yeah, we've got a lot of stories about spirits and ghosts. It all goes way, way back.”  All that from a cab ride.  Well worth the fare.

Port Moresby Updates and More of the Same

I know you've been dying to ask, “Secret Asian Man, what's been happening in Port Moresby?”  

Well, let me tell you!

Since I was last there 7 months ago, they've put the finishing touches on their airport. The A/C works much better.  There is a shiny, new duty free store. The old bus terminal seats have been replaced with new bus terminal seats and are intermingled with couches and some bar stools.  It is now a much more comfy terminal.

There are several new airport eateries. And they even sell crepes!  Crepes! I saw no where else where they sold crepes in the whole country

Things around the rest of the country are improving at a slower rate. In fact, there's been a recent uptick in crime with more carjackings and robberies.  One man was relieved of his phone, wallet and car keys right on the putting green of the local golf course.  An expat woman was dragged from her husband’s car one afternoon and gang raped for three hours before being released.

The locals call this time of year “Mango Madness”.  When everyone gets a little more amped up. It's mango season and also the end of the dry season. It has been an extended dry season.  Reservoir levels are low.  Mines have closed due to lack of water, so many are out of work.  In addition, there was a late frost in the mountains that killed a lot of the sweet potatoes which many people eat. Plus, it's nearly Christmas.  So there are lots of pressures.

I read of a family feud involving a bus that they all shared.  Seems there was a dispute over who owned the bus and who was to help pay the loan and help drive customers, so they jointly drove the bus to the center of the village and set it on fire. Yes, conflict resolution continues to be a problem.

Do they sell crepes anywhere else in the country?  Who knows? Port Moresby is still not a safe place to be.  You still can’t go out without a solid escort and a plan and definitely not after dark. I don't really know if they sell them anywhere else. I kind of think they don’t, but hopefully one day, I can get out and find out first hand.

Second Thoughts on Papua New Guinea

I was thinking about my last post from PNG and the crime and the violence that was reported and all the feeling of being cooped up inside.

On my way out of town, I caught a ride with a driver from the Highlands.  I think he heard my frustration when he asked what I thought about Port Moresby and I told him I thought the Crowne Plaza was a nice.  

He started pointing out sights on our way to the airport.  The seaport that was in the process of being moved down the beach a ways to make room for some waterfront development.  A new stadium being built for the South Pacific games coming next year.  He mentioned that there is actually an economic boom going on in PNG right now.  Lots a lots of people coming in and scooping up the resources and land, etc.  So, some people are getting pretty rich, but thus far it’s not really trickled down.  

My driver was from the Eastern Highlands and confirmed there aren’t any roads.  He said that most of the education opportunities are for people on the coast.  The people of the hills are at an educational disadvantage.  He said the ground and climate in the hills is perfect for growing things and there is a surplus of fruits and vegetables.  But, with no roads, products really can’t get down to where most of the people are, so it rots up there.  

It got me thinking that may there is such a grab for pigs and women, because that is all there is.  I wonder if the highland people would be so angry if they could just sell their broccoli?  I wonder if the coastal people would be less angry if they ate more vegetables?  I wonder if everyone would be more content if they realized some of the benefits from their resource rich country.

At the airport, I met some lovely shopkeepers who didn’t hack at me with knives or rob me.  They were inquisitive and helpful and happy to sell me an overpriced Coca-Cola.  When I go back I’m going back with an open mind.

Land, Pigs and Women

Where in the world is Secret Asian Man?  I’m sure you’ve been asking and checking in wondering about the latest events.

Well, right now I’m in the bar of the Crowne Plaza in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea and I’ve been here for about 4 days now.  

What’s it like here?  Well that’s kind of hard to say.  The Crowne Plaza is nice.  They have nice and comfortable rooms.  There’s a gym and a pool and a pretty nice breakfast buffet.  The dinner buffet is ambitious, but mostly fails to impress.  The free happy hour in the evening is well attended by most all the guests.  There is a good selection of deep fried, yet cold shrimp and under-cooked chicken tenders.  The small cans of Pringles are nearly all broken to bits, but the cheese and crackers are first rate.  The beer and wine are free.

What’s that? You mean what’s the country like?  I honestly haven’t a clue.  Port Moresby is a high crime area and thus we visitors are confined to the embassy or to our hotel unless we can go out as a group. Most shops and other entertainment venues are off limits after 4 pm. We close at 4:30 pm. 

Carjackings, robberies and assaults are pretty commonplace.  Mostly there are crimes of opportunity and foreigners are an opportunity.  You have it. I want it. An Aussie was hacked up with a machete a few months back even after he gave up his wallet.  He lived.  

If you’re a woman, you can add rape or sexual assault to the list. 100 percent of rural women have experienced domestic violence.  In the city that number drops to a no more palatable 67 percent. Sexual assault of some sort runs at 50 percent.  

Violence in general is rampant.  The society here is strongly clan based.  The clan is the primary societal fixture.  If one makes money, it all goes to the family. If you need something it all comes from the family. In the country, arrows and spears fly if someone steals a chicken from your clan.  The main goal of the clan is to get more land, more women and more pigs.  It is remarkable to hear such stories in 2014.

Here’s an interesting story I heard about.  

It’s about a girl who looks after her younger sister and maybe her younger cousin, who likes a boy in another tribe.  She also likes a teacher in yet another clan.  She decided she liked the teacher more and so invited him to her house to spend some time.  

Wanna know what makes clan conflict worse?  Cellphones and text messages. Spurning at the speed of light.  

The first boy hears about the visit and he and his friends go to the girl's house and murder the teacher friend and ransack her house.  The teacher friend’s clan hears about this and become irate.  They go and lay waste…. to the girls village because they think she’s been playing games with everyone.  The girl dies, the other girls she cares for are chased from the village and then kidnapped by the clan of the first boyfriend.  That clan then offers those girls back to the teacher’s clan along with some money and 7 pigs as a peace offering.  

Land, pigs and women.  I’m telling you.

At least in the Highland areas.  A long time ago there were coastal people (papuan) and highland people (New Guineans)  They’ve never gotten along. The coastal people were colonised by the British and the highland people were colonised by the Germans. When later, the Australians took over they united the two peoples and formed Papua New Guinea, but the people didn’t really want to be united.  “Those Highland people are too violent!”  

Even in today’s paper there is worry about these people merging.  Outside the capital city there are only 200 miles of paved road in the entire country. None of the major cities are linked by road or rail.  Air or sea are the only way to get around. There are plans to link the two major cities by a highway, but the people don’t want the ease of access, because of these long standing conflicts.

You wanna know why I don’t leave the hotel. Well, we’re not allowed, but even the dogs are mean.  I heard tell of a dog who bit the testicles of a small boy.  The dog was punished by putting it on a leash.   

It is hard to find locals who are interested working or focused on a job. Again, the family rules, so if there is some need, the family comes first.  There isn’t much incentive to keep a job, since all your money goes to the family anyway.  From what I’m told there is limited ambition. Some local government offices are unofficially staffed only Tuesday through Thursday as no one comes to work on Monday and Friday.  There is a sign on the Police station door that says “Drunk Police Officers Will Not Be Given a Ride Home”

The police are an interesting issue.  There is a police force of 22 for a population of 220,000.  There are 4 police cars which are in various states of repair.  As the sign above indicates, you’re lucky if you get a sober officer when you call, if they come at all.  They’re often reluctant to get involved. Sometimes, too, I’m told, they’re complicit in a crime, shaking down victims further in order to get goods returned.

On a positive note, I was asked to give the local employees a talk about anger management.  I’ve wrestled with this for a month.  No amount of talk about breathing and counting to ten was going to touch land, pigs and women.  But, I offered a talk about communication and diffusing arguments and our own self regulation when we get angry.  And, about 9 people showed up and listened and took notes and asked for handouts. At the end we talked for 20 minutes about the best way to handle themselves and their families.

Maybe a small difference was made.