Captions: 1. Cabbage moth 2. Cabbage moth 3. Mating flight 3. Female butterfly
From PAUL OATES in
Monday, May 11, 2009
A few more visitors
Kokoda Track breakthrough
THE barricades at
A representative of the Kokoda Track Authority met with the local community and has resolved most of the outstanding issues.
“This is a great outcome” stated Kokoda Track Authority Chairman, James Enage, who travelled to the community to negotiate a resolution at the weekend.
“Talking together and sharing our concerns allowed us to work through these very challenging issues. We believe there is a solution and at the Management Committee meeting tomorrow we will explore options to provide a long term and equitable resolution.”
“Any new system takes time to settle in and this issue is an example of this settling in process. The trekking season only began in March and some collected monies are ready to go out to communities as soon as a fair and reasonable process is put into place. There is an important legislative process that exists, ward development committees, but it has not been implemented in this area to date. The KTA does not want to hold the money any longer than it has to, but we do want to ensure that it gets to the right people,” said Rod Hillman, the KTA Chief Executive.
The current Kokoda Track Authority is governed by a management committee comprised of Papua New Guinean national, provincial and local-level government officials, one landowner representative from Kokoda and another from Koiari. The management committee directs the actions of a small management team based in
Butterflies at the farm
From Paul Oates in Queensland, Australia (but hey Paul, you, as a former kiap of Papua New Guinea, know that we have more variety and bigger butterflies – the biggest in the world, in fact - north of the border!)
A few of the butterflies that visit our garden when the Grevilleas and Bougainvilleas are in flower.
More from Graham Davis
Graham Davis | May 01, 2009
Article from: The Australian
IT'S the eve of Frank Bainimarama's 55th birthday and he's in a jovial mood as we stroll the manicured path to the officers' mess at Suva's Queen Elizabeth Barracks. Tomorrow at dawn, his troops will march to his home bearing cake and champagne, and the army band will play the local version of the traditional birthday song that always includes the extra stanza, "happy long life to you!" Not everyone in Fiji will be joining in.
The military commander turned prime minister has just shown me the bullet holes that riddle the timber panels of his office in an adjacent building that came under attack by rebel soldiers during the mutiny of 2000.
"We leave it unrepaired to remind us just how close we came to disaster. It was only because I was at lunch in the mess that I survived," Bainimarama says.
"When we realised we were under attack, my security detail rushed me through the back door and down the hill to safety. We were dodging bullets and rocket-propelled grenades. Three loyal soldiers died that day, and we must never forget."
Bainimarama readily concedes that five captured rebels were beaten to death, but denies reports that one had his penis cut off, another his tongue ripped out. Any mention of extrajudicial killings is curtly dismissed. "These people came to kill us. What do you expect, a kiss on both cheeks?"
As we approach the mess, a uniformed non-commissioned officer springs to attention and salutes. The commander is in mufti: tailored Fijian sulu (a wrap skirt) topped with a green floral shirt. To my astonishment, he raises his right hand in a Nazi salute. "Heil Hitler!" he exclaims. "Isn't that what dictators are supposed to do?" His entourage explodes in mirth, the shrill Fijian kaila that's an infectious mix of cackle and laugh. Later, he repeats the joke with some goosesteps thrown in, skirt akimbo, brown legs flashing.
It dawns on me that Bainimarama is being ironic, making light of the ugly stereotype into which he feels he has been unfairly cast.
He dislikes the term dictator, he tells me, because he doesn't see himself as such, and is irritated when I persist with the description.
"I am not a dictator. I'm the prime minister of this country and there's a president. We may not have a constitution right now but we're bringing the law back by decrees. I can't go and dictate to a family what they have for lunch today. I wish I could, so I can join them for lunch but no, my word is not the word."
OK, what about "virtual dictator", the term used by Kevin Rudd? "No. The President (Josefa Iloilo) is head of state and commander-in-chief of the military, and he makes decisions for himself and for the Government. He tells me what to do. He has advisers and I'm one of them," Bainimarama insists. Mmmh.
Yes, it was the octogenarian high chief Iloilo who formally abrogated the 1997 constitution, dismissed the judiciary and reinstalled Bainimarama's regime when three Australian judges declared it illegal on appeal.
Most Fiji citizens believe that whatever Frank wants in the "new order" Iloilo declared, Frank gets.
Not so, says the commander, in comments indicating that the new order's five-year election plan may not have been his preferred option: "The President wants me to hold elections in five years and that will happen. But it's the shortest five years in Fiji's history because we need a lot longer than that to change the racial attitudes of our people and establish true democracy."
Bainimarama's immediate focus has been to stabilise the country in the wake of the dramatic events and head off civil unrest. The calm, even relaxed, air in Suva suggests he's succeeding, with no overt opposition and no armed troops on the streets as in other times of national crisis through the years.
A month-long state of emergency has muzzled Fiji's boisterous media and the regime has rounded up several people identified with indigenous extremism, including Iliesa Duvuloco, one of the main figures behind George Speight's 2000 coup. Bainimarama accuses him of distributing leaflets trying to incite an indigenous uprising against the military.
The emergency regulations are due to expire on May 10 but the military chief tells me they'll be extended. "We want this calm to continue for a while and we need media censorship to ensure that," he says.
That means the censors who've taken up residence in local newsrooms will continue to ban stories the regime regards as negative or likely to inflame.
Rather than publish government handouts, some outlets such as the venerable Fiji Times, sister paper of The Australian, have chosen to run no political coverage at all. "That's the way it should happen in Fiji, rugby back on the front page," crows Bainimarama. It's not only "inciteful" messages he worries about, but "irresponsible reporting. That's something we really don't need right now."
As Bainimarama tells it, he and the military are righteous crusaders for all Fiji citizens, as opposed to an agenda of indigenous supremacy masquerading as democracy practised by his opponents and unthinkingly supported by Australia and New Zealand.
"I've tried to explain to Australia and NZ the real story of what's happening here and no one seems to listen," he says. So Bainimarama is embarking on a new tack, seeking a three-way summit with the leaders of both countries to set the record straight and try to rebuild the shattered relationship.
"I would like to see Kevin Rudd and (NZ Prime Minister) John Key face to face immediately so I can explain things clearly about the changes we need to bring about."
Bainimarama says he's willing to give both leaders a "cast-iron guarantee" that elections will be held in 2014 but not before. He's hoping the regional heavyweights may be in a mood to compromise after US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton undertook to listen to complaints from a Samoan congressman that Australia and NZ were being "nasty" about Fiji and that its position was more complex than they were portraying. The alternative to a summit, Bainimarama says, is to continue the diplomatic stand-off in which China and India have replaced Australia and NZ as Fiji's closest confidants and sources of aid.
The morning I visit the PM's office, I'm ushered briefly into back-to-back meetings between Bainimarama and Chinese ambassador Han Zhiqiang and Indian high commissioner Prabhakara Jha, both of whom clearly have warm personal relationships with the dictator. In stark contrast, Bainimarama tells me, neither Australian high commissioner James Batley nor his NZ counterpart have been prepared to meet him since the 2006 coup. However principled that may seem from Canberra and Wellington, it's rendering both countries increasingly irrelevant when it comes to influencing events in Fiji.
"We have a wonderful relationship with China and we're trying to build on that," Bainimarama enthuses. He's clearly grateful for a published seven-fold increase in Chinese aid in the year after his coup, evidently much more since and the prospect of more to come.
"Yes, the Chinese are giving us money," he says, without revealing how much except for a $US1 million ($1.37 million) donation to the Prime Minister's Office for Disaster Relief.
"They're very sympathetic and understand what's happening here, that we need to do things in our own way," he says.
China has embarked on several infrastructure projects, including a hydro-electric scheme on the main island, Viti Levu, that will employ 300 imported Chinese workers. Signs of an increased Chinese presence abound, from shops and bars to ships in port and Chinese trucks sporting Chinese lettering, plus the ubiquitous red star, plying Fiji's roads.
What riles Bainimarama is the perceived double standard of Australia and NZ shunning Fiji while not just engaging the dictatorship in China but actively promoting its interests in global forums. "With Fiji, they've approached just about everyone in the world to stay away and asked the UN to have us removed from peacekeeping operations. That will fail," Bainimarama insists.
The shift in Fiji's allegiances leaves many uneasy about what happens when local hearts and minds remain well disposed towards Australia and NZ but pockets begin to fill with yuan and rupees.
While Bainimarama's opponents applaud the tough regional stance against him, others wonder about the price Australia and NZ eventually may pay in strategic terms for a stance that's widely seen as flawed.
Will Bainimarama back down? Not with support from China and India, both with ample means to back their own strategic ambitions as emerging global powers.
What would an early election achieve? Well that's the problem: precisely the same dynamic that triggered the 2006 coup.
All sides concede that, without electoral reform, any poll in Fiji would produce certain victory for Bainimarama's chief political opponent, Laisenia Qarase. And there's the rub, for Bainimarama insists Qarase is finished because of his racist agenda and will return to power "over my dead body". The burly guards who constantly shadow the PM are there to ensure the latter part of the prophecy is not fulfilled.
Bainimarama has some important allies, not just the venerable President but several progeny of Fiji's old ruling elite - the Mara and Ganilau chief families - that took the country to independence from Britain in 1970.
Joining us for tea and pancakes at the barracks is someone lofty in physical stature and status, Tevita Uluilakeba Mara, Bainimarama's army chief of staff and the younger son of modern Fiji's founding father, Kamisese Mara. The country's newly appointed Vice-President Epeli Nailatikau - a former high commissioner and head of the military before being deposed by Sitiveni Rabuka in the 1987 coup - happens to be married to one of Mara's daughters, Adi Koila. She's a former senator who has particular cause to detest indigenous extremism, having been one of Speight's hostages in the 56-day siege of the parliament in 2000.
Bainimarama confirms that the new Vice-President was his first choice in 2000 to lead Fiji after the Speight coup but Nailatikau declined the role, so he turned to Qarase.
On such fateful choices can a nation's destiny depend.
Then, there's Defence Minister Epeli Ganilau, Bainimarama's predecessor as army commander who handpicked him for the post in 1999. He comes from another distinguished family, that of former governor-general and president Penaia Ganilau, and also married one of Mara's daughters, Adi Ateca.
Unlike many chiefs who were bitter rivals, the elder Mara and Ganilau forged a partnership in nation-building that served Fiji well in the years after independence and was notable for their strong personal friendships with people of other races.
But they came to be envied and resented by certain other chiefs, who were the hand in the glove of Speight's intention in the 2000 coup to rid Fiji of what he identified as the "Mara clique". Now that Nailatikau, Mara's son-in-law, is in line to succeed Iloilo as president, some believe the Mara clique is poised to make a comeback, though with Bainimarama in charge running a common agenda.
While no one can be certain of it - given the venal nature of Fijian politics - many will hope this signals a return to some of the more enlightened aspects of the elder Mara's rule.
Chief among these were a healthy economy, infrastructure development and above all the notion, largely abandoned by Mara's indigenous successors, that Fiji can succeed only with all races working together as one nation.
The point is that many of those around Bainimarama aren't the coup-making thugs that have brought Fiji to its knees in recent years (though some, of course, put Bainimarama in this category), but individuals of genuine achievement with some of Fiji's bluest blood coursing through their veins.
Unlike other chiefs who've aligned themselves with the indigenous cause, these individuals are also imbued with the vision of their fathers of a multiracial Fiji where indigenous values are respected but all races enjoy the same opportunities.
Mara's dream was to emulate the success of his friend Lee Kuan Yew in creating a smaller but equally thriving version of Singapore in the South Seas. Replete, of course, with the same respectful media and intolerance of anything or anyone posing a threat to national unity. As with Bainimarama now, this theory holds that in developing countries with nascent democratic structures, keeping the peace comes before freedom of expression.
Mara's vision was lost in the naked opportunism of the likes of Rabuka in the coups of 1987, Speight in 2000 and, arguably, Qarase in the months before Bainimarama says he had to draw a line under Qarase's own racist agenda.
Had Qarase got his way, Bainimarama maintains, his reconciliation bill would have seen Speight and his violent ilk again strutting the streets of Suva. And his coastal resources bill would have made non-indigenous Fiji citizens obliged to pay cash to their neighbours to use the seas. Another of Qarase's proposed bills put a question mark over the sanctity of freehold title.
Some opponents, notably in legal circles, argue that Bainimarama acted prematurely in 2006 because a power-sharing arrangement with the Opposition, forced on Qarase by the constitution, might have been a brake on the more extreme parts of his supremacist agenda. Dismissing this as naive, Bainimarama says his critics should focus more on Qarase's record and what that would have meant for Fiji's minorities, rather than support a process that would see Qarase restored.
He's also asking Canberra and Wellington to better understand his own motives, to go beyond the power-hungry stereotype and genuinely examine why he took the journey from hero, for locking up Speight in 2000, to regional pariah nine years on.
"My vision for Fiji is one that's free of racism. That's the biggest problem we've had in the last 20 years and it needs to be taken out," he explains. "It's the lies that are being fed to indigenous Fijians that are causing this, especially from our chiefs who are the dominating factor in our lives. And the politicians take advantage of that. We need to change direction in a dramatic way.
"We need to get rid of Qarase and everything associated with the 2000 coup and begin entirely on a new path."
That path is already evident in some of the faces in the corridors of power, overwhelmingly indigenous in recent years but now showing a modicum of diversity.
More Indo-Fijians are appearing in senior roles, notably high-profile attorney-general Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum - the bete noir of legal purists - and recently appointed Reserve Bank governor Sada Reddy, who replaced an indigenous Fijian, Savenaca Narube.
Bainimarama says he'd be appointing a lot more were it not for Australian and NZ travel bans on members of the regime, which are deterring some of the best and brightest potential recruits with family connections abroad. He's also lifted the prohibition, under the abrogated constitution, on Fiji citizens holding dual citizenship, something he hopes will attract back many who've fled since 1987 and can return with their boltholes secured.
At 55, Bainimarama is part of the generation old enough to have grown up under reasonably enlightened British rule, with indigenous chiefs who commanded respect, and the promise of a bright future and independence as a beacon for other emerging Pacific nations.
Remarkably in republican Fiji, Bainimarama still sees himself as "a Queen's man" and works, in all his offices, under photographs of the distant sovereign and her consort, junked after the second coup 22 years ago.
"I'm still loyal to the Queen. Many people are in Fiji," he says. "One of the things I'd like to do is see her restored as our monarch, to be Queen of Fiji again."
As they say, nostalgia ain't what it used to be. But maybe that's what drives Bainimarama most of all; the notion, however quixotic, of a multiracial meritocracy belatedly fulfilling the great promise Fiji had in its early post-independence years, when a visiting pope John Paul II famously described it as a model for the developing world. Before the greed, the racism and the gun.
Graham Davis is a Fiji-born journalist and a principal in Grubstreet Media
Swine flu jokes
It doesn't take long for humanity to bounce back...
Just phoned the NHS swine flu helpline and all I got was crackling.
How did the pig go on holiday?
The swine flu
Swine flu isn't a problem for pigs, because they're all going to be cured anyway.
The first sign of pig flu is that you come out in nasty rashers.
Swine flu is getting serious, it has been reported to be a hamdemic, which may lead to an aporkolypse... But we'll get through. Where there's a swill there's a way.
This little piggy went to market,
This little piggy stayed at home,
This little piggy had roast beef,
This little piggy had none.
And this little piggy had influenza A virus subtype hemagglutinin protein 1 neuraminidase protein 1.
The only known cure for Swine Flu has been found to be the liberal application of oinkment.
My friend says he's got swine flu, but I think he's telling porkies.
I have to say, I'm finding all these jokes about swine flu pretty boaring.
Just phoned the NHS swine flu helpline and all I got was crackling.
How did the pig go on holiday?
The swine flu
Swine flu isn't a problem for pigs, because they're all going to be cured anyway.
The first sign of pig flu is that you come out in nasty rashers.
Swine flu is getting serious, it has been reported to be a hamdemic, which may lead to an aporkolypse... But we'll get through. Where there's a swill there's a way.
This little piggy went to market,
This little piggy stayed at home,
This little piggy had roast beef,
This little piggy had none.
And this little piggy had influenza A virus subtype hemagglutinin protein 1 neuraminidase protein 1.
The only known cure for Swine Flu has been found to be the liberal application of oinkment.
My friend says he's got swine flu, but I think he's telling porkies.
I have to say, I'm finding all these jokes about swine flu pretty boaring.
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Mother's Day with my children
Keith with his new toy which I bought at Gerehu this morning
Gedi, Keith and Moasing in the house
Moasing, Malum Jr (cutting the cake), Keith (on floor) and Gedi
A great bunch of happy kids! You couldn't ask for a happier Dad on Mother's Day!
Mummy's cake
The gang on the seesaws at Gerehu Stage Two
Mother's Day at the Farm
Mother's Day 2009 and appropriately, some new calves arrive.
Saturday, May 09, 2009
A Mother's Day story
This was my first posting on May 18, 2006, after an unforgettable Mother's Day experience with my late wife, Hula. A lot has happened since over the last three years...
Mother’s Day last Sunday may have been a memorable moment for many mothers all over Papua New Guinea and the world, a day on which their children and husbands showered them with gifts and expressions of love.
But for many others, life went on as usual; a day of toil and tears on what should have been an otherwise happy day.
Such was the case with two wonderful mothers I met in Ward 9 of the Port Moresby General Hospital last Sunday.
The story begins last Friday night when my wife had a tragic miscarriage and had to be admitted to Ward 9 of the POMGH.
What made this particularly heartbreaking for both of us was that it happened two days before Mother’s Day, and the discovery that the three-month old was a son.
Needless to say, tears fell freely for both of us as we thought about what could have been.
My wife spent the whole of Saturday in hospital and late in the afternoon underwent minor surgery as I paced anxiously up and down the corridors of the Labour Ward.
I needn’t have worried as she was well taken care of by very-experienced doctors and nurses and came out without a scratch.
I spent Saturday night with my wife in Ward 9, amidst the weeping and wailing of women, and during the course of the evening struck up an acquaintance with two women sharing the same room.
Helen Paul, from Garaina in the Morobe Province, would undergo major surgery a few days later.Helen, who lives at Morata with her husband and children, however, had a great personality and sense of humour that kept us awake for most of the night.
Next to Helen was Regina Komae, from Kunimaipa in the Goilala area of Central Province, who was looking after her very sick 25-year-old daughter Lucy.
Lucy, I gathered from her mother, had started becoming sick almost two years ago after giving birth to a daughter in Tapini.
Regina told me that that Lucy had been in and out of hospital since then – including undergoing major surgery - and it had utterly exhausted them: physically, mentally and financially.
Life has not been kind to them in a city like Port Moresby, and they had become settlement dwellers, but Regina’s Christian faith keeps her hanging on.
In all honesty, Lucy, with her skeletal frame, did not look like she had much time in her and this was confirmed by her mother.
“I have five children, of whom Lucy is the eldest,” Regina told me.“I could desert her and leave her alone here, but I love her so much.
“I am her mother and she is my daughter.”
Early last Sunday morning, as my wife and I were packing up to leave, a young student doctor at the nearby Medical Faculty came around with flowers and a wish for all the mothers on their special day.
I had my digital camera with me and was happily taking pictures of my wife – for old time’s sake – when Regina, with tears in her eyes, approached me.
“My brother,” she told me, “could you take a picture of Lucy and me on Mother’s Day?
“We have never had a picture together.”
Tears continued to flow freely down Regina’s eyes as I took a picture of her and her very sick daughter.
It was the epitome of a mother’s never-ending love for her child, come what may.
She later confessed: “This will probably be our last picture together.”My wife and I then left, with a “Happy Mother’s Day” wish to Regina and Lucy, not forgetting Helen, and a promise to bring them the pictures once I had printed them.
Outside, Mother’s Day commercialism was in the air, with jingles on radio and big banners outside the supermarkets.
At home, lots of hugs and kisses from our three children, although we felt that there wasn’t much to celebrate after our experience in Ward 9 of the POMGH.
How many Reginas and Lucys, and Helens, are there out there?
Footnote: Lucy Komae died a few days later - another stark statistic - of the Port Moresby General Hospital
Mother’s Day last Sunday may have been a memorable moment for many mothers all over Papua New Guinea and the world, a day on which their children and husbands showered them with gifts and expressions of love.
But for many others, life went on as usual; a day of toil and tears on what should have been an otherwise happy day.
Such was the case with two wonderful mothers I met in Ward 9 of the Port Moresby General Hospital last Sunday.
The story begins last Friday night when my wife had a tragic miscarriage and had to be admitted to Ward 9 of the POMGH.
What made this particularly heartbreaking for both of us was that it happened two days before Mother’s Day, and the discovery that the three-month old was a son.
Needless to say, tears fell freely for both of us as we thought about what could have been.
My wife spent the whole of Saturday in hospital and late in the afternoon underwent minor surgery as I paced anxiously up and down the corridors of the Labour Ward.
I needn’t have worried as she was well taken care of by very-experienced doctors and nurses and came out without a scratch.
I spent Saturday night with my wife in Ward 9, amidst the weeping and wailing of women, and during the course of the evening struck up an acquaintance with two women sharing the same room.
Helen Paul, from Garaina in the Morobe Province, would undergo major surgery a few days later.Helen, who lives at Morata with her husband and children, however, had a great personality and sense of humour that kept us awake for most of the night.
Next to Helen was Regina Komae, from Kunimaipa in the Goilala area of Central Province, who was looking after her very sick 25-year-old daughter Lucy.
Lucy, I gathered from her mother, had started becoming sick almost two years ago after giving birth to a daughter in Tapini.
Regina told me that that Lucy had been in and out of hospital since then – including undergoing major surgery - and it had utterly exhausted them: physically, mentally and financially.
Life has not been kind to them in a city like Port Moresby, and they had become settlement dwellers, but Regina’s Christian faith keeps her hanging on.
In all honesty, Lucy, with her skeletal frame, did not look like she had much time in her and this was confirmed by her mother.
“I have five children, of whom Lucy is the eldest,” Regina told me.“I could desert her and leave her alone here, but I love her so much.
“I am her mother and she is my daughter.”
Early last Sunday morning, as my wife and I were packing up to leave, a young student doctor at the nearby Medical Faculty came around with flowers and a wish for all the mothers on their special day.
I had my digital camera with me and was happily taking pictures of my wife – for old time’s sake – when Regina, with tears in her eyes, approached me.
“My brother,” she told me, “could you take a picture of Lucy and me on Mother’s Day?
“We have never had a picture together.”
Tears continued to flow freely down Regina’s eyes as I took a picture of her and her very sick daughter.
It was the epitome of a mother’s never-ending love for her child, come what may.
She later confessed: “This will probably be our last picture together.”My wife and I then left, with a “Happy Mother’s Day” wish to Regina and Lucy, not forgetting Helen, and a promise to bring them the pictures once I had printed them.
Outside, Mother’s Day commercialism was in the air, with jingles on radio and big banners outside the supermarkets.
At home, lots of hugs and kisses from our three children, although we felt that there wasn’t much to celebrate after our experience in Ward 9 of the POMGH.
How many Reginas and Lucys, and Helens, are there out there?
Footnote: Lucy Komae died a few days later - another stark statistic - of the Port Moresby General Hospital
Happy Mother's Day
A Happy Mother's Day to all you wonderful and beautiful Mums all over the world, especially Papua New Guinea, as you celebrate your special day tomorrow.
God Bless You All Real Good!
For my four young children and I, it will be another Mother's Day without their Mum, my Dear wife Hula, who left us so tragically on Easter Sunday 2008.
The first year without her has been tough for all of us, especially baby Keith, but we are getting on with life.
We miss and love you so much, Hula.
On Mother's Day, we will have a cake and light a candle for you, Darling.
We know that you are always with us.
Happy Mother's Day!
God Bless You All Real Good!
For my four young children and I, it will be another Mother's Day without their Mum, my Dear wife Hula, who left us so tragically on Easter Sunday 2008.
The first year without her has been tough for all of us, especially baby Keith, but we are getting on with life.
We miss and love you so much, Hula.
On Mother's Day, we will have a cake and light a candle for you, Darling.
We know that you are always with us.
Happy Mother's Day!
Friday, May 08, 2009
CNN may not have shown this photo
TV reporters are too busy focusing on the Queen receiving the VIP guests at Buckingham Palace .
This was a "touching" Kodak moment outside 10 Downing Street that won't be forgotten by this London copper.
A powerful photo
Remember the coppers on duty are not supposed to shake hands, but the two brothers couldn't resist the historic moment. The black copper never imagined in his wildest dream that he would usher a black American President into the British corridors of power. Nice!
Concerns on closure of Kokoda Track by villagers
THE Kokoda Track Authority and the Papua New Guinea Tourism Promotion Authority have expressed concern about the latest threats by villagers to close the Kokoda Track.
They said the actions of certain Kovelo villagers in placing barriers across the Kokoda Track in their village and charging K200 permit fees for trekkers to pass was uncalled for and villagers should cease their unnecessary actions immediately.
“This is very disappointing as the KTA has convened a special Board for this coming Tuesday to specifically address the villagers concerns. The Chairman of the KTA,
Mr Hillman said the KTA is now a new organisation that has learnt from previous mistakes. A new management committee has been established and new systems instigated to ensure the industry moves forward and the funds are fully accountable and distributed equitably. Trek fees are now collected efficiently by the KTA and are ready to be distributed to land owners and the community. Establishing a system to distribute the funds is proving a challenge and this is the main area of concern to all involved.
“The future of the Kokoda Track relies on everyone working together and providing an experience that trekkers will want to come to
The Kokoda Track is PNG’s major tourism attraction and last year close to 6,000 trekkers walked the Kokoda Track bringing huge job opportunities including porters, guides, hotels, transport and food. Each trekker pays K200 to the KTA as a permit to walk the track and these funds are used to maintain the track and associated facilities provide payments to land owners and communities and to operate the KTA.
“I am sure common sense will prevail and the barricades will be removed so the people of Kovelo, the other villagers along the track and all the people who benefit from the trekkers can continue to reap the rewards of their work,” said Rod Hillman
Call for Lutheran communion solidarity with communities affected by climate change
LUTHERAN WORLD INFORMATION
LWI News online:
http://www.lutheranworld.org/News/Welcome.EN.html
PURI, Orissa State, India/GENEVA, 7 May 2009 (LWI) - A group of theologians, ethicists, anthropologists and staff working on
adaptation and mitigation measures related to climate change, are calling for the Lutheran communion's global solidarity with vulnerable communities that are acting to address the impact of climate change.
"To be in communion with creation, means to be in solidarity with those victimised by climate change, who inspire and motivate
our commitment and actions to redress climate change," stated the 23 persons following a Lutheran World Federation (LWF) "Climate Change Encounter in India," 16 - 20 April, in Puri, in the northeastern state of Orissa.
The international event in disaster-prone Orissa was aimed at witnessing first hand the dramatic effects of climate change, and
reflecting on the interconnections with other parts of the world. It was organised by the LWF Department for Theology and Studies (DTS) in collaboration with the United Evangelical Lutheran Church in India (UELCI) and the Department for World Service (DWS) associate program, Lutheran World Service India (LWSI).
In addition to those from the UELCI and LWSI, participants came from LWF member churches in Australia, Denmark, Germany, India,Indonesia, Sweden and the USA, from DWS programs in Bangladesh and Tanzania, as well as other Christian denominations and faiths. The five-day event comprised visits to coastal fisher folk and farmer communities around the Bay of Bengal, analyses of climate change, Bible story and worship.
In the six rural communities visited, the participants heard testimonies from and interacted with a large number of persons, whose entire lives, meaning and future are deeply affected by climate change. The LWSI rural development project is working with such communities to educate, empower people and support local initiatives such as self-help groups, disaster management and village development committees to counter the impact of climate change.
The initiatives to adapt and take preventive measures include effort to continually plant more trees; educating children;
promoting traditional food, well-being and health; and relying more on communal family systems, which can survive better amid
climate change. Community members are also conscious of the need to build houses on safer ground or raise them off the ground; and to construct elevated tube wells that guard against salinization during flooding. Through cooperation with government authorities and various disaster alert mechanisms and groups, villagers receive and plant new seeds after floods.
The LWF communiqué titled, "Witnessing to Hope Amid Rising Waters," sums up what the event's participants witnessed, and
also invites solidarity with the hopeful actions that the villagers are taking for their future.
As part of sharing the insights from the Puri communities with the wider Lutheran communion, the participants recommend that the process be broadened before and during Pre-Assemblies leading up to the July 2010 LWF Eleventh Assembly in Stuttgart, Germany.
"Give Us Today Our Daily Bread" is the theme of the assembly, to be hosted by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Wuerttemberg.
They expressed their support for the various climate change-related advocacy positions of the LWF Council and member
churches and encouraged others to do likewise. They urged a strategic presence and LWF message at the December 2009 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Copenhagen, Denmark. To coincide with that crucial meeting, they proposed that a time be designated and promoted globally for ringing church (and other) bells in order to emphasize the urgency of redressing climate change.
LWI News online:
http://www.lutheranworld.org/News/Welcome.EN.html
PURI, Orissa State, India/GENEVA, 7 May 2009 (LWI) - A group of theologians, ethicists, anthropologists and staff working on
adaptation and mitigation measures related to climate change, are calling for the Lutheran communion's global solidarity with vulnerable communities that are acting to address the impact of climate change.
"To be in communion with creation, means to be in solidarity with those victimised by climate change, who inspire and motivate
our commitment and actions to redress climate change," stated the 23 persons following a Lutheran World Federation (LWF) "Climate Change Encounter in India," 16 - 20 April, in Puri, in the northeastern state of Orissa.
The international event in disaster-prone Orissa was aimed at witnessing first hand the dramatic effects of climate change, and
reflecting on the interconnections with other parts of the world. It was organised by the LWF Department for Theology and Studies (DTS) in collaboration with the United Evangelical Lutheran Church in India (UELCI) and the Department for World Service (DWS) associate program, Lutheran World Service India (LWSI).
In addition to those from the UELCI and LWSI, participants came from LWF member churches in Australia, Denmark, Germany, India,Indonesia, Sweden and the USA, from DWS programs in Bangladesh and Tanzania, as well as other Christian denominations and faiths. The five-day event comprised visits to coastal fisher folk and farmer communities around the Bay of Bengal, analyses of climate change, Bible story and worship.
In the six rural communities visited, the participants heard testimonies from and interacted with a large number of persons, whose entire lives, meaning and future are deeply affected by climate change. The LWSI rural development project is working with such communities to educate, empower people and support local initiatives such as self-help groups, disaster management and village development committees to counter the impact of climate change.
The initiatives to adapt and take preventive measures include effort to continually plant more trees; educating children;
promoting traditional food, well-being and health; and relying more on communal family systems, which can survive better amid
climate change. Community members are also conscious of the need to build houses on safer ground or raise them off the ground; and to construct elevated tube wells that guard against salinization during flooding. Through cooperation with government authorities and various disaster alert mechanisms and groups, villagers receive and plant new seeds after floods.
The LWF communiqué titled, "Witnessing to Hope Amid Rising Waters," sums up what the event's participants witnessed, and
also invites solidarity with the hopeful actions that the villagers are taking for their future.
As part of sharing the insights from the Puri communities with the wider Lutheran communion, the participants recommend that the process be broadened before and during Pre-Assemblies leading up to the July 2010 LWF Eleventh Assembly in Stuttgart, Germany.
"Give Us Today Our Daily Bread" is the theme of the assembly, to be hosted by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Wuerttemberg.
They expressed their support for the various climate change-related advocacy positions of the LWF Council and member
churches and encouraged others to do likewise. They urged a strategic presence and LWF message at the December 2009 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Copenhagen, Denmark. To coincide with that crucial meeting, they proposed that a time be designated and promoted globally for ringing church (and other) bells in order to emphasize the urgency of redressing climate change.
The full text of the communiqué from the LWF event in Puri is available at: www.lutheranworld.org
More information and further reflections about the LWF Eleventh Assembly theme are available at:
www.lutheranworld.org/Assembly2010_theme.html
* * *
(The LWF is a global communion of Christian churches in the Lutheran tradition. Founded in 1947 in Lund, Sweden, the LWF
currently has 140 member churches in 79 countries all over the world, with a total membership of 68.5 million. The LWF acts on
behalf of its member churches in areas of common interest such as ecumenical and interfaith relations, theology, humanitarian
assistance, human rights, communication, and the various aspects of mission and development work. Its secretariat is located in Geneva, Switzerland.)
[Lutheran World Information (LWI) is the LWF's information service. Unless specifically noted, material presented does not
represent positions or opinions of the LWF or of its various units. Where the dateline of an article contains the notation
(LWI), the material may be freely reproduced with acknowledgment.]
LUTHERAN WORLD INFORMATION
P. O. Box 2100 CH-1211
Geneva 2 Switzerland
Tel.: +41/22-791 63 69
Fax: +41/22-791 66 30
A naked grab for power
THE AUSTRALIAN Letters Blog May 08, 2009 3 Comments
I REFER to Graham Davis's response (Letters, 4/5) to Jon Fraenkel's letter (2-3/5). I carry no brief for the racial supremacists of my country, but Fiji's imperfect democracy is an evolving one. And neither Frank Bainimarama, nor Sitiveni Rabuka before him, had the right to destroy it, whatever the pretext.
The wonder and paradox of democracy is that the outcome cannot be guaranteed in advance. A fairer and more equitable electoral system will not necessarily deliver a result that Bainimarama, Davis or some of us would prefer. Indeed Fiji's coup leader is on record as saying that ousted prime minister Laisenia Qarase would return over his dead body.
What this sentiment suggests is that Fiji's unelected ruler, who has no mandate from the people, would lend his support to a democratic model of governance so long as he was satisfied with and could guarantee the outcome. That is a dangerous proposition and reveals far more about the shallowness of Bainimarama's understanding of the nature of democratic politics.
The charge of "racism" that is flung with abandon at Qarase's government is cited to justify the December 5, 2006 coup. Suffice it to say, that in the context of Fiji the discourse about race and ethnicity is more complicated than is portrayed. It is not confined to one community. As a person of mixed-racial parentage, I can cite examples of being at the receiving end of racial slurs and discrimination. But I would not for one moment suggest that a coup d'etat would be the way to address racism and bad governance. The end does not justify the means.
Electoral reform, while important, is essentially a red herring. The real problem in Fiji is that feudal cliques refusing to relinquish privilege, an army that refuses to recognise its limitations in a democracy, and failed politicians of all persuasions and opportunistic businessmen who support them, see nothing wrong in undermining electoral verdicts.
The choice is not between good and evil as such, but rather between the legitimation of arbitrariness and whim in public life and the hesitant but gradual process of democratisation with all its checks and balances.
If the racial supremacists in Fiji are now converts, let it be the Damascus experience of Saint Paul and not the ambivalence of Hamlet. Fiji's latest coup should be seen for what it is—a naked grab for power.
Graham Leung
Suva, Fiji
Lets hope the "Melanesia Way"of decision-making is not writen into the pilot manuals......fly Airlines of PNG, perhaps?
From JOHN FOWKE
AIR Niugini has continued its services to Fiji, via the Solomon Islands, under its code share agreement with Solomon Airlines in the hopes that current disagreements between the two airlines can be solved "the Melanesian way".
"Our tolerance and continued effort to resolve this dispute only reflects the Melanesian way of dispute resolution and we are still committed to finding a workable solution that can benefit both parties," Air Niugini chief executive officer Wasantha Kumarasiri said in a statement on Wednesday.
"Our tolerance and continued effort to resolve this dispute only reflects the Melanesian way of dispute resolution and we are still committed to finding a workable solution that can benefit both parties," Air Niugini chief executive officer Wasantha Kumarasiri said in a statement on Wednesday.
Evangelical Lutheran Church of Papua New Guinea National Youth Sunday
ELCPNG Hagen District Youth singing a song when presenting their offering to the ELCPNG National Office
Drama performed by the Ampo Youth ministry at the Immanuel Youth Hall
Martin Luther Seminary students presenting an item during the Youth Sunday Service at the Immanuel Youth Center
Ampo Youth leading worship with songs and music at the Immanuel Youth Hall during the National Youth Sunday serviceBy GUTI WARIME of ELCPNG
Every year the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Papua New Guinea (ELCPNG) observes the first Sunday of May as the National Youth Sunday.
On May 3 this year, all congregations throughout the 17 districts of ELCPNG observed the day in supporting the Youth Ministries with prayers and thanksgiving.
One of ELCPNG’s oldest youth halls, Immanuel Youth Hall, built by the then active Lae Lutheran Youth (LLY) of ELCPNG in the 1970’s, came to life that day.
One of ELCPNG’s oldest youth halls, Immanuel Youth Hall, built by the then active Lae Lutheran Youth (LLY) of ELCPNG in the 1970’s, came to life that day.
The Redeemer Parish congregations in Lae city gathered at the hall for Sunday service and many youth participated in leading the worship in music and songs, creative dance and drama.
The secretary of the ELCPNG Evangelism Department, Rev Binora and the ELCPNG National Youth Director, Mr Mileng, were present at the event.
The secretary of the ELCPNG Evangelism Department, Rev Binora and the ELCPNG National Youth Director, Mr Mileng, were present at the event.
In his speech Rev Binora challenged the youth to fully utilise the Immanuel Youth Hall which has been sitting idle for many years.
He challenged the youth to come up with creative ideas to resurrect the long gone active spirit of fellowship that had moved the LLY in those days when he was a member.
“ELCPNG Youth should fully utilise this big building [Immanuel Youth Hall]!” Rev Binora stressed.
Every year, each of the 17 districts of ELCPNG usually gives their offerings to the National Youth Office (NYO) to show their ownership and support for the youth ministries.
Every year, each of the 17 districts of ELCPNG usually gives their offerings to the National Youth Office (NYO) to show their ownership and support for the youth ministries.
However, due to financial constraints and geographical locations of most congregations, it has been about 10 years since the NYO last sent out invitation to the districts seeking their support.
However, after the event, on May 5 the Highland District of ELCPNG - the ELCPNG-Hagen District Youth - came to present a cash offering of K1557.90 (USD556) to the National Youth Office and some garden food for the staff at the ELCPNG headquarters.
However, after the event, on May 5 the Highland District of ELCPNG - the ELCPNG-Hagen District Youth - came to present a cash offering of K1557.90 (USD556) to the National Youth Office and some garden food for the staff at the ELCPNG headquarters.
The items included 13 kaukau bags, 12 bunch of banana and bags of fruits and vegetables.
Upon receiving the gifts, the Acting Head Bishop of ELCPNG, Reverend Zau Rapa, thanked them and gave some challenging remarks to everyone who gathered.
Upon receiving the gifts, the Acting Head Bishop of ELCPNG, Reverend Zau Rapa, thanked them and gave some challenging remarks to everyone who gathered.
“From birth till death, the church is part our life so whatever we do to the Church, we are actually helping ourselves and not another person,” Rev Rapa stated.
The National Youth Director, Mr Mileng, is very pleased and thankful for the gifts of thanksgiving presented to the National Youth Office in Ampo by the Church of Hope Parish in the Jabem District, the Hagen District Youths and other groups.
The National Youth Director, Mr Mileng, is very pleased and thankful for the gifts of thanksgiving presented to the National Youth Office in Ampo by the Church of Hope Parish in the Jabem District, the Hagen District Youths and other groups.
MEDIA FREEDOM WEEK
It has been suggested that the standard of journalism in
It has also been suggested that journalism schools were not producing the quality graduates needed by the media industry in PNG.
I beg to differ.
If it is true that the standard of journalism in PNG has dropped, then it is not the young journalists who should be blamed, but rather the people responsible for providing editorial management and direction in the various news organisations.
These are the people who decide on what events or news get covered and what events do not get covered; they decide on what goes where in newspapers, on TV news and radio news; they determine what the nation should read about, hear about or watch on TV and what should be discarded daily.
They decide what gets prominence and what does not.
They and their chief executives who hold the cheque books determine whether young journalists receive further training at the cost of their own news organisations or wait for freebies from donor agencies and overseas information services.
These are the people who decide how far inland newspapers can be delivered, where TV and radio transmitters should be installed to give wider access to the public.
It is my view that the quality of editorial direction and management in the newsroom has a lot to do with the quality and standard of journalism in PNG.
It has a lot to do with whether journalists, both young and seasoned, uphold the so-called journalism code of ethics.
The quality of journalism in PNG is shaped by them, not necessarily by young journalists who only follow instructions to cover various news events.
It is time for the spot light to be flashed on those who should really be held accountable and answerable to the public for the daily dose of news that we read, hear and see in our media daily; not the young journalists fresh out of journalism school or trying to understand how to cover this complex nation called PNG.
As we celebrate another Media Freedom Week, media organisations should focus their attention on ensuring that many more Papua New Guineans in the rural and far remote areas of PNG have access to the media.
Our media today only reach a very small percentage of Papua New Guineans, especially those in the urban and peri-urban areas.
The rest in the rural and rural remote parts of the country remain completely isolated.
To me, reaching these people remains the single greatest challenge facing the PNG media industry today.
Having spent 10 months out of the media industry, it has become obvious to me that some sections of our industry risk becoming irrelevant to the society they purport to serve.
The public receive very little real value in their media and in a country where there is a glaring absence of government information service; the people are at a loss as to who they should turn to for relevant information.
The people’s hunger for information on how to improve their way of life and or raise their standard of living remain unfulfilled.
Yours,
Oseah Philemon, OBE
Voco Point
Lae
Thursday, May 07, 2009
Captain Bouraga’s last hurrah
Capt Bouraga is wheeled on the tarmac at Jackson's Airport. Picture by AURI EVA
Capt Bouraga's F100 is given the traditional hosing down at Jackson's Airport+with+old+mates+Masket+Iangalio+(left)+and+Lae+MP+Bart+Philemon.+Picture+by+AURI+EVA.jpg)
Capt Bouraga (centre) with old mates Masket Iangalio (left) and Lae MP Bart Philemon. Picture by AURI EVABy TRAVERTZ MABONE in The National
AIR NIUGINI saw the departure of one of its pioneer Papua New Guinea pilots last Friday.
Captain Aria Bouraga had his “wings clipped” after 40 years of soaring all over PNG and the world like an eagle, 35 of these with Air Niugini, up until last Friday.
In emotional scenes at Jackson airport in Port Moresby, Capt Bouraga was given the traditional soaking, before being wheeled off the tarmac after clocking a proud 23,000 hours of flying time in a brilliant career.
His last hurrah had none better VIP than Governor-General and PNG patriot Sir Paulias Matane while his first officer was his nephew Gari Bouraga.
Capt Bouraga said that he was proud of being able to remain with Air Niugini since its inception in 1973 and encouraged up-and-coming national pilots to take pride in their job and uphold the high personal and professional standards expected of a pilot.
Sir Paulias congratulated Capt Bouraga, saying he was proud of him being one of the first PNG pilots and thanked him for his many years of service.
Pilots’ Union president Capt Mark Storr was also proud of Mr Bouraga as he was “part of the first group of young Papua New Guineans to discover the mystery of flying”.
Capt Bouraga thanked the many pilots who had flown alongside him in his long and distinguished career.
“After 35 years in the air, I finally would like my feet on the ground at my home in Gabagaba village in Rigo, Central province,” he said.
Villagers want Butibam-Kamkumung stretch sealed
Angry Butibam villagers today called on the Works Department to immediately seal the 3km Butibam-Kamkumung stretch to avoid being polluted by dust and heavy traffic.
They made the call as all traffic along
The Butibam-Kamkumg stretch, once a well-sealed road, has over the years turned into a dusty, pothole-filled bush track.
“Butibam people are seriously considering stopping all traffic from utilising the Butibam bypass unless there is proper maintenance and sealing,”Ahi Association president Jonathan Saing said today.
“It has to be done immediately.
“We are calling on national works secretary Joel Luma to make available funding to fix the 3km stretch between Butibam and Kamkumung.
“We are not a rubbish dump and our dignity as human beings should be respected.”
Lae's Sipaia Beach out of bounds to public
Frustrated Wagang villagers from outside Lae have put a stop to members of the public using their popular
They said in a public notice dated May 1 that this was due to “continuous harassment and blatant disrespect of the villagers”.
“The
“We have taken this step to safeguard our children from speeding vehicles, public nuisance, drunkenness, disturbance of village harmony and aimless wandering into private village areas.
“Our intentions are to set up village regulations for use of the beach by the public, and put in place laws to safeguard our village life, and providing barbeque stands, toilets and other amenities before the beach is reopened to the public.”
Mr Sawang and Mr Galang said that when the beach was reopened, fees would be charged for use for leisure and functions, to bring in revenue to maintain public amenities and the beachfront.
“We hope that when we do open up, we will be able to provide services for and better inform the public,” they said.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)