A Bogan in Bougainville

Rio Tinto are back in the ring

2011-11-14T16:42:00.001-08:00

Am well behind on events here but there has been a successful appeal of the case against Rio Tinto by the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco. You can read more about it here, here and here.

There are three key points of note:

The case is now considering whether genocide was committed during the Crisis. Qoute: "Judge Schroeder said the complaint's allegation that Rio Tinto's "worldwide modus operandi" was to treat indigenous non-Caucasians as "expendable" justified restoring the genocide claim to the case."
Corporations can be held liable in U.S. courts for human rights violations committed abroad.
The case was successfully appealed despite the fact that it has not yet been pursued through PNG courts, which as I understood it was a threshold issue for the Alien Tort Statute.

This is going to require a bit of digging, will post on this soon.

Further to this, another blogger is well on the ball and has plenty of coverage on the history behind the case, including a couple of cables from Wikileaks. If you are interested pop over to Trinketization.

Rio Tino return to Panguna?

2011-09-19T03:13:00.000-07:00

Hi all,

Saw the following article in the Courier Mail the other day, more progress on the Panguna front?

Courier Mail (Brisbane)

17-Sep-2011

Mine of information

UNBEKNOWN to the rest of the

world, there was a very high-level visit

to the ramshackle Panguna Mine in

Bougainville in Papua New Guinea

recently.

Outside of Escondida and Grasberg,

Panguna remains the largest copper

ore body in the Pacific region. It has

been closed since 1987 following a

landowner uprising which led to civil

war on the rich PNG island.

The mine once accounted for more

than half of PNG's GDP, the other half

being Australian aid.

Our spies report that a Rio director

was accompanied by Bougainville

Copper Ltd managing director Peter

Taylor and a senior member of

AusAid, in a two-day, low-key inspection

of the mine.

People that know about such matters

reckon it would cost a cool

$A3 billion to get the mine back to full

production but in Rio, or BHP terms,

that's small change.

Rio has managed to hold on to its

controlling 67 per cent interest in

Bougainville Copper despite several

unreported bids by Chinese interests

to garner ownership of the massive

porphyry copper/gold ore body.

More Talk, More Action?

2011-08-15T02:39:00.000-07:00

Thought you might be interested in a recent article on Panguna Copper Mine based on interviews with Chris Uma and James Tanis. Article and interviews sourced from Radio Australia.

Rebel leader wants to talk about reopening Bougainville copper mine

August 10, 2011 17:11:51

The leader of the Original Me'ekamui rebel group on Bougainville, Chris Uma says he wants to talk with the Australian government and with mining giant Rio Tinto, about the reopening Panguna copper mine.

The mine was the spark that ignited a decade long civil war on Bougainville, a war that left thousands dead and the economy of the island on its knees.

The comments by Me'ekamui General, Chris Uma, come after he allowed a delegation of senior Australian diplomats to visit the mine site, for the first time, in more than 2 decades.

Presenter: Jemima Garrett,
Speakers: Chris Uma, leader of the Bougainville rebel group the Original Me'ekamui; James Tanis, former President of Bougainville

GARRETT: The Original Me'ekamui is the rebel group that controls access to the Panguna mine site and for decades it has been hostile to Australia and to the mine-owner, Rio Tinto because of their part in the war on Bougainville .

The decision by Me'ekamui Leader, Chris Uma, to allow Ian Kemish, the Australian High Commissioner to Papua New Guinea, access to the mine is a significant breakthrough for the peace process.

The visit began with a traditional ceremony at the Me'ekamui checkpoint at Morgan Junction on the mine access road.

High Commissioner Kemish approached on foot with a live pig and a bale of rice as a reconciliation offering. There he met and shook hands with Me'ekamui leader, Chris Uma.

On a very poor phone line from Bougainville, Chris Uma, told Radio Australia that the ceremony was an important step forward.

UMA: I understand that I can solve the problem of Bougainville and I know what the Bougainville crisis started and how it will be ended. That's why I let the Australian High Commissioner through my checkpoint, to make a statement clear to the Australian government and the world that, today, we are talking.

GARRETT: As Chris Uma says he is a crucial force in solving the Bougainville crisis.

The Me'ekamui leader says his decision to let the Australian High Commissioner visit the Panguna mine site is a message to the world that he is now talking with Australia.

Former Bougainville President, James Tanis, is also a Panguna man.

He has been working for peace for 15 years.

Mr Tanis facilitated the Australian delegations' visit and he says, as Australia was part of the problem on Bougainville, it is very important that it be part of the solution.

TANIS: The problem started in Panguna, it is the birthplace of the conflict and the visit to Panguna by the representative of the Australian government is a major step forward in terms of building relationships so that together we can move forward in resolving those issues for which we have dispute over.

GARRETT: Just what did it take to make the visit possible?

TANIS: It took a lot of negotiation, a lot of patience but it was the result of everybody's effort, meaning the Australian High Commissioner's willingness to come into Panguna and Chris Uma's acceptance, because Chris Uma is the main person who manages the Morgan Junction checkpoint. That is there to enforce this view that no outsiders would come into Panguna. So it took Chris Uma a lot of understanding, a lot of change in him, to allow the Australian High Commission to go ahead and perform cultural rituals to allow him access into Panguna

GARRETT: Between 2015 and 2020 Bougainville is to hold a referendum on independence from Papua New Guinea.

For that refendum to offer a real choice Bougainville needs economic self-reliance and for many people that means the re-opening of the Panguna copper mine.

The Me'ekamui have been at the heart of the independence movement.

Chris Uma says he is willing to talk about re-opening the mine, and even to give the go-ahead to mining, but there is a long way to go before that happens.

UMA: Me'ekamui government is looking forward to solve the problem of the Bougainville conflict, starting from that mine. Panguna mine can open under the name of Chris Uma.

GARRETT: So if you approve plans to re-open the mine, the mine can re-open?

UMA: It is not negotiated, yet. (It's a) very, very big job to talk about it and its not negotiated yet.

GARRETT: Former Bougainville President James Tanis agrees that there are many obstacles ahead.

But Mr Tanis and the Autonomous Bougainville Government are working hard to create a better future.

TANIS: The main thing is that we Bougainvilleans are continuing to talk amongst ourselves, talk with the ABG (Autonomous Government of Bougainville), talk with the national government and going as far as talking with the Australians, so that still gives me hope that peace will be sorted out.

GARRETT: And just how realistic do you think it is to eventually reopen the mine, and particularly in time for the timetable for the vote on independence?

TANIS: It is already running too late! And even if we made the mine reopening decision today I do not see the mine going into operation in the next 3 years. The next 3 years might be needed for rebuilding and not the commercial activity, so 3 years at the minimum.

GARRETT: James Tanis says it is urgent that the new PNG government start the much-delayed handover of mining powers to Bougainville and that it pay up on promised development funding.

At the moment Australia is Bougainville's biggest aid donor.

Mr Tanis says an additional special package of aid for Panguna would give the peace process a better chance.

http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/pacbeat/stories/201108/s3290464.htm

12 Months

2011-05-07T19:02:00.000-07:00

It is exactly a year today since I boarded a plane and departed Bougainville. Definately feels like a personal milestone in terms of that's now in the past and I got to be focused on the here and now.

It was a hard slog for those first 8 - 10 months out but have plenty of good things going on now. Speaking of which, off to a music festival this afternoon, I think its my fifth since I left Bougie! Really appreciating all the great things on offer in Australia, most especially new friends, new beers, new cities and new music.

So here's to good times and great memories!

Much love,

MW.

Radio New Dawn

2011-04-25T21:59:00.000-07:00

Some of you may already be aware of its existence but Radio New Dawn of Buka, Bougainville, maintains an online blog: http://www.bougainville.typepad.com/

I have found this to be a great way to keep updated on events in Lan Bilong Sunkamap.

Peacebuilding Compared

2011-04-25T18:58:00.000-07:00

G'day,

This post is well overdue but please let me introduce you to the ANU Peacebuilding Compared project and its work on reconciliation in Bougainville.

Those of you who have worked in Bougainville will be familiar with their customary approaches to conflict resolution, which were ultimately fundamental to creating peace after years of war. This story has now been captured in a thorough paper on Bougainville's peacebuilding efforts: http://www.peacebuilding.anu.edu.au/

I came across this paper following a chat with John Braithwaite, one of the architects of the project and an academic with a long history in Bougainville. John gave me some very good career advice at the time and I've long since intended to draft a post about the paper. I strongly encourage you to take a look at the website and get yourself a copy.

BBQ with a Bougainvillean

2010-11-13T22:34:00.000-08:00

So I was travelling to work the other day and happened to glance out of the bus window…and much to my surprise I saw the former President of Bougainville, James Tanis, standing on the side of the road.

As soon as the bus stopped I bolted out the door and caught up with him. Turns out James has been in Canberra for the past six weeks, working on his memoirs and consulting on some papers in cooperation with the Australian National University.

From left: Me, James, Saskia

We’ve since had James over for a couple of barbeques at our apartment. It has been great catching up on events but more importantly we have both enjoyed just having a beer together. Saskia also set up a talk for James and ANU academic Anthony Reagan at the Attorney-General’s Department which apparently went very well.

James heads off next week and may return next year to study a Masters in International Relations. He’s got some ideas on how to continue to help Bougainville while he is abroad, and with all of his connections I’m sure he will be able to get something going. If he does I will be sure to write a post about it.

The debate continues

2010-06-29T19:42:00.000-07:00

G'day from Canberra, Australia,

Since leaving Bougainville on the 8th of May I've managed to spend my time running around NZ and Australia. Places I've managed to visit (in order of appearance): Port Moresby, Brisbane, Napier, Wellington, Auckland, Sydney, Woollongong, Canberra and Jindabyne. Have managed to see most of my friends and family which is fantastic, but all this travel and socialising left me exhausted! Am now temporarily settled in Canberra, where I've been relaxing and taking things in. I hope to work at Perisher Ski Field for the winter season so I hope the snowfall improves soon...

Enough about me though. Those who have worked in PNG, whether as a volunteer or on a salary, may take great interest in this article. Susan Merrell, a freelance journalist hits the common points on the debate around whether Australian aid can really help PNG. I encourage you to check the comments that follow, they run across the spectrum. For a local perspective check out this blog post on Tubuans and Dukduks.

Also have some news on Bougainville. Apparently there was a bit of drama in Arawa with a ship coming illegally into PNG waters (again) and handing out arms to a local faction that is competing for the last of the oil at Loloho. The faction was successful and managed to out do a dodgy Kiwi/local joint venture which had spent months working to salvage the oil (this had nothing to do with the NZ government or other Kiwis working in Bougainville).

The dodgy Kiwis apparently retaliated by complaining to the authorities on their way out of PNG. The PNG Customs and Immigration Department eventually intercepted the boat and seized the ship when it left Loloho on its way to Singapore. It is anyone's guess as to what is going to happen to all that valuable oil now...

The real issue here is the impact on New Zealand ex-patriots in Bougainville. I'm reliably told that a curfew was imposed on the weekend of the 19th of June because factions associated with the ship fought local police and threatened to seize assets associated with NZ. This just reinforces the importance of local relationships in ensuring any ex-patriots are safe. All it takes is one group with selfish interests to put everyone at risk.

On a less serious note, to those who offered support for Alvin I am pleased to say that my last act in Bougainville was to purchase an open ticket that will fly a dermatologist to Buka so that Alvin can finally get the treatment he needs. Bjorn has updated his website with the details here. My flatmate Victoria (still in Buka) is now pushing for confirmation of the travel dates. I will continue to post updates on this as they come through.

All right, plenty to chew on in this post! Lukim yu.

Bogan I Go Pinis

2010-06-14T20:57:00.000-07:00

Hey there,
After 21 months of adventures I finished my contract and left Bougainville on the 8th of May 2010. It was an amazing adventure....I wish I could say more, but words fail me!
Thanks for reading my blog, I don't know if I will keep it up but at least for now it stays for those with an interest in the issues I've written about. If you are interested in Bougainville and have any questions I can be contacted on hi.mrwolf@gmail.com. If I can't help I may be able to forward you onto someone who will.
Peace, love and jagermeister,
Wolfy.

Elections

2010-06-08T21:42:00.001-07:00

The elections have closed and the results are in: John Momis will be the new President of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville. He will be Bougainville's third President (James Tanis is the outgoing President, voted in after Joseph Kabui passed away during the first term). If you'd like to know more, the Ginger Ninja has covered it here.

Alvin IV

2010-05-02T22:06:00.001-07:00

G'day,

Sorry for the lack of updates on the Alvin issue. We had originally intended to have the dermatologist visit Buka in early April but due to some miscommunication with my bank the funds for the dermatologist's flights were not transferred in time. Am pleased, however, to let you know that we have raised a total of 1,582.55 kina through the website and direct donations to me. This will cover the cost of flights for the dermatologist.

We have contacted the dermatologist twice this week and we are currently waiting for confirmation of arrival and departure dates. I am hoping he will wish to come within the next two weeks. Will keep you posted.

Thanks for the support.

Enough law, no order

2010-05-02T22:03:00.001-07:00

In my previous post I told the story of our Chief Administrator's run in with raskols in Siwai. Although this story was of interest on its own, it illustrates some significant problems facing law and justice in Bougainville.

As a local senior official has often said, "Bougainville has lots of laws but no order." The system of law and justice in Papua New Guinea is a slowly merging mix of customary and formal* approaches to conflict resolution. Bougainville is establishing a similar system post-Crisis. But it faces some significant challenges.

For example, at present there is approximately one police officer for every 1,341 Bougainvilleans, which, given that the population is mostly rural and spread over mountainous terrain, puts the formal system under some strain. The Bougainville Police Service are also unarmed and under resourced (shortage of houses, vehicles, police posts etc).

It is therefore not surprising that the BPS are struggling to assert their authority in the community. But we need that to change because there are a number of trends in the community that the ABG needs to get a handle on. They include:

the prevalence of violent crime in the community (i.e. sexual assaults and retributive killings);
the prevalence of domestic violence in the community;
the continued presence of guns in the community;
the trade in small and light arms over the border with the Solomon Islands; and
the continued existence of the Morgan Junction and Tonu roadblocks.

These challenges are significant and I should note that none of the problems detailed here are unique to Bougainville – you will find similar examples in many other provinces in Papua Guinea, as reported by local media. The question for the Autonomous Bougainville Government is: can it take advantage of its autonomous status and steer the region away from the trend of rising crime and insecurity in Papua New Guinea?

* When I use the term 'formal' I am referring to the legal system introduced by Australia and adopted by Papua New Guinea when it gained independence in 1975.

The Mob Rules

2010-04-16T21:41:00.001-07:00

I have a story for you. As far as I am aware this is a close a rendition of the truth.

Our Chief Administrator, the bureaucratic head of the public service, was recently accosted in Southern Bougainville. Six thugs, or raskols, decided they wanted his government vehicle and used an M16, a .303, a shotgun, a hand made gun and a grass knife (a grass knife is a very long machete) to try and persuade him to hand it over. He refused, explaining that his driver had the keys, which was a good idea since the driver wasn't there at the time. The raskols left and promised to come back for the car later.

The Chief Administrator then collected his driver and went and complained to the local chiefs. The chiefs in turn called on the local ex-combatants to round up the raskols.

I should note at this point that ex-combatants are still relied on as an alternative to responding to crime through the police. Their 'bush justice' essentially involves finding those who are allegedly guilty, taking them into the bush and applying brute force. Sometimes only the ex-combatants return.

And so the raskols were rounded up. As soon as the Chief Administrator heard he rushed down to intervene, fearing of course that they wouldn't survive the encounter….but they did, although one had a few chunks taken out of him with a machete. They are all in custody in Buin, apart from Mr Chunks, who is in Buka General Hospital. Reconciliation between the raskols, their people and the Chief Administrator is currently being planned and the Chief Administrator is in good spirits.

End of story time. You can now return to your completely different world.

Dunedin, what happened?

2010-04-12T22:51:00.001-07:00

First the Bowler was lost, now Gardies…one by one Otago's famous student institutions are disappearing…I propose a day of remembrance, lest we forget.

Alvin III

2010-03-14T22:10:00.000-07:00

I am pleased to let you know that we have enough funding to fly the dermatologist to Bougainville. Furthermore, the Director of Medical Services at Buka General Hospital has just informed me that they want him here for two weeks, during which time the dermatologist will see patients in Buka, Arawa and Buin.

So, my next job is to get in touch with Alvin and have him here on the 9th of April as the D is arriving on the 10th. The goal is in sight.

Thanks for your support :)

Torokina and Munitions

2010-03-14T21:56:00.001-07:00

Last year I posted an article about the WWII munitions still present and put to use in Bougainville. They remain a hazard to locals, with some using them as weapons and others using the gun powder to create bombs for killing fish. Sometimes there are tragic consequences…

An American WWII mortar bomb exploded two weeks ago in the southern district of Torokina, taking the left leg and hand of Sylvester Minel. The story was captured by Gorethy Kenneth in the Post Courier on Wednesday 10 March. I will quote her directly:

"Eye witnesses told this reporter in Buka that Sylvester … was 'playing around' with the live mortar bomb when it went off blasting his legs into pieces and cutting off his arms.

He is in critical condition at the Buka General Hospital after being rushed to the hospital on a motorised dinghy from Torokina.

His leg was amputated as it was badly damaged and beyond construction while his right leg had an iron rod inserted to support the bones."

A local constable was quoted as saying that Sylvester was hitting the live mortar with a hammer and chisel to remove the bomb's fuse and powder. The intention was then to turn that into dynamite to blast fish in the ocean for an easy catch. The constable goes on to say that this "is now a practice young people in the area are obsessed with."

My grandfather was responsible for managing munitions stores in Italy during WWII. I wonder what he would make of all this.

Alvin II

2010-03-07T19:30:00.001-08:00

Spoke to a government official about Alvin's plight and he said "why don't you fly the dermatologist to Bougainville?"

Good idea.

Spoke to Director of Medical Services at Buka General Hospital. Turns out the dermatologist working in Port Moresby's public hospital (at least I think that's where he works; they have several private hospitals over there) is married to a Bougainvillean, and he is keen to come over. Furthermore, he wants us to organise a week's worth of appointments for him so that Bougainvilleans get a decent chance to see him while he is in Buka.

Seems like good value for money to me. Am still looking into things so will let you know how it goes.

Aid workers earning more than Rudd

2010-02-18T21:48:00.001-08:00

JOHN Dinsdale, a former clerk of a court in Melbourne, is being paid more than half a million dollars a year, tax-free, as Australia's law and justice adviser to Papua New Guinea, where crime and corruption keep rising as aid increases.

Peter Kelly, an engineer from Brisbane, is receiving $433,000 tax-free a year to supervise the maintenance of the 73km of paved roads, 1303 km of gravel roads and 400km of earth roads in the tropical tourist haven of Vanuatu.

Both are earning substantially more than Kevin Rudd, who is paid about $350,000 a year, on which the Prime Minister also pays tax.

Australia's aid budget has soared by 42 per cent since mid-2005. And the Rudd government is pushing to meet an election promise by doubling current aid spending to $8 billion a year, 0.5 per cent of the economy, in five years.

This, in turn, is pushing AusAID -- which employs 914 people directly, 187 based overseas -- to spend almost half of its budget on "technical assistance", twice the average in other industrialised countries' aid budgets.

Much of this is deployed through contractors such as Mr Dinsdale and Mr Kelly. The "implementing service provider" of the PNG Australia Law and Justice Partnership with which Mr Dinsdale works is Cardno, a global consulting firm that recently took over Australian firm ACIL.

Cardno is being paid $137 million to run the program, which employs about 60 advisers, over five years to mid-2014. Australia is giving PNG $414m overall this year.

AusAID is also diversifying beyond its Asia-Pacific focus to encompass Africa.

But although spreading the aid program geographically makes it easier to spend the $8bn, this provides poor use of taxpayers' money, says Jenny Hayward-Jones, director of the Lowy Institute's Melanesia Program. Besides, she said, this thrust "is really motivated by Australia's desire to be elected to the UN Security Council".

Mr Dinsdale said that his contract prevented him talking to the media, but he did not believe his cost "would be out of the ordinary with anybody else".

Mr Kelly, who was previously the top roads adviser at AusAID, for which he worked directly for eight years, said: "I am not in a position to comment on those details."

He has to use his package, as does Mr Dinsdale, to pay for his housing and security overseas, airfares and other needs.

Paulinus Sikosana, AusAID's health adviser to PNG, is receiving $743,000 over two years. Originally from Zimbabwe, where he was health department head, he has worked in seven countries, and AusAID believes it is necessary to pay such amounts to persuade people with the needed skills to work in a place such as Port Moresby, recently listed by The Economist as the third-least liveable city in the world.

The objective of AusAID is "to assist developing countries reduce poverty and achieve sustainable development, in line with Australia's national interest guided by the Millennium Development Goals".

The Australian National Audit Office's latest review of AusAID, two months ago, while positive overall, said that as the aid budget doubled, "AusAID faces considerable management challenges".

"AusAID staff are concerned about workloads and stress levels at many overseas posts and there is a shortfall of expertise in some areas," it said. The office recommends "improved external reporting to make aid program running costs more transparent".

The audit office says Australia has "a tendency to rely too much" on technical assistance, the goal of which is usually "capacity-building". Top of the "key goals" of the law and justice partnership in PNG is "to achieve measurable progress against sector goals".

But Sinclair Dinnen, senior fellow at the State, Society and Governance in Melanesia Program at the Australian National University, said that "crime and corruption is certainly not getting any better" in PNG.

In recent weeks, Chief Ombudsman Chronox Manek narrowly escaped an assassination attempt, a leading ethnic Chinese businessman was murdered, and all the inmates of the maximum-security jail escaped, with only two recaptured.

Dr Dinnen asked: "What are we getting for this money?" What can aid projects achieve "in the context where the whole notion of public service is, to say the least, fragile, and people are operating in different worlds?"

He added: "Capacity-building is such an inexact and uncertain process, and you can't see significant advances there in PNG. We've been working at helping improve the crime situation for 35 years now, and haven't got a lot to show for it. There's a culture of impunity now. You can get away with murder."

An AusAID spokeswoman said: "The PNG government frequently requests Australia to provide technical experts to advise PNG government departments, and approves these appointments. These advisers bring crucial skills that often do not exist locally.

"In order to attract the best people to adviser positions, it's necessary to pay competitive market rates."

AusAID said the positive results of the PNG justice program included revitalisation of village courts and a decrease in the number of juveniles held on remand.

And road maintenance was important in Vanuatu for those in isolated rural areas dependent on transport links.

From The Australian with additional reporting from AAP.

Alvin

2010-02-15T22:19:00.001-08:00

Last year me mate Bjorn visited a coral atoll known as the Carteret Islands, which is a cluster of islands about three hours east of here. On one of those islands he met a 14 year old boy called Alvin.

Alvin is suffering from an undiagnosed skin disease which has resulted in the loss of his toes and fingers. The local doctor is unable to provide any treatment beyond covering his wounds. For Alvin to get proper treatment he needs to be sailed to Bougainville and flown from there to Port Moresby (Buka General Hospital does not have the necessary laboratory facilities).

Bjorn has decided to do what he can to help Alvin and has set up a fundraising website to try and raise $2,000, which would cover the costs of return travel to Port Moresby and medical treatment in a hospital. Please take the time to visit this website and make a donation so he can get some medical treatment. Note that the pay pal link for payment is in Danish, but you can easily switch to English by choosing from the drop down menu on the top right hand corner - click on Dansk.

Once the money is sorted I will then personally make the arrangements to get Alvin to a hospital.

Thank you in advance or any help you can give.

Rage Against The Machine

2010-02-12T01:50:00.001-08:00

You can't make this stuff up. I love it!

Rage Against The Machine to play free show as reward

Rage Against The Machine have revealed details of a free gig rewarding fans following the campaign for last year's Christmas number one.

The Californian band have fulfilled their promise by playing a concert at London's Finsbury Park venue on Sunday 6 June.

Tickets for the 40,000 capacity event will be distributed via a lottery system - fans have until midnight on Sunday 14 February to register their details for the ballot.

Announcing the news on Radio 1's Zane Lowe show guitarist Tom Morello said: "We promised to play a free show if our song was number one at Christmas and here we come."

He added: "We were very happy that our song was a vehicle for what was truly a grassroots people's revolution.

Rage beat X Factor's Joe McElderry to Christmas number one

"It was not so much the band as the people who toppled the X Factor giant - frankly it was a shock wave around the world."

In December Rage Against The Machine beat X Factor winner Joe McElderry to Christmas top spot following a Facebook campaign begun by music fans Jon and Tracy Morter.

In the most competitive festive race for many years the Californian rap-rockers sold 500,000 downloads of their track Killing In The Name, beating McElderry's cover of Miley Cyrus's The Climb by 50,000.

Bougainville vs Rio Tinto

2010-02-08T00:12:00.001-08:00

So those that have been paying attention will know that there was a domestic dispute between Bougainville Copper Limited, the Government of Papua New Guinea and (some) Bougainvilleans. Things went bad very quickly and Bougainville is still picking up the pieces.

The conflict essentially centred on disputes over the distribution of profits arising from the mine, the environmental impacts of the mine and the influx of migrants. The conflict itself added another dimension when guns were introduced and the middle ground became no-man's land.

So where does Rio Tinto, one of the largest international mining corporations, fit into the picture? Well, as it happens, they own Bougainville Copper Limited, and some locals have connected the dots and filed a class action law suit against Rio Tinto in the United States.

How can they do that? Well, I won't drag you through the details, but a piece of legislation called the United States Alien Tort Claims Act allows foreign nationals to bring suits in the United States against companies that violate international law. And let me tell you, we are talking some serious allegations here…

In brief, the 22 Bougainvillean plaintiffs have alleged that improperly dumped waste rock and tailings from the Panguna mining operations harmed the island's environment and the health of its residents. They further alleged that Rio Tinto engaged in racially discriminatory labour practices at the mine by paying local black workers lower wages than white workers and by housing black workers in poor conditions.

If you think that's starting a fight, the plaintiffs have also argued that, because the mine was a joint venture between Rio Tinto and the PNG Government, and because Rio Tinto's threats led PNG to use military force against Bougainvilleans, Rio Tinto is responsible for human rights violations and war crimes committed during the Crisis.

Bang.

Rio Tinto immediately counter-punched by challenging the basis for filing the case in the United States and after lots of dodging and weaving it has finally been decided that, yes, it's kosher to hear the case in the US and certain allegations (specifically the claims concerning crimes against humanity, war crimes and racial discrimination) were of universal concern and should be heard.

Now, it has taken nine years for the case to get this far, so don't expect too much in the near future, and even if they make it to the 12^th round there's a nasty hook waiting for them… under PNG law it is illegal for compensation proceedings to be taken or pursued in a foreign court.

So this whole thing has barely started but it is clear that it is going to be controversial. At best this case will bring up issues that have yet to be dealt with in a public arena; at worst this case risks undermining Bougainville's progress on reconciliation and peace building. Time will tell.

Restoration and Development in Bougainville

2010-02-02T21:28:00.001-08:00

Tok Save

Community Views on Restoration and Development

3 February 2010

The ABG Division of Planning, Monitoring and Aid Coordination has released the findings from a series of public forums that were conducted across Bougainville in 2009. Public forums were held in Buka, Arawa, Buin and the Carterets Islands to seek public opinion on whether progress has been achieved over the last four years, what the challenges to progress were and where the ABG should invest its resources to ensure continued development in Bougainville.

Forum participants were generally of the opinion that progress has been made on restoring and developing Bougainville. Participants complimented the community policing programme, noted the increase in the number of aid posts and discussed the number of schools in Bougainville.

Forum participants have also identified a number of challenges facing Bougainville, including the continued presence of guns in the community; the existence of the Morgan Junction Roadblock; the lack of financial and electricity services in most of Bougainville; the costs involved in sending children to school and shortages of medical supplies in Bougainville's health centres.

To achieve continued progress forum participants have recommended several actions that the ABG could take, including: improving the performance of the police; disarmament or registration of guns; the rehabilitation of dormant plantations; extending access to electricity and credit facilities; subsidisation of school fees; improved teacher performance; more health patrols and the recruitment of more nurses and doctors.

On behalf of the ABG the Division of Planning, Monitoring and Aid coordination would like to thank the 725 Bougainvilleans who took time out of their day to attend the forums and express their points of view.

A report summarising the issues raised at the forums is available from the Division of Planning, Monitoring and Aid Coordination. This report will inform advice to the Bougainville Executive Council on what Bougainville's development priorities are for the period 2011-2015.

On My Last Legs

2010-01-28T19:29:00.001-08:00

Kia ora,

I am back in Bougainville after my final holiday and am now in the last quarter of my 24 month contract. Feels great to be back and I am now focused on getting my work completed and ready for a handover.

With elections scheduled for June it is going to be an exciting year for Bougainville. This is the Autonomous Bougainville Government's fifth year of operation, and, if the referendum on interdependence does happen in 2015, then we are half-way towards Bougainville's big deadline.

So, a time of change, reflection and focus.

After juggling too many balls last year I am now concentrating on three projects:

A briefing to the incoming government on Bougainville's development priorities for 2011-2015
Completion of the ABG Health Plan 2011-2015
Completion of policy advice on Crisis Related Grievances

All three will keep me flat out until I finish and I am happy because they are good, solid projects. Will try and keep this blog updated on my work

Hope you had a great holiday and happy New Year!

Holidays

2009-12-13T17:00:00.000-08:00

Hi there,

Long time, no post! I am off on holiday next week, back a couple of weeks into the new year. Looking forward to a break, have been in-country since February and I need a taste of home.

Have not been able to to talk much about my work as the main project I am involved in is kinda confidential, but I hope I can talk about it next year. Will also try and put things up more regularly.

Until then, all the best and merry Christmas.

Progress?

2009-10-13T22:37:00.001-07:00

My flatmate discovered an old weekly newsletter published in Bougainville back in the 90s. Produced and printed by the Division of Information, the VillePress serves as an interesting insight into Bougainville's history. Reading through the articles I found myself experiencing a sense of déjà vu…

The front page of issue 15, Friday 5 September 1998, is titled:

Resistance to disarm before BRG is formed

The article was drafted soon after the peace initiatives lead by New Zealand with the parties to the conflict. The article centres on an interview with a Resistance leader (one of the armed factions at the time), who is quoted as saying the following:

"We have come a long way from Burnham to Buin and we feel a lot better after the Pan Bougainville Congress.

However, we can't get things right until those arms and ammunition leave our hands.

We had been preparing a paper for PPCC's deliberation this month and we're really serious about this disarmament thing. It must begin at once. Really there is no longer any need for Bougainvilleans to be armed."

It is now over ten years since those words were spoken, but sadly disarmament is still an issue in Bougainville. How much progress have we really made?

Half a Century

2009-10-13T22:24:00.001-07:00

Apparently I have drafted 50 posts for this blog. I actually don't believe it!

Tsunami

2009-10-07T16:24:00.001-07:00

So I have to go to higher ground because of a tsunami threat. The last one didn't eventuate but better safe than sorry.

11.17am
Ok we are safe and sound, the warning was cancelled. That was exciting. At first no-one seemed to be responding, but then word went out on the radio and all of sudden everyone was piling into PMVs (public motor vehicles) and heading for the hills. Fortunately those are only 10 minutes from town.

Quite a gathering at my house. Binoculars were out, photo and video cameras were on stand by and Jane was serving drinks.

I've heard that a wave did hit the south east coast of Bougainville, as far north as Kieta and some parts of Arawa beach. However, I can't confirm those reports (not that anyone is actually reading this right now).

The response amongst the locals was good, but there were still many in town. You always get skeptics, and to be fair there simply isn't enough transportation for everyone, so that was sad to see. I hope the real thing doesn't arrive because many will be at risk.

12:11pm
At it seems the false warning (no evidence yet) has upset some people. I passed a friend of mine on my way out - he asked me "how serious are you." I considered the fact that he had children and replied "very serious." Yes these events can cause a lot of panic, but I would hate for them to play it conservatively and lose lives as a result.

Democracy?

2009-10-01T22:37:00.001-07:00

If I was an American citizen I would be frothing at the mouth.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/oct/01/lobbyists-millions-obama-healthcare-reform

Reflections

2009-09-30T21:17:00.001-07:00

So I found myself reading a report I drafted during my time at the Ministry of Education. It's always funny going back through previous work because I find myself pondering whether I've gone forwards or backwards.

Moving here was a huge change from life in Wellington. I went from being surrounded by friends and family and having a job with professional support to living in a foreign country where no-one was close to me and where skills in policy development were seriously lacking. It didn't take long before I was right in the thick of things and feeling under pressure.

12 months on I feel that I have grown a lot – and I've had to! The professional and personal challenges have been numerous and at times intense. I'm not one to back down so the only choice in my mind was to climb the mountain, and I have to say, the experience has been both rewarding and humbling.

And after all that hard work I'm finally starting to get some positive reinforcement: my CEO has said he wants to extend my contract, the head of the Administration wants me to work here as a local and I hope my volunteer organisation would like me to undertake another posting.

Personally, being offered a position to work as a local Bougainvillean with local Bougainvilleans is about the highest honour they could pay me, so it feels good to know that I'm being considered. I'm not sure what I will do next but for now I think I can say I'm moving in the right direction.

Media

2009-09-27T20:32:00.000-07:00

Yeah g'day :)

I'm back in Buka after a few weeks muckin' about in PNG. Was a good break and desperately needed.

For those interested in the Carteret Islands issue you can find some work by photojournalist Bjorn Hansen here: http://www.bjornstighansen.com/?p=92

For those interested in Bougainville in general it has come to my attention that there are plenty of videos to be found on You-Tube.

More from me later.

Going offline

2009-08-30T22:58:00.000-07:00

Heya,

So I'm off on holiday next week which couldn't come sooner. Very relieved and looking forward to having a bit of an adventure. The plan is to head to Goroka then swing through to Madang afterwards, basically my attempt to see PNG while I am here.

Work wise things have been very busy. Recently got involved in a small side project with Marilyn Havini, a human rights advocate living in Buka. She and her husband Moses put in a heroic effort documenting the human rights abuses taking place in Bougainville during the Crisis, which are summarised in two reports and a database.

Unfortunately Marilyn does not have any of these backed up in digital format so I spent a bit of time last week scanning and touching up the reports so that we had a digital copy that closely resembled the original. The database work has hit a snag though; it is saved on floppy disks with a format that conforms to a now out of date operating system. Hopefully we will be able to recruit some help from an Australian university to recover the data. Will let you know how it goes.

Databases

2009-08-20T22:25:00.001-07:00

I hate them

Society

2009-08-10T23:19:00.001-07:00

Oh, it's a mystery to me
We have a greed with which we have agreed
And you think you have to want more than you need
Until you have it all you won't be free

Society, you're a crazy breed
Hope you're not lonely without me...

When you want more than you have
You think you need...
And when you think more than you want
Your thoughts begin to bleed
I think I need to find a bigger place
Because when you have more than you think
You need more space

Society, you're a crazy breed
Hope you're not lonely without me...
Society, crazy indeed
Hope you're not lonely without me...

There's those thinking, more-or-less, less is more
But if less is more, how you keeping score?
Means for every point you make, your level drops
Kinda like you're starting from the top
You can't do that...

Society, you're a crazy breed
Hope you're not lonely without me...
Society, crazy indeed
Hope you're not lonely without me...

Society, have mercy on me
Hope you're not angry if I disagree...
Society, crazy indeed
Hope you're not lonely without me...

Eddie Vedder

And now…

2009-08-10T23:13:00.001-07:00

Quick post to fill you in on recent events…

Finally launched the Administration's Corporate Plan, which I first worked on waaaaaaaay back in August 2008! Good things take time… Launching went very well, Vice-President was happy. Saved a few bottles of wine for the end of the week with my boss, went down very well.

Also conducted the fourth and final public forum on restoration and development in Bougainville, so relieved to finally have that over with! Turn out was a bit low at 70 people but had really good engagement and debate, which kinda makes up for it I guess. One of the highly paid AusAID advisors managed to fall asleep in front of the chairman though, both feet up on a stool and chin on chest, which was poor form…I expect a higher standard from those guys.

So with those and the Health Summit behind me I'm feeling a little more relaxed. The hospital project looks to be set aside for next year and is a big maybe, which is also a relief to be honest. Don't have the staff for one anyway so hopefully the focus will be a nursing school, which seems to be the way things are heading at the moment.

And my holiday is coming up. Hooray.

Online

2009-07-26T22:40:00.001-07:00

The ABG intends to be online. http://www.abg.gov.pg/

No, she is not participating in illegal activities.

Health Summit – Day Four

2009-07-24T00:40:00.001-07:00

Em pinis. I officially closed the fourth and final day of the Autonomous Bougainville Government's first Health Summit today at 4pm. I think I'll have myself a beer.

This project really has been a lesson in how to go about doing this sort of thing. The Health Summit was conceived in response to signs that we have serious problems with the health sector here: drug supply shortages; high maternal mortality rate; deteriorating infrastructure; and only six practicing doctors. I initiated the project as a result of a discussion with a senior ABG official here, who shared the same concerns. From that point on it was a careful balancing act, with me pushing the project along while trying to ensure that the Division of Health took responsibility for it.

Although it tested my patience on many occasions, this project has taught me that one has to be very considered when choosing the moments to step in and the times to step out. It was hard to stay on the sideline at times, but I learnt from doing so that they will go beyond my expectations when left to manage the work themselves, and must make some mistakes in order to learn. I know it sounds quite patronising, but this is a funny game.

At the end of the day it is all about nurturing and respecting relationships, as without them no project will succeed. I've definitely had my fair share of tongue biting moments, but I think I have learned a lot about being patient and maintaining an optimistic outlook…and in the long run this will probably be the most important lesson I will have learnt from my time here in Bougainville.

I hope the seeds sown during the Summit will bear fruit.

Health Summit – Day Three

2009-07-22T02:40:00.001-07:00

And Day Three concluded with a presentation by Rayleen Sole on drug supply in Bougainville. As I have raised already, drug supply is a serious issue here. Finally, we have had the opportunity to discuss it together.

Rayleen did a great job and seems to have it covered. Seems to be a mix of classic supply chain problems and poor stock management skills within health facilities. Regrettably, there is also evidence of theft for private sale (a problem across PNG).

It doesn't help that ABG has cut the drug supply budget by 92% over three years, so I relished the opportunity to raise this at the forum. The CEO of Health's response was that he doesn't know why the budget is so low; apparently they bid for 1.5 million kina and what they got was 40,000 kina. Now, I know for a fact that the budget process is a mess, and to an extent political interference is to blame. However, I do feel that the Division of Health should make more of an effort to advocate for itself, and should be using the Minister of Health as a lever. The current state of play is not good enough.

It is good to have these issues out in the open and my colleagues within the sector seem to be very happy with how this is all going. The key issues are clear and I look forward to debating the priorities with my fellow Health Summit participants on Friday.

Ka kite ano.

Health Summit Day Two

2009-07-22T02:39:00.001-07:00

Ok, straight into it on Day Two with group work on challenges we face in preventing and treating common illnesses in Bougainville. This morning began with four discussion groups on malaria, pneumonia, tuberculosis and diarrhoea. Again, great engagement from participants on the issues and good ideas on the way forward.

I'd like to share an example that is a classic for development practitioners. Malaria is the leading cause of morbidity and the second most common cause of mortality here. So, many suffer and we need to focus on preventative measures.

There are several measures that can be taken to reduce the risk of malaria. Firstly, the local environment. Water is a breeding ground for mosquitoes, and they like long grass, so build homes a fair distance from fresh water and clear the bush from around your house. Secondly, the type of mosquito infected with malaria bites at night, so put mosquito netting on your doors and windows and put treated mosquito nets around your bed (chemically treated nets kill mosquitoes). Thirdly, stay indoors at night as much as is reasonable. Fourthly, take a preventative medicine such as doxycyclene so your immune system is able to defend you, should you get bitten.

Governments and their development partners (the latest jargon which tries to capture donors, NGOs, churches, community group etc) like to target funds on distributing mosquito nets. A good idea, as you can't really buy them here and not everyone could if they were available. However, the trick is getting them to use them. The group discussion on malaria raised the following:

People are using their mosquito nets for shredding of cocoa seedlings
People are using their mosquito nets for fishing
People simply aren't using them

Simply providing the solution is not enough. As participants noted, the community has to have some ownership over the solution. This means that you need to help them see the value in having mosquito nets, and communities must desire to have them for the purpose they were designed for. Now, I can't really say that this is why we are having the problem, but that's the impression I'm getting here at the Summit, which means more time needs to be spent with the communities to get them to the point where they are identifying and asking for the solutions, instead of having them randomly handed out by Santa Claus. The lessons continue…

Health Summit – Day One

2009-07-22T02:37:00.001-07:00

Well we finally got there! Day One of the Autonomous Bougainville Government's Health Summit was conducted on Monday 20 July 2009, almost nine months after we first began planning for it.

The Division of Health has done a great job of organising the venue, I was very impressed. Name tags, seating numbers and stationary folders, a media and secretariat desk, microphones and overhead projector for presentations were all sorted. The participants seemed to be either very excited or very serious, such were the expectations amongst those gathered here. I was just stoked that the day had finally come!

Day One's presentations went very well, and there was good debate amongst the participants about the issues raised. Highlight was probably the domestic violence agenda, which got added at the last minute. Fellow VSA volunteer Lesley Young and Helen Harkena, the head of her host organisation, presented on the topic and fielded the many questions. The debate was very emotive, with one participant breaking down in tears as she recounted the stories of patients she has treated. All that resulted in a commitment by the CEO of Health to place domestic violence on the health agenda. Good stuff.

Only quibble is the lack of staff in attendance from Port Moresby, however I gather this is due to the staff taking too long to send out the invitations…ah well. I reminded them again and again about that but in the end I had to step back and let them learn it for themselves. More on that later.

All in all a great start to the Summit!

WWII

2009-07-16T18:13:00.001-07:00

My German friend Dete has just walked in with a WWII photography book covering the Solomon Islands and Bougainville. This has caused a lot of interest as the executive manager from the Torokina district, 3 hours south by boat, is grappling with the growing black market for WWII weapons.

Torokina was the launching site for the campaign to capture Bougainville (1 November 1943), which followed the hard won success in Guadalcanal. Although this took place 60 years ago, local communities are still dealing with the consequences: namely, the volume of live, dangerous rounds and explosives easily found around Torokina.

Many of these arms were dug up and put to use as part of the war with Papua New Guinea, and unfortunately, despite the signing of the peace agreement and the push for disarmament, many locals in Torokina are profiteering from a black trade in WWII weapons and munitions (e.g. mortar shells, machine gun belts, grenades). The consequence for Bougainville is the arming of trouble makers in the south, which is contributing to ongoing insecurity in the region.

To help with the issue Bougainville has sought assistance from the American Embassy in PNG, which recently visited to see the munitions for themselves. Hopefully they will be keen to lend a hand in solving an unintended consequence of their presence here over 60 years ago…

Developments

2009-07-13T19:11:00.001-07:00

So we have internet access now! Wow. It is running via a satellite dish on the top of our new building, which is coming along nicely (although at least 3 months behind schedule).

In other news:

The date for the Health Summit has finally been set, 20^th of July. It's been a lesson in sitting back and letting them work it out for themselves
The review of Bougainville's development priorities is slowly lumbering forward. Recently visited the Carteret Islands, a group of five coral atolls just past the horizon line. Was amazing and promise will put in some blog entries soon
Will be launching the ABG Corporate Plan this month (I hope), almost exactly 12 months after we first began working on it!
I've been preparing advice for the Minister of Finance on financial (mis)management within Government…has been interesting
I am juggling about seven different projects at the moment, but am finally getting on top of things
Next holiday is scheduled for September. Will be running around in the Highlands and some of the coastal areas (Madang, Rabaul)
I have two currently homeless VSA volunteers moving in for a week or two, and possibly a permanent flatmate from late August onwards
I thought it would be cool to hold a concert in August with me mate Francis. Time will tell whether that was a good idea

Ka kite ano.

Birthday

2009-07-08T19:37:00.001-07:00

Hi everyone. It is my brother's birthday today.

Happy birthday bro.

Peace in Bougainville

2009-06-21T17:47:00.001-07:00

Hi there. You might recall that I have been conducting some public forums on restoration and development in Bougainville. While discussing the forums with Niki Hannan, a fellow VSA volunteer, the idea of including the opinions of Bougainville's students came up. Niki works at a distance education school in Buka and asked her students to write a short essay on peace in Bougainville. I would like to share the following response from Belinda (22).

"In this essay I am going to write about Peace in Bougainville. The first paragraph will look at the issues around Peace in Bougainville. The second paragraph will look at what is going well in terms of Peace. The third paragraph will look at what is not going well and finally the conclusion.

The problems in Bougainville are violence against women and children, abuse of alcohol, drug taking, land disputes, road blocks, guns and further to this crime and many more.

On the other hand people are starting to fed up of all this problems and are working hard to reach peace on the region. For example the village community police are working hard to make sure everyone in the village is safe and they have the freedom to do what they intend to do and further to this the freedom to move around.

However, people are still dying, road blocks are still operating and violence against women and children is still practiced and the guns are still on hand. Which means there is still no Peace in Bougainville.

In conclusion, I think that if we want total peace in Bougainville we should forget all about the past and let us move forward and turn away from all the problems we are facing and reach the everlasting Peace in Bougainville."

Belinda was a student whose education was interrupted during the Crisis. That interruption means that this 22 year old women has a reading age of a 15 year old, but thanks to a return to relative peace and stability Belinda is able to pick up where she left off and continue her education. Makes you appreciate what you've got huh?

Camp Slayer

2009-06-18T23:12:00.001-07:00

For those of you living in Melbourne, my mate Dave has a photo exhibition going up at Monash Gallery of Art. The name of the project is Camp Slayer, and is basically a collection of photos Dave took while he was working in Iraq as a forensic photographer.

For those who can't get to Melbourne, you can view photo's from the exhibition on Dave's website http://www.davidhempenstall.com .

Chur.

We Would Like Another Hospital Please

2009-06-18T23:00:00.001-07:00

So the Minister of Health just paid me a personal visit. I had no idea why he wanted to talk to me, so I really didn't see it coming. I've just been directed to conduct a cost benefit analysis on the establishment of a second hospital in Buin, Southern Bougainville.

I'm stoked – not because he approached me personally, but because finally someone is taking the initiative to get something done. The CEO of the Buka Hospital and myself have already tried to get something going on this before, but failed due to lack of will within the Division of Health. Now we have a clear mandate to get the work done. Awesome.

The other bonus was that I was able to provide the Minister with a copy of our survey report on the health centres and aid posts. That report has been very well received here, and it will give the Minister a good briefing on what the challenges are.

As background, one of the problems we face here is a big gap between the Executive and the Administration. This gap grew due to the death of the President and the Chief Administrator. The new President has made it clear that we need to bridge that gap, which is part of the reason I am happy that the Minister of Health is so engaged.

So yeah, awesome, great way to end the week!

News

2009-06-08T17:53:00.000-07:00

G'day,

Apologies for the lack of updates. Here's a quick run down:

- two new VSA volunteers have arrived in Buka and are working at the local high school
- I have no flatmates
- I've been sick for five weeks but am finally getting better
- the infection on my finger is finally healing
- there is mould all over my house and it is taking a lot of time to get rid of it
- the health summit was delayed and I hope to meet with the Division of Health this week to find out why
- planning a trip to the Carteret Islands at the end of the month to hold a public forum
- hope to get agreement on process for reviewing Bougainville's development priorities this week (finally)
- big reconciliation meeting this weekend with the controversial Sir Julias Chan

No Tan Dan

2009-05-19T21:48:00.001-07:00

Am aware that the whole cooking naked thing has a few of you alarmed so would like to reassure you that the arrival of freelance journalist and English emissary Dan Box has helped introduce some civility into haus bilong mi.

As I write he has just burnt our dinner (all he had to do was reheat the soup), but really he is quite a good cook. In fact we've eaten quite well – Steakfest '09, Prawnfest '09 and a hearty cooked breakfast that featured bacon marinated in molasses. Yes, I have molasses. No, I don't know where it came from.

Dan is here to record a couple of stories on the plight of the Carteret Islanders, whose land is slowly sinking and being eroded by the Pacific Ocean. Their story has received quite a lot of coverage due to the links with Climate Change (more severe weather patterns), and some are watching to see what lessons can be learned from Bougainville's efforts to relocate them onto the mainland. If you are interested Dan has a blog: http://journeytothesinkinglands.wordpress.com/

It's been great having him here, had some great debates on the deck and will always remember his Sea Snake Self-Defence Technique™. All the best mate.

Pastaim

2009-05-19T21:21:00.001-07:00

The week beginning 4 May was a big week for me. It was a week of first times:

I was criticised on the radio
I was interviewed on the radio
I briefed a President
I briefed Cabinet, and
I cooked naked.

I'm quite proud of this. Ignoring the signs that I am going feral without a flatmate, things are looking up :)

Highlight was probably the radio. Story with that – some git came up from Arawa and falsely reported facts concerning a public forum I ran in Arawa, the former capital of Bougainville. Fortunately for me, I'm friends with the lads down at Radio Bougainville, so I went down there and (diplomatically) gave them an ear full. They in turn politely requested to interview me about the forums, to which I consented.

One of the projects I am working on at the moment requires that we conduct public forums on restoration and development across Bougainville. This is pretty important, as it provides the public with an opportunity to send a message to the politicians. Furthermore, there are big differences in development across the regions, and I am hoping the forums will identify those differences. That should result in more informed planning of the delivery of services…I hope. At a minimum the politicians will be better informed come budget time.

The bonus is that I am getting a chance to see Bougainville. Two forums have been conducted so far, one in Arawa and one in Buin, the 'urban' centre for southern Bougainville. I was very lucky to go on that trip, not many volunteers get to go down there, but it really opened my eyes to the challenges facing development in that region. Fighting is still ongoing, albeit on a small scale, and the police face significant challenges in imposing law and order…and that's just one of the issues they are grappling with down there. Conversely, Arawa is much more settled yet seems stuck in time. It is noticeably different to Buin; it is safe for women to move around at night and there is a lot more economic activity. Arawa still has a long way to go but at least it is further along the line than it's southern neighbour.

The upswing of all this so far is I am starting to pull together the key themes for each region. I will talk more about that once the forums are completed, but I'm happy to say that I managed to get several key messages across in my radio interview and they have now been broadcast. Hopefully the participants at the forums will feel reassured that we are listening when they talk.

Bare Bones and Broken Earth

2009-05-14T20:16:00.001-07:00

There is a place in central Bougainville called Panguna. It sits high in the mountains, a valley surrounded by rainforest and shrouded in mist.

Once upon a time, that's all there was. But a significant deposit of copper was discovered there, and one of the largest open cast copper mines in the world was excavated. It is said that the mine is so deep that it's base is below sea level. The volume of rubble, or tailings, removed from the ground was so large that they were slowly filling a valley from the bottom to the top, a man made plain in the middle of a mountain range. They hoped to build an international airport on it once enough of the valley was filled.

The relative impact on Bougainville was just as big. Arawa, the old capital city for the former province, was a plantation before the mine was opened. However, they needed a town to support the workforce, so an entire town was constructed.

The local workforce could not of course provide the depth and breadth of skills required for such a project, so soon a large community of PNG nationals and foreigners moved in. That workforce wished to be serviced by high quality health and education facilities, so the community was supported by the best health care in Papua New Guinea and the schools were also of a high standard.

Then there were the returns on the profits. Panguna mine accounted for approximately 45% of Papua New Guinea's Gross Domestic Product at its peak, extending the impact of the mine to development of Papua New Guinea more broadly. It made a lot of men rich, and as often happens, created a lot of envy as well.
In 1989 a group of men led by a Mr Francis Ona brought down a pylon and shut down the mine. Soon after a civil war erupted between Ona's Bougainville Revolutionary Army and Papua New Guinea. The mine was closed and has remained so ever since.

Panguna now is a landscape of bare bones and broken earth. Scavengers have pillaged any scrap metal they could easily remove, leaving skeletons where factories and processing plants once stood. The mine itself is a great, gaping hole in the earth, its insides gathered up in piles to form man made hills or sold in foreign markets.

What was once the centre of economic activity for a country has now become an eerie wasteland peppered with scrap metal, decrepit vehicles and fallen weapons. I wonder if the local landowners or the foreign surveyors ever foresaw that this would be Panguna's future?

ANZAC Day

2009-05-10T19:41:00.001-07:00

Ok, sorry for the poor effort at keeping this thing updated. I have so much to update on, but luckily me mate No Tan Dan has made more of an effort than I have :)

http://journeytothesinkinglands.wordpress.com/2009/04/26/anzac-day/

Schism

2009-04-22T00:35:00.001-07:00

"I know the pieces fit 'cause I watched them tumble down

No fault, none to blame

It doesn't mean I don't desire to point the finger, blame the other

Watch the temple topple over

To bring the pieces back together, (I must) rediscover communication"

Communication in Bougainville gives me the shits.

There's no internet access in the offices, so there's no email. There goes your ability to quickly and reliably arrange meetings.

There are phone lines, but Telecom sends the bills a few months late, and cancels your power because you didn't pay (having not received the bill…). Even if the bill arrives on time, chances are that the organisation has not budgeted for it and therefore can't pay it. So the phones are effectively mute.

We do have two mobile phone networks running, but they operate erratically, and sometimes have a lovers tiff and refuse to talk to each other.

So one knows that as soon as you need to communicate with more than, say, yourself, things are going to get complicated. For this reason I am often seen running around town, chasing people up and generally trying to get things done ("Mark! You go walkabout?").

Now imagine, as you sit in cubicle #2468, that one of your client/stakeholder meetings had to be arranged with people outside of town and you cannot use email or a phone line. Imagine also that there is no postal service. Messing with your head? Now imagine that a volcano blows up and the mobile phone networks are taken out. Welcome to my day.

''But I'm still right here, given blood, keepin' faith

And I'm still right here…"

Somehow, somehow, it all seems to work out. People are used to that here, and we all end up relying on personal networks…someone who knows someone who knows the person you are trying to get through to.

Serendipity also likes to play a card or two: it's weird how often I will bump into the very person I am looking for while going walkabout, even when I've been told that said person is currently in another town or on another island.

The key is to try and get patience and optimism to hold hands. Get that going and you can trust that it will all work out…eventually.

"Wait it out, gonna wait it out

Be patient."

Quotes from Schism and The Patient by Tool.

Yesterday

2009-04-15T17:11:00.001-07:00

Woke up to another one of those mornings where its just impossible to rise and face the day…the ocean outside is taking it easy today and a calm breeze is telling me to relax and stay in bed. So I do.

I reckon I deserve a bit of a sleep in, to be honest. Yesterday was quite stressful: I was enlisted to help in addressing 1.3 billion kina worth of outstanding claims from the Crisis, and was informed that one of my projects could put lives at risk.

Goes without saying, then, that I was pretty fucking on edge when I sat down to have a rare beer after work yesterday. The location was Kuri Lodge and we (the VSA crew) were meeting to have dinner with Lloyd Jones, author of Mr Pip. Luckily my friends were spared my anger as one of the new AusAID advisers, Luther Smith, saw me first! Cheers Luther, I did sleep on it and will sort it out this morning.

Most of you will have heard of Mr Pip, or at least the kiwis will have. Lloyd Jones is a former journalist and was here covering the conflict in 1998. The people he met and the events must have inspired him, because he wrote what has become a very popular work of fiction, so popular that a film is going to be produced (they are casting already).

Lloyd was a really nice guy and shared some pretty cool stories. While chatting away he made the point that we are living in history; Bougainville is a nation in the making, and we should be recording the events and moments we experience here.

I have to say, he has a point. Change is all around us…there is a new President, and he is doing a good job of pushing for progress in achieving peace across Bougainville. The Panguna area, central to the conflict, has recently opened up to government services. The Morgan Junction road block, symbolic of the unwillingness of some to accept peace, may be dismantled this year. Both positive signs that Bougainville is moving forward.

I think it will be good for me to note some of this stuff down, and perhaps you might enjoy reading it as well. So I am going to make more of an effort to record what I am experiencing here. I'll even attempt to write every day, as Lloyd recommended. Gotta be good for me, right?

Drugs

2009-03-24T21:49:00.001-07:00

We have a problem over here.

According to government figures, in Papua New Guinea health facilities can expect to be short of essential medical supplies for five months every year. That's right, five months.

I've recently completed a survey of health centres and aid posts in Bougainville for a health conference we are planning in May. Aid posts and health centres offer the majority of health services in Bougainville as there is only one hospital with five doctors, located on Buka Island (which equates to one doctor per 35,000 Bougainvilleans, but that's another problem). Not surprisingly, 77% of the staff interviewed reported that they often lack the supplies they need to do their job.

We also asked them what supplies they most commonly ran out of. I have compared responses to the most common illnesses reported by patients, and have found that the supplies they most commonly run out of correlate with the most common illnesses patients seek treatment for. What's disturbing is that the most common illnesses are malaria, pneumonia and diarrhoea – also the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in Bougainville.

But wait, there's more.

The supply of medicines is managed centrally by the Department of Health in Port Moresby. The Division of Health in Bougainville is tasked with sending orders and distributing supplies. However, since the problem of supply shortages is so serious, the Bougainville Government has set aside additional funding to address the shortfall in medical supplies. In 2007 the appropriation equalled 500,000 kina, roughly ASD250,000. Not much, certainly not enough, but that was 2007. I've just established that over 2007 to 2009 that appropriation has decreased from K500,000 to K40,000. That's a decrease of 92%.

Let me emphasise that point: despite knowing that Bougainville, and Papua New Guinea more broadly, faces serious shortages of medical supplies, the Bougainville government has decreased its budget for the purchase of medical supplies by 92%.

I got so angry when I learnt this that I felt sick.

Ok, time to change the tone. I am happy to say that there are solutions on the horizon. Firstly, sorting these issues out would be a bit of a slog without some good evidence to hand. My survey gives us that evidence. Secondly, we have had funding approved for a health conference in May, which will provide a forum to discuss the issue of drug shortages – the Minister of Health and the President will be in attendance, and I will make sure they hear about this. Thirdly, we have a Budget and Planning Advisor now, and I'm getting him involved on this so I can do a tag team hit for more impact. I'm pretty confident that we can turn this around, and that over the next few years we will see some changes. I'll keep you posted.

Welcome Back

2009-03-22T19:21:00.000-07:00

The following describes my first day back at work, Monday 23 February.

6:30am – woke up to the sound of the ocean, cool breeze and sunlight. Lay there for half an hour. Get up at 7am, make banana smoothies for me and the flatmates. Relax on deck for a bit. Go to work.

Monday morning – back to work and I’m walking in quick sand – apparently I’ve been delegated some work but no-one took minutes so we don’t know what that was, had to tell the head of the Bougainville AIDS Committee that there will be no funding from the Bougainville Government for the committee this year (still sorting that one out), shortly after that the power was cut as once again PNG Power has failed to import the right amount of diesel for the generators.

Try to call Health Division but they haven’t paid phone bill. This is actually good, as that means I have to get out of the office and take a boat trip (the Division is on an island overlooking much of Bougainville). Beautiful day, calm, clear water, chat to some friendly locals in the boat. Get to the Division and find out they have done everything I’d asked before I left. Very good news. Also find out that meeting to approve funding for Health Summits takes place end of week. More good news.

Afternoon – bump into friends all over town, everyone pleased to see me back because everyone noticed I was gone. This place is great. Good to catch up with everyone, great to see them again.

Malaria hysteria – find out that four ex-pats have come down with malaria, including Mel and Kim, my flatmates. It’s the wet season so not surprising. They are doing well though so that’s good.

Gossip – find out that there is a strike in the markets. Apparently a women from the Solos area (one hour north) got into a fight with a women from Ieta (two minutes up the road). A strike is on between market sellers from the two different areas, so not as much produce in the market (this turned into a big protest march in town at the end of the week, people showed up armed, roads were closed, much diplomatic alarm due to missing ex-pats, who were in fact away fishing for the day).

Rait Man – forgot how people love whitey’s over here. Lots of red toothed smiles and waves from strangers and calls of “Rait Man” (legend). I smile, wave back and shake hands, say cheers and ask how they are.

It’s good to be back.

Israel may face war crimes trials over Gaza

2009-03-01T22:50:00.000-08:00

Yeah, I know, not related to Bougainville at all, but this article really got my attention. Would love to read the Red Cross reports when they come out.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/mar/02/israel-war-crimes-gaza

Victoria is burning

2009-02-10T16:17:00.001-08:00

Hard to take in.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/events/bushfires/

Black Magic

2009-01-20T22:27:00.000-08:00

Time to introduce you to the role of myth and superstition in communities here. I've not been exposed to much myself, but I've heard people talk about the existence of mermaids in Bougainville, a tribe of nomadic dwarfs that roam along the base of the Buka cliffs, a GIANT octopus that lives in an underwater cave, and one fellow asked me if I could visit his village and let him know if the diamond on the head of a local snake was worth anything (apparently it hides in a cave and he will take me to see it).

While the myths by and large are harmless, the superstitions held by people here need to be taken very seriously. During a recent survey of health professionals I was told that sometimes people refuse to seek treatment because they believe they are cursed. Such is the strength of these beliefs that those accused of cursing people, or sorcery, are attacked and often killed. See below.

Sorcery killings on rise
http://www.postcourier.com.pg/20090108/news01.htm

By ROBERT PALME

MORE than 50 people have been wilfully murdered, some in gruesome fashion, for allegedly practising sorcery in two Highlands provinces last year.

Eastern Highlands provincial police commander Teddy Tei said more than 30 people were reportedly killed in the province while Chimbu police commander Joseph Tondop confirmed more than 20 cases.

However, the two men said they believed there to be more cases that had not been reported to police.

Mr Tei, in condemning these brutal killings, said in some cases people suspected of sorcery were tied and burnt alive while others were simply killed in front of others.
The commanders made these revelations when commenting on the death of a Chimbu man at the Goroka Base Hospital on Christmas Day from injuries sustained after he was attacked by relatives of a person who accused him of sorcery and attacked him on December 18 at Namaro coffee plantation in the Bena area of the province.

Mr Tei said the police were doing a lot of awareness on killing of innocent people and or repercussions on sorcery and murder but it seemed to have no effect on the people as the crime continued without a glimmer of change in the attitude of people.
“I want the people of Eastern Highlands to know that sorcery in itself is a crime but it is hard to prove in court, but taking the law into their own hands does not make the killers free,” Mr Tei said.

He said many of the sorcery suspects killed were innocent people.
Mr Tei said: “I condemn the actions and attitudes of people taking the law into their own hands when addressing alleged sorcery cases.”

Mr Tondop said sorcery was hard to address as it was alleged to follow bloodlines and practised against relatives and the retaliatory killings involved their immediate relatives. HE cited the death of former Chimbu administrator Joseph Bal as allegedly related to sorcery and an old man was killed and houses destroyed by relatives which saw to the arrest of suspects in that killing.

Mr Tondop also said his men were carrying out awareness but to no effect and called on the community leaders to help police and discourage sorcery related killings.

In the Western Highlands a young girl was set alight on Wednesday morning by suspects at the Kerebug rubbish dump and police are still investigating the incident.
Meanwhile, in other police news, Eastern Highlands police are investigating the attempted murder of a son of a policeman on Monday afternoon.

Mr Tei also raised concern that the cultivation of marijuana was on the rise in the province and called on the villagers to resort to making an honest living.
Mr Tei said the land used for cultivation of the illicit drug should be used to produce fruits and vegetables and sold instead of something that will land them into trouble.

For more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7825511.stm

A moment

2009-01-06T15:00:00.000-08:00

The washing machine has stopped. What the? I checked the taps, seemed fine. Water should be flowing then. Lights blink at me. I blink at them. Why isn’t this thing working? Hmm, a start/pause button. Let’s try it.

I press the button.

The machine starts working.

I suppress the urge to kick it and accept a simple solution. As I head down the path it occurs to me that the machine may want to stop again; it seems to have a mind of its own. I can’t be bothered waiting for it to stop, but I don’t want to return later and find it sitting there, confused and not sure what to do. I decide to stall for time by collecting a cold can from the local store. Hopefully when I come back the machine will still be working.

I roll out the door and stroll down the footpath. Arawa has many features that push it out ahead of its cousins. My favourite feature is the footpaths. I like footpaths. Tidies things up a bit. I especially like walking on warm concrete in bare feet. Always have.

I reach the local store and peer through the bars into the gloom. I think I can see a shape back there, black on black.

“Api noon?”

“Api noon.” A dark, smiling face emerges from the shadows.

“Hot ah? Mi laik buyim wanpela Sprite.”

“Ahh, Sprite.” My new friend retrieves a cold can of Sprite from his battered freezer and places it before me, still smiling.

“Em hamas?” I asked.

“Two kina, forty toia.” I place the money on the counter and he slides the can towards me.

“Have a good day, lukim yu.”

“Lukim yu,” he replied.

Back at the house. Washing machine is still going. Gudpela. I like it when things work the way they should.

Nerd core

2008-12-18T17:36:00.000-08:00

Ok, lucky last post, promise. Here's some material that will give you food for thought over the holiday period:

Obama's commitment to combating climate change:
http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=hvG2XptIEJk

Time you got familiar with the concept of peak oil:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2008/dec/15/oil-peak-energy-iea

On Afghanistan:
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/the-big-question-is-the-west-winning-in-afghanistan-ndash-and-should-more-troops-be-sent-1192734.html

Reflections

2008-12-14T15:19:00.000-08:00

Tenā koutou! How y’all doing? Olrait olgeta? Chur.

As I write this I am listening to The Camel by Fat Freddy’s Drop, track one from a mix CD sent to me by my flatmate of three years Mr Lennon Bedford. Cheers mate, am playing it loud! Spent two and a half hours last night listening to the tracks my mate Nick sent (awesome!), and last Saturday I debuted a new Metallica single thanks to Ms Nikki Stilwell. It takes ages for mail to get through, and all of a sudden three packages arrive from around the world. I can’t put into words how stoked I am :)

This is going to be my last email for quite some time, probably until February, so hopefully it doesn’t suck. I figured its time for some reflections on my time in the land of bogans ...

“It’s the little things”

So today they were selling 1.5 litre bottles of Seven Up and those slices of cheese that come individually wrapped. Never seen that sort of thing here so of course I had to buy one each. Feel free to laugh at me :) but things like that are a treat over here.

This may sound crazy to you, but I was getting sick of being able to buy everything now. I was actually becoming jaded with life in a developed country and wanted a lifestyle that helped me to enjoy the little things again. Turns out, moving to a pacific island was the solution. I love making my own coconut milk for my curries, enjoying a cold coke when its 35 degrees outside, keeping a wary eye on my water tank (more on the tenk wara later) and gathering paupau from my paupau tree (which actually just involves leaning off the deck). Chocolate bars taste better, a quiet moment to listen to some favourite tunes is bliss, each dinner feels like a small victory and a text from a friend puts a big smile on my face.
No man is an island

Having said all that, I’m a social animal risking social isolation coming here. There have been days when I’ve missed being able to rock over to a friend’s house or go for a cruise in Bluey when I’m feeling a little low. I miss meeting up at the bar to talk smack and play some pool, going out for dinner and hanging out at the beach.
I have been lucky being based in Buka though, as there are a few ex-pats up here from all walks of life. I’ve got a good support network with VSA, and we’ve had some cool trips together. Oddly, I don’t actually want to spend time with ex-pats though. I’d much rather hang out with Bougainvilleans and I’ve been lucky to make some local friends. Rayleen, Agesta and Jo Vilosi (local hospital) have been great company, my mate Francis the bogan (head boy at the local school next year) pops over to listen to metal with me and there are always people stopping me in the street to say g’day, which is cool. The recently started public servant sports days (once a month) have also been a great opportunity to mix with the locals. So is going to Kenny’s but its always a bit of a gamble going there (two fights the first time, nothing the second time but my mate was armed – but ‘normally’ its ok).
Having a few spare rooms has been good too, I’ve got a flatmate (Melanie, here until March), another flatmate moving in for a few months starting January (Kim, VSA) and so far four people have stayed, which works out at one a month! So I’m hardly banging around by myself.

People do come and go here so friendships can be fluid, and you can either treat that has an opportunity or a loss. For me the glass is half full and I enjoy making new friends.

Health is wealth

I certainly know how to make things difficult for myself. Last year featured many physical crashes, I was doing too much and I must admit, I’m not very good at looking after myself. To be fair, the hospital visits were just bad luck, but I would be the first to put my hand up and say yes, I could be doing better.
Ending a relationship, leaving friends behind (and my CD collection), moving country, and a new environment have been a bit of a challenge to the mental health. The frustrations of work in a developing country have also taken a toll at times, and to be honest having people stay here at the beginning when I should have been taking it easy actually worked against me.

Being here has, however, given me plenty of time to think and reflect (and poor Melanie has been a sounding board). Some of you will be relieved to hear that I’m finally learning how to take care of myself. But you can only spend so much time navel gazing because…

Its December

I’m doing development work in a development country and its getting better and better with each week, my friends are great and I’m lucky to have them, I’m travelling and I’ve got great music to keep me company. The past is the past and its time for a new chapter. I have so much to look forward to in 2009, but I will leave that for the next email.

So a merry Christmas to all, wherever you are. I hope this finds you in good health and with good times planned for the weekend. See you in the new year.
Wolfy.

Toonz

2008-12-07T19:31:00.001-08:00

Hi everyone, sorry for being so quiet at my end, I haven’t been on the internet much lately. Back on the radio again after a wee break – the Rugby League world cup coincided with my show, so they bumped me in order to broadcast live commentary. I was cool with that though, the locals here are MAD on league and were so stoked the Kiwis won. The Aussies have been quiet about it, sore losers all of them.
Big ups to Nikki for sending me the new Metallica album, fully stoked with it! Played The Day That Never Comes on my return to air, heaps of bogans over here so that should have gone down well. Also played Kings of Leon’s new track Sex on Fire so enjoyed bringing some new hits to the airwaves.
Here’s the playlist for those that are interested:
Cochise – Audioslave
Rusted Wings – New American Shame
You Don’t Know Me – Autozamm
Fuel – Metallica
Just Because – Jane’s Addiction
Fake It – Seether
Paralysed – Finger Eleven
Colors – Crossfade (cheers JD)
One Step Closer – Linkin Park
The Day That Never Comes – Metallica
Little Sister – Queens of the Stone Age
Roll On – The Living End
Beers – Deja Voodoo (also cheers to Nikki)
Rock and Roll Ain’t Noise Pollution – AC/DC
Sex on Fire – Kings of Leon (doesn’t really follow AC/DC but I just wanted to end with some Kings)
Hey Nick, haven’t received your package yet but it can take a long time for things to arrive, and coming from London especially so…but don’t stress man, I’m sure its on its way and hopefully here soon bro!
Chur chur,
Wolfy.

Port Moresby

2008-11-04T00:40:00.000-08:00

Kia ora from Port Moresby! Supposedly one of the most dangerous cities in the world, but I think its all right. I am currently staying at the Holiday Inn, a nice wee spot central to all government departments and ideal for a cold beer by the pool. Chur.

“Wolfy, what the hell are you doing in a hotel in Moresby?”I hear you ask. Well, I’ve probably already mentioned that I am initiating a review of Bougainville’s development strategy, and that required me coming to Moresby and talking to the National Department of Planning and the National Statistics Office about data they might have and strategic plans they have in place. Going well so far, got a free lunch today so sweet as.

This is my first trip to Moresby and I have to say, its different to any city I have visited. Crime here is pretty bad, car jackings, robbery and the odd stabbing are not uncommon. The only obvious signs that this ain’t like home is a) the barb wire and spiked fences and b) the graffiti. Its everywhere. Its so bad I feel like asking people why they are not doing something about it. I mean it, every fence that can be tagged has been tagged, at least in the areas I have seen. Given that by their own statistics law and order is getting worse every year, this is not very reassuring. Don’t worry though, I’m perfectly safe and have yet to walk more than a two blocks by myself.

All this has got me curious. What is the most dangerous city on earth? Baghdad? Hastings? Kabul? Google tells me that Detroit is the most dangerous city in the US, based on the number of murders, rapes, robberies, aggravated assaults, burglaries, and Eminem impersonators. Somalia, Afghanistan and Iraq are listed by Forbes as being the most dangerous countries to visit, so I think we can place Mogadishu, Kabul and Baghdad as some of the most dangerous cities. And, in case you need to add a few more cities to your list, a world wide quality of living survey lists Baghdad as the worst, but that’s no surprise, and also adds Brazzaville in Congo (never heard of it), Bangui in the Central African Republic (never heard of either) and Khartoum in Sudan (flew over it, hope I never land there).

So there ya go, nothing to worry about!

Two Souls

2008-10-27T23:16:00.000-07:00

Hi there. Time for another post I think. I’ve slowly been drawn into the health sector through having two med students stay and with Melanie having organised events for National Health week. I’ve got a couple of friends down at the local hospital as well, so am getting a bit of exposure to the issues they are grappling with here.

Papua New Guinea is facing some significant challenges. According to a recent evaluation of national progress across key indicators, governance and law and order are performing badly and getting worse. Health has had an average performance, and the trend since 2000 for primary health care is for further deterioration.

I personally experienced proof of this when I visited two medical centres on Buka Island (there are three levels of service – aid posts, medical centres and hospitals). A medical centre is a pretty basic operation, providing basic treatment and child delivery services. No doctors amongst the staff; a Health Executive Officer role plays both an administrative and slightly more than a nurse but much less than a doctor role. The HEO is supported by three nurses and three to four ‘health care’workers (I don’t know what they do, something along the lines of family planning etc). I have to say, it was pretty rough. The table for giving birth is literally that – a table, plus two posts for the stirrups. The only bed available in the first medical centre had some collapsed cardboard boxes in place of a mattress. It was also meant to be powered but the contractor nicked the generator when he wasn’t fully paid out.

According to the statistics (which are publicly available), a health provider can expect to be short of vital drugs for 5 out of 12 months of the year. This includes drug treatment for pneumonia, malaria, tuberculosis and dysentery, the typical illnesses bringing patients in from the villages. Both centres I visited had a dedicated room for drug storage, each with four shelves on four walls. The total amount of drugs and bandages stored in those rooms would barely have filled just one school bag. I couldn’t believe it. Neither could my friend Dr Vilosi, who I am helping to plan an inspection tour of all medical centres and aid posts in Bougainville. According to Dr Vilosi, it hasn’t been this bad since the war.

And then there is the maternal death rate. I can’t quote the rate here, since I don’t have the precise figure, but it is alarmingly high, and according to the government, amongst the highest in the world. This rate is measured by deaths per 100,000 live births, but it is also useful to measure the number of deliveries supervised by a qualified attendant. The war did a lot of damage here, as services were shut down, forcing mothers to give birth unattended in villages and at worst, in the bush.

The good news is that, with the resumption of services, it is possible for most births to be supervised now. Should there be complications, however, it can be difficult to get qualified advice on what to do. Let me share a story. An expectant mother in central Bougainville had complications when the baby became obstructed. With contractions this put the future mother in a lot of pain. The HEO (trained in this area, but no expert) in the local medical centre misdiagnosed the problem and gave her a drug which increased the contractions. Now the life of both the mother and the unborn child were at risk.

At this point you are probably hoping that a trip to the local hospital was arranged. With no ambulance and no private vehicle, the family were forced to raise $1000 kina to hire a vehicle and bring her to Buka. This caused further delays and placed added stress on the mother. Thankfully her family was able to raise the funds and she was safely delivered to Buka passage, where she was put on a boat to cross the channel.

Although the channel only takes about three minutes to cross, and the hospital is about two blocks from the landing site, treatment was out of reach. By this point the mother had endured six days of contractions, contractions which had increased due to an incorrect diagnosis at the health centre. That proved too much; both mother and the unborn child died on the boat, five minutes from the hospital and the treatment that could have saved them both.

Heavy stuff, sorry. The good news is that we are hoping to organise a Health Summit here to try and address the issues. All the top dogs are behind it, and by the time you read this I should have met with the CEO and Director of Health and the ball should be rolling. Will let you know how it goes, if of course anything does happen!

Ka kite ano,

Wolf.

No good

2008-09-28T23:02:00.000-07:00

So it is about time that I introduced you to the history of conflict in this region and its impact on life here. Its timely having just returned from a trip to Arawa, the former capital of the Bougainville province.

Before the opening of Panguna mine in central Bougainville, this former province of Papua New Guinea was a quite place known mainly for its plantations. Development in Bougainville jumped forward with the opening of the Panguna copper mine in the 1970s (located in the centre of the main island, and one of the largest open cast mines in the world). The venture delivered significant revenue gains for Papua New Guinea - at the peak of production the Panguna mine was generating 45% of Papua New Guinea’s GDP.

This had a huge impact on Bougainville. For a start, Arawa was built pretty much from scratch, including a second town on the west coast. Hospitals, schools, power stations, a port and roads were all built to host over 3000 ex-pats, Bougainvilleans and PNG nationals (red skins). Landowners received millions through the deal, but, despite these benefits, serious malcontent was brewing in the highlands.

According to academic texts, conflict arose out of real and perceived environmental issues associated with the mine, the influx of Papua New Guinea labourers, contention over the percentage of revenue that should be invested in Bougainville vs PNG more broadly, and contention over titleholder arrangements (for a start, this is a matrilineal society, and all negotiations were arranged with local men). Francis Ona, leader of the Bougainville Revolutionary Army, put it this way: “my fighting on Bougainville is based on these factors – one, we are fighting for man and his culture, and two, land and the environment. And the third one is independence.”

In 1988 conflict broke out and developed into a full fledged civil war between the BRA and Papua New Guinea forces (cue Mister Pip). A lack of discipline and control on both sides resulted in a pretty ugly conflict; about one tenth of the population died during the crisis.

What started as an attempt to assert more decision making power over the mine quickly became a war of independence. Ceasefires and peace agreements were repeatedly brokered and broken, but eventually a ceasefire was signed and honoured in 1997.

In 2001 a peace agreement was signed guaranteeing disarmament of Bougainville combatants, the creation of an Autonomous Bougainville Government, and provision for a referendum on independence in 2013. In 2005 the ABG was formed, and in 2006 a Strategic Action Plan for development was approved by the Bougainville Executive Council.

So, what are the noticeable impacts of this conflict? For a start, there’s the huge skill gap. The conflict was ongoing for about a period of nine years, and as you can imagine, things did not return to normal straight away. As a result, a lot of talented, skilled Bougainvilleans have left, and there is a big chuck of the demographic that haven’t completed a formal education. This shows itself in a number of different ways – firstly, in most urban centres you will notice a lot of young men, my age and younger, walking around with nothing to do. Over the channel, some of these guys will be wearing camo gears and carrying a knife (not because they are violent, but its just the thing they do here – most are really friendly). Working in the administration, you will notice that all divisions are understaffed, and mainly in their 50s. This is a real issue given that the life expectancy for males is sitting between 50 and 60 – the President, Joseph Kabui, passed away before the age of 60 in June, and he joins several members of the Administration.

What is acceptable in terms of violence is a little different here too. A fight here can escalate pretty quickly. Take last weekend for example – there was a fight recently between a Buka local and someone from Kieta (3 hours drive south). The Kieta man lost, badly. As a result, the wantok, or extended family of the Kieta man were here claiming retribution. There must have been 50-60 people down at the local hall, and we were advised to keep a low profile. Another story: over on the mainland a group of youths were drunk on homebrew, hanging out beside a road with nothing to do. A car drove past and for some reason one of the youths decided to throw a bottle at the windscreen. The car screeched to a halt and one of the passengers jumped out and killed the youth (knife in the heart). For some unknown reason, the youths decided the killer was from the south, so they rounded up a posse and went about terrorising all known southerners in the area. A roadblock was set up and, what with two roadblocks already in place (the permanent one in Panguna, and another further south following another death), Bougainville was effectively shut down.

Don’t be mislead though – things here are much better and these events are outside the norm…mostly. Being further north and the now centre of government has helped create a more peaceful vibe here in Buka. You can’t really tell that anything close to civil war took place. You’ve gotta go to Arawa to really get a sense of what happened.

Imagine it’s the 1970s and you’ve decided to go work in Arawa, a tropical paradise where you can enjoy a game of tennis or golf, dinner at the local resort, diving in tropical waters, fresh fruit and vegetables, glorious sunshine, a juicy salary and friendly locals sporting mean afros. Got that in your head?

Arawa today is…quite different. The courts and course have been swallowed by forest, the resort has been completely hollowed out and covered in graffiti, rusted structures peek out through thick vines, most of the expatriate accommodation has been burnt down, and the local sculpture in the park is riddled with bullet holes. The picturesque port nearby, once a sign of economic wealth, became a dumping ground for live and dead victims of the conflict (often thrown out of a helicopter). I imagine it would be a shock to anyone that brought their children here in the 70s.

It has been about ten years since the signing of the peace agreement, and most of Bougainville has settled down (relatively speaking). However, for some in the highlands, things haven’t changed much. The Panguna mine remains a no go area for most people, including government. A road block is in place and permits are required to pass through. There are still a few cowboys up there…there’s a self declared defence force and government up in Panguna, not recognised anywhere but in their own heads, but they have M16s so I don’t plan on taking the piss. Sadly they chose not to be parties to the peace agreement so disarmament efforts have not included that group (or so I understand).

All this makes things pretty interesting. I’m not sure what impression this might be creating for you, but I must emphasise how friendly and welcoming people are here. Its ridiculous. I walk down the road and there’s plenty of waves, smiles and how are yous. Locals are a little hurt by the reputation Bougainville has because, in all honesty, it is not a fair reflection of the people. The crime here is a result of the conflict, unemployed, unskilled, drunk youth who need help. They definitely do not represent the majority.

There is so much more to be said, but I will leave it at that. The rest of the story will be spread out over subsequent posts.

S.O.S.

2008-09-21T22:44:00.000-07:00

I NEED MUSIC – STAT!
Somehow I have managed to get myself installed on the local radio station, Radio Bougainville (call sign is Voice of the Sun Rise), which as it happens is just across the field from my house. Thing is, I bought my laptop just before I left and only uploaded about 10% of my music collection, and the radio station has hardly anything to draw on, so…I need your help!
I am playing at 8:30pm on Saturday nights for one hour as part of the youth programme. The basic idea is that I expose peeps to what's going on in terms of music around the world, keep them connected and share the good stuff. My debut was last Saturday and I have to say it was the most fun I've had with clothes on! Despite being really nervous I was grinning from start to finish, and only stuffed up my pidgin a little bit…
So please please please help a brother out and send some music my way! Anything goes, metal (there's actually a big following here!), electronica, pop, blues, anything good that you think people would dig, and some of the more popular stuff going around at the moment. Not only will you be doing me a HUGE favour but you will also be helping ensure Bougainvilleans have some mean tunes to rock out to! (that includes your stuff Taulima)
Please send anything in cd form, and I really need to know the song and artist details for each track – oh and by the way, can't be any swearing on the tracks, although I've already stuffed that up! Send to:

[removed]

Thank you soooo much! Love your ways.
Ok, for the curious ones, here is the playlist for my first ever live broadcast:
Tangaroa – Tiki Taane (just to scare the crap out of the locals – chur Greta!)
Welcome to Jamrock – Damian Marley
Just – Mark Ronson feat Alex Grenwald
Mr Brown – Bob Marley and the Wailers
Pray for Grace – Michael Franti and Spearhead
Clav Dub – Rhombus
American Boy (Radio Edit w/ Kanye)
Romeo – Basement Jaxx
Millionaire – Kelis feat Andre 3000
Feel Good Inc – Gorillaz
Fix Up, Look Sharp – Dizzee Rascal
Homecoming – Kanye West feat Chris Martin
Don't Stop the Music – Rihanna
Always on my Mind – Tiki Taane
Midnight Marauders – Fat Freddy's Drop (my favourite – chur Shane!)

The MDGs

2008-09-18T17:42:00.001-07:00

While on the topic of measuring development, I've been doing a bit of reading on the Millennium Development Goals. To quote Wikipedia, "The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are eight international development goals that 189 United Nations member states and at least 23 international organizations have agreed to achieve by the year 2015. They include halving extreme poverty, reducing child mortality rates, fighting disease epidemics such as AIDS, and developing a global partnership for development." Thanks Wikipedia.

We are currently planning a review of the Bougainville Strategic Action Plan here, which includes a number of indicators similar to the MDGs. Despite committing to in the SAP, no comprehensive data analysis or regular monitoring has been undertaken on these indicators. So, to get familiar with the task, I have been doing a bit of research. Some of you are no doubt familiar with the MDGs, so I am posting the following:

THE NEW YORK TIMES

September 13, 2005

Necessary Measures

By AMIR ATTARAN

Ottawa

FIVE years ago, about 150 world leaders gathered at the United Nations in New York and tried to move the mountain of global poverty. They adopted eight Millennium Development Goals - quantifiable measures of progress on problems like malaria, tuberculosis and child and maternal mortality. The achievement of those goals by 2015 would lift more than one billion people out of extreme poverty.

The trouble is that progress toward these benchmarks often cannot be measured. And if their achievement cannot be measured, the goals are not only a letdown for the world's poor, but also a time bomb for the credibility of the United Nations. As world leaders gather in New York again this week, the United Nations will have to grapple with the question of whether progress is on track to achieve the goals by the 2015 deadline. So far, this inability to measure progress has meant that the United Nations has either guessed or remained silent.

Consider the hazard of dying in pregnancy or childbirth, a fate that befalls more than 500,000 women annually, according to the World Health Organization. The Millennium Development Goal on maternal mortality is to "reduce by three-quarters, between 1990 and 2015, the maternal mortality ratio." Measuring that ratio requires an accurate count of both safe births and maternal fatalities.

But according to the United Nations Millennium Project, only a "handful of countries" can really prove the maternal mortality ratio is improving; poor, rural countries where obstetricians are scarce, home births are common and the dead are mourned privately simply do not have the data. That is why in 2000, their most recent assessment, scientists from the United Nations warned that "it would be inappropriate to compare the 2000 estimates with those for 1990," or to "draw conclusions about trends."

Malaria is another example where United Nations goals hinge on something immeasurable. In 2000, the organization's scientists warned that "it will not, in general, be possible to measure the overall incidence rate of malaria." Yet barely two months later, the United Nations placed bets on doing exactly that and persuaded the world's leaders to endorse a new Millennium Development Goal to start lowering the incidence of malaria by 2015.

Having ignored the advice of its own scientists and fashioned its goal unwisely, the United Nations today studiously avoids having an opinion on whether the malaria crisis - the disease is the No. 1 killer of children in sub-Saharan Africa - is getting better or worse. And yet, nobody who studies malaria doubts that it is getting worse.

Probably the most useful discussion the United Nations could plan for this week's meeting would be one that asked world leaders to endorse new goals against which they could truly measure progress. This is feasible: there are alternative ways to track malaria's toll or to assess the safety of pregnancies. For instance, dozens of demographic surveillance sites could be set up in the poorest countries to document births, deaths, illnesses and social services. This has already been done in countries like Tanzania and Ghana.

How disappointing it is that the United Nations leadership went to great lengths to ensure that no such discussion could happen this week. Last September, Louise Fréchette, the United Nations deputy secretary general, instructed the organization's scientists that she didn't want the summit meeting being "distracted by arguments over the measurement of the Millennium Development Goals," and ordered that they refrain from proposing any refinements to the goals. This is lamentable political censorship.

By putting that discussion off limits, and pretending the Millennium Development Goals are meaningful as they now stand, the United Nations has lost five years on a short timeline and sabotaged its own vital mission to help the world's most unfortunate and needy people.

Amir Attaran, a scientist and lawyer, is a professor at the University of Ottawa.

For more on this debate, and a reply from Jeffrey Sachs (he helped draft the goals) see here.

Of interest....

2008-09-18T17:42:00.000-07:00

You may or may not have heard of the Human Development Index.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_Human_Development_Index

Take a look and see where you respective country sits. Note that PNG has the third lowest ranking amongst Asia/Pacific nations. In a recent speech by the Deputy Prime Minister it was stated that 80% of the population live in rural houses with poor access to government services. He also felt that generally speaking, things are getting worse. Students here have been protesting over the fact that standards of living are so low here and job prospects are weak, despite huge wealth in natural resources and all the money coming into PNG.

One wonders why...

Also, the following links discuss projects that two fellow VSA volunteers are working on:

Lesley is providing assistance to Leitana, a counselling organisation whose foudner, Helen Harkena, was nominated for a Nobel Prize.

http://www.rnzi.com/pages/news.php?op=read&id=41797

Kim, best friend of my flatmate Melanie, is working with an advocacy agency to help resettle the Carteret Islands peoples.

http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1555148/papua_new_guinea_to_resettle_islanders_facing_rising_sea_level/

A dingo stole my baby

2008-09-11T18:49:00.000-07:00

SERVICE FROM TO DEPART ARRIVE
-------------- ------------------- --------------------- -------- -------
AIR NIUGINI - PX 253
MON 26JAN BUKA PG PORT MORESBY PG 1520 1750 - 1 STOP VIA RABAUL
RESERVATION CONFIRMED - V ECONOMY

AIR NIUGINI - PX 90
TUE 27JAN PORT MORESBY PG CAIRNS QL 0940 1105
RESERVATION CONFIRMED - V ECONOMY

QANTAS AIRWAYS - QF 703

FRI 30JAN CAIRNS QL MELBOURNE VI 1225 1645

RESERVATION CONFIRMED - S ECONOMY

QANTAS AIRWAYS - QF 608
THU 12FEB MELBOURNE VI BRISBANE QL 0805 0910
RESERVATION CONFIRMED - S ECONOMY

AIR NIUGINI - PX 4
THU 12FEB BRISBANE QL PORT MORESBY PG 1040 1340
RESERVATION CONFIRMED - V ECONOMY

AIR NIUGINI - PX 252

FRI 13FEB PORT MORESBY PG BUKA PG 0535 0810 - 1 STOP VIA RABAUL
RESERVATION CONFIRMED - V ECONOMY

Earning my bread

2008-09-10T21:44:00.000-07:00

Ok, so the ball has starting rolling here and I am getting more busy by the day. Just wrote the following to Ian 'The Pacemaker' Girvan, and thought you might like to know what I am up to here.

It has taken a bit, but am really starting to settle in here and find my path, really starting to enjoy myself. Have a lot more discretion over what I work on here, so much to do and room to create work for myself. Pretty stoked with that :)

Currently working on the terms of reference for the donor coordination and harmonisation group, which is pretty cool. Wrote my diss on NGO coordination so starting to feel like my career is finally going somewhere! Sitting at the table with AusAID, UNDP, EU etc so rubbing shoulders with all the right people. Also trying to get a research proposal off the gound, want to do a sample household survey on access to and quality of government services. Shaping up nicely.

Hmm what else...sheparding the drafting of the Goverment's corporate plan...nightmare that...required me to give a speech on managing for public outcomes! My former manager, Anna Cook, would have been proud. Or rolling on the ground laughing :) Even gave a copy of her paper on managing for public outcomes to a senior UNDP official.

Trying to get a stalled policy on youth off the ground as well, but not sure that the capacity is in place to get that going. Capacity is the BIG issue here. Would hate to work in Human Resources here. Speaking of which, may be leading some workshops to build policy skill sets in the CEOs here. Also want to do some scenario analysis type stuff but that is further down the line.

Oh and apparently we have to go over all the development projects that are being bid for this round. So kinda of a Treasury role there, should be interesting. Ooo ooo AND I have been asked to draft a memo outlining my thoughts on how to initiate a review of the Strategic Action Plan, and any issues to be wary of. Stoked to be offered that opportunity, can't wait to get stuck into it. Any review will have to wait until 2009 though so that's a wee way off.

That's more or less it. I'm also generally lending a hand or a bit of advice here and there, formally and informally. Good fun. We now have power after three weeks of blackout (no-one paid the bill) so the office is also a much more enjoyable place to be!

So by and large I feel I am going from strength to strength. The bach is really starting to feel like home now which is great. The med students are back in Adelaide and Mel is in Port Moresby so am home by myself now. Took a bit to adjust, but luckily have got a good group of friends here and they are keeping me company. Also seem to have the companion of a mangy mutt called Deeyogee. Clumsy as hell and has a scab on his left ear that won't heal, but he seems grateful that I just want to play fetch when there's a stick in my hand.

And every now and then I stop and realise how beautiful this place is, and how good it is to be here. Chur.

Big ups to the Wellington Massive.

Wolf.

Booty

2008-08-26T23:26:00.001-07:00

It wasn't me.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/4665463a4560.html

An insight

2008-08-26T22:57:00.000-07:00

Hi all. Thought you might find the following news article interesting. Kabui has since passed away, with elections tentatively scheduled for October 2008.

Leader denies Bougainville is headed for another crisis

May 9, 2008

The leader of Papua New Guinea's Autonomous Bougainville Government today rejected claims the island is heading for another crisis, amid calls for him to be sacked.

President Joseph Kabui has also defended his government's deal with Canadian mining company Invincible Resources, which has handed the firm 70 per cent control over Bougainville's bountiful mineral resources.

Kabui yesterday admitted taking K20,000 ($8000) from Invincible as a party donation, but denied any wrongdoing.

Bougainville landowners have called for Kabui to be sacked, accusing him of working against the best interests of his people.

But Kabui insisted today that the deal was good for Bougainville, saying it needed capital investment to get back on its feet after the secessionist fighting that tore it apart in the 1990s.

"I don't think we are running into a collision," he told reporters in the PNG capital, Port Moresby.

"I don't think we're in the lion's cage, (with Invincible)."

He said the autonomous government had been in talks with the company for three years, and insisted Invincible was the best firm vying for Bougainville's lucrative minerals.

The deputy speaker of the island's autonomous government, Francisca Semoso, last week spoke out against her own party.

She said the deal Kabui had done with Invincible was "worse" than Bougainville Copper Limited's (BCL) Panguna mining agreement, which sparked years of civil war on Bougainville in the 1990s.

More than 20,000 people died during years of secessionist fighting.

But Kabui dismissed criticism of the deal today.

"The driving force behind this sort of noise is coming from those who have a vested interest ... they are not privy to the real information," he said.

He also responded to an Auditor-General's report that found millions of kina had gone missing from the autonomous government's coffers in 2005 and 2006.

An administrative error, rather than any wrongdoing, was likely responsible, Kabui said.

Bougainville has set up a body to manage future investments called the Bougainville Resources Development Corporation (BRDC). All mining deals will flow through it to ensure they are in the island's best interest.

BRDC chairman Robert Atsir today said that once investment started to flow into Bougainville, the deal with Invincible could be revisited so it was more favourable for the island.

"We have the resources but we don't have the capital," he said.

"As more foreign investment comes in, it will kick start the economy and the deal will dilute back to Bougainville," he said.

BCL's held its 41st Annual General Meeting in Port Moresby today.

BCL Chairman Peter Taylor is confident mining will restart at the controversial Panguna site but it is not clear when.

"It will be at least five years, it's some time yet," he said.

Copied from the Sydney Morning Herald.

A night out

2008-08-13T21:55:00.001-07:00

G’day everyone, how are ya?

I thought last Friday night’s festivities might make for an amusing blog post, so here we go.

Last night we had the house warming party for Mel and I, and it felt like half of Buka showed up! My fellow volunteers know quite a few people, having been here for awhile, and sorted out the invites for me. Ended up with a great mix of ex-pats and locals. The Bougainvillean women were fantastic, kicked me out of the kitchen and ordered me to socialise. Which I did, thanks to the three slabs of beer we had acquired. Am pleased to say the party went well, everyone got along, and some of the locals had a jam session in the lounge.

Got to about midnight and it was time to head down to Kenny’s, the local club in town. Now, before I start, I should note that volunteers have been warned not to go out on Friday night. It is considered a security risk - locals get pretty drunk and rowdy, and may start trouble.

So it was a Friday night and we all went down to the spot where all the drunk locals were. Have to say, it was pretty sweet. Kenny’s is basically just a dance hall with a courtyard outside, and the most disgusting men’s toilet I’ve seen yet – and I went to University in Dunedin. When I walked in I thought we were standing on a step above the dance floor. Then I realised that we weren’t – Bougainvilleans are just short. Well, compared to me, the now conspicuous white guy with snow on his head. All were friendly and all was going well…

Eventually we headed outside to grab a breather. Mel had, by this point, attracted the affections of a drunk, drooling local, who just wouldn’t get the message. I ended up having to get between the two of them, which he didn’t like. I didn’t have to do anything though – the locals around me intervened and the next thing I know half the pub is actively involved in throwing this guy out. Then the crowd outside flocks around him. Then the police show up. I heard Batman was on his way too but things cooled down. Don’t worry he didn’t get hurt by the mob, just a lot of pushing to get him out.

Mel, bless her soul, had gone back on to the dance floor and missed the whole thing.

About five minutes after that happened I noticed my friend Akeel was over by the entrance looking pretty pissed off. Turns out some dude slapped him, so Akeel delivered a few head butts back. Having heard his story I decided to call an end to things, so we all poured out of the club and into the back of Akeel’s truck and rolled off into the night.

I haven’t had a night like that since I was living in Napier.

Hope everyone’s good. Still not quite getting through the emails, but almost. Mum also gets legendary status for being the first to call me.

Wolf.

Good times

2008-08-06T19:31:00.000-07:00

Howzit gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarn?

Really? Oh cool.

Yeah I’m good thanks. Thought it was time for another blog post so here we go.

Things have been rolling really well so far. Am enjoying my independence, starting to sort out some routines, generally getting things sorted. Have to say travelling by myself for two months has set me up well for this, not to mention the three months I spent living in a caravan.

So, what are some of the many benefits of being here? Well, for a start there’s coming home to a kiwi summer every night J I’m not kidding, feels like home whenever I come back. Picture this – 4:30 in the afternoon, you’ve just got a ride home on an open back truck (beats the bus on Willis), kids are playing soccer in the field across from the bach, you can hear the reggae playing in the local shop, it’s a warm, sunny afternoon, and you are reclining on a deck with a million dollar view of the ocean. Tough life, tough life.

Here’s another one: since arriving here I have started rediscovering the little things in life, like sitting back and listening to music (getting back into Helmet), learning a musical instrument, dancing in the kitchen (busted some sick moves the other night), writing letters (yet to be sent), kicking back and enjoying a magazine, defeating a fist of ninjas, and best of all, sleeping in. Its all good here J Oh and my fridge has a can dispenser for beer.

Found out that my spear fishing gear is in the mail so looking forward to putting that together and shooting some emos. I mean fish. Speaking of which, went out to a picture perfect pacific* island on Sunday. Have befriended a group of Philippinos in the next village over, and Bernard happens to own a boat. So we all jumped in, along with some fellow VSA volunteers and one Ozzy, to check out this little gem in the pacific. Was gold. Surrounded by reef, white sand, palm trees, so good. And Bernard brought whiskey.

The lads are pretty keen spear fisherman so have got some company there. They are keen as to take me out and shoot stuff, so can’t wait for that first bbq with fresh caught fish. My next door neighbour Bob has a boat too, but the trailer is missing a wheel so no action on that for now.

Shifting topics, as my earlier email noted, communication with the outside world is a bit tricky. I do have a cell phone, but seem to be having a bit of trouble with that. The local internet café demanded my kidneys last time, so I’m going to have to live by the ol’ less is more rule. Sucks but I am on an island, so its not surprising really.

First party is lined up for this Friday at mine. Consider yourself invited. Am being joined in the flat by an Australian volunteer called Melanie, so it is a house warming thing for both of us. Accommodation here is tight, and her agency (which I won’t name) failed to secure long term accommodation for her. She’s generally had a hard time so the kiwis have adopted her. Hopefully some company will prevent me going feral.
Well, I’ve well and truly savaged Emma Couper’s two paragraph rule, so will sign off for now!

Hope this finds you in good health,

Danger.

PS> photos coming soon, honest.

*That was some sweet alliteration, even if I do say so myself :P

A bogan amongst bogans

2008-08-03T19:38:00.000-07:00

Well, here I am enjoying a beautiful morning on my deck in Bougainville. It is around 25 degrees and its only 7:21am. Chur. My bach is situated on a hill overlooking the ocean. To my right are a couple of coconut and banana trees, there’s a papaya tree infront of me, and a 90 degree view of the ocean. I can hear the waves rolling in from here, and its sublime.

The house itself is pretty good. Its like an old school Coromandel bach, large deck, open plan kitchen/lounge, four bedrooms and a large bathroom. All to myself! I’m pretty lucky because a brand new washing machine is being installed, and I also have a brand new fridge/freezer, both of which are better than any appliances I’ve had before. The house even comes with hot water (solar power) and 24 hour power.

I arrived safe and sound on the 30th of July at 10:00am. The view from the plane was amazing, coral atolls and islands everywhere. Buka Island itself is lush with forest, ringed with coral reef and separated from the mainland by a short channel of water. Costs about $1NZD to get across to the mainland of Bougainville so will be doing that in short time.

Bogainvillians themselves are super friendly, which is pretty unusual for bogans. They have the darkest skin pigmentation of any people, so they don’t even need to wear black jeans J Honestly, the skin is so dark on some of them it is almost blue. For an island of bogans they are, however, pretty soft on music. I’ve yet to hear any heavy metal, so far its been some kind of reggae/pop mix on the local airwaves. Must rectify that.

I’m also stoked to say that the ex-patriots here are super friendly. I have four neighbours, Bob (kiwi), Greg (Oz), Kate (kiwi), Rebecca (oz) and Rosalie (bogan). Bob and Greg are pretty old school, have been working in Papua New Guinea on and off for about 20 years. Bob’s got a boat and is keen to take me out on the water so stoked about that. Kate works with the law and order types here is a good sort, gave me a cold can of South Pacific Lager as a welcoming present.

So so far so good. I’ve been provided with a mobile phone, so if anyone wants to send a text or call, the number is: +67-5-679-4751, or it should be! If it doesn’t work please let me know. NZ Telecom phones can send and receive messages with me, but apparently Vodafone only receives, or something like that.

Hope everyone is good, will post some photos soon!

Wolf.

Oh and these blog posts will always be a few days out of date, so sorry if it gets a bit confusing.