A different kind of campaigning

This month the election fever has gone up and on Saturday 23rd June, the voting begins. While the campaigning has began with stories of people attending rallies and candidates dishing out money, a different kind of campaigning is still part of everyday PNG life. Im talking about street preaching. Young people who pop up at at popular areas and began preaching about Christ. I think we Papua New Guineans are some of the most fortunate people around the world who hear or preach the Gospel without of being jailed or killed. I also think Papua New Guineans are very tolerant to street preachers even to the point of being respectful in the most awkward situations. A person can just sit up and preach wherever he or she feels the need to - in the bus, in front of shops, in the market, in shop corners, on the boat - and people will respect that person and do nothing to stop them..
Last week, I was at the back gate of DWU, next to the Lutheran Day Primary School buying betelnut when i saw two young men just in their teens, who just walked to the centre of the road. One removed his cap and reached into his bag. He took out a bible. I saw these two young men, who stood up at the Lutheran Day Primary School gate and preach about humbleness and obeying the word of God and children who had just finished school, buai sellers, DWU students and the public stood and listened as this two young men preached about God.They preached for about 30 minutes and when they asked people to raise their hands and pray with them, people actually raised their hands and bowed their heads.

In a way, I think most people appreciate street preachers as they get to hear the Word. I think it also is a brave thing when young people choose to do this 'work' and their act shows how much simple people are willing to listen to the Gospel. I think what I saw in front of the school is just a small picture of where our heart is - not in elections because for five years we dont see our 'leaders' on the streets. But our heart is on the hope for better things, a life free of disease and and a community free of corruption.What we seek and hope for in such events as this one described above, we do once every five years - we vote. But unlike parliamentarians, street preachers meet us on the streets and encourage us on themes of faithfulness, hope and love almost everyday for five years!

Betelnut Chewing is a risk factor for low birthweight

I recently came across this very interesting study about the relationship between betelnut chewing and the birth weight of a child. The published paper was titled ' Betel nut chewing during pregnancy, Madang province, Papua New Guinea'. It was compiled by M. Senna, F. Baiwoga, J.Winmaia, I. Muellerb, S. Rogersonc, and N. Senna and published by the Journal of Drug and Alcohol Dependence, volume 105, issues 1-2, in 2009.

I have written a summy of the study:

In Papua New Guinea, betel nut chewing is very common in the general population. It has similarities in terms of use and complications of use to chewing tobacco (smokeless tobacco), as its active agent, arecoline (is the alkaloid natural product found in the betelnut) is similar to nicotine. The study was done by researchers from the PNG Institute of Medical Research and the University of Melbourne from September 2007 and June 2008. The study investigated the habits of betel nut chewing and possible impact on pregnancy.

In a cross-sectional survey, 310 pregnant women attending Alexishafen Health Centre (which by the way, the health centre has over 500 deliveries annually) in Madang Province were interviewed with a survey measuring: detailed demographic data, betel nut chewing habits, other potential addictions (smoking, alcohol and drug use) and a medical examination (weight, height, blood pressure and hemoglobin level were recorded). When they had given birth, their babies were assessed for birth weight and signs of prematurity.


The study found that there was a 94% prevalence of betelnut chewing during pregnancy and 98% of the betelnut cases chewed betelnut with lime and daka.

Reasons for chewing betel nut in general were: to prevent having a smelly mouth (43%), it is my custom(28%), I am addicted to it (9%), to achieve more work when I am tired (8%), other reasons (after a meal, to relax, to be with others, for its good taste, . . .) (12%).

And during pregnancy: to prevent nausea (28%), to prevent having a smelly mouth (26%), it is my custom (20%), I am addicted to it (10%), to achieve more work when I am tired (7%), other reasons (after a meal, to relax, to be with others, for its good taste, . . .) (9%)

In 80% of the cases, mothers perceived no risk in using betelnut during the pregnancy for the fetus. None thought that chewing would be beneficial to the fetus and only 20% thought that chewing could represent a risk for the fetus. Out of these, 40% thought that this risk is related to swallowing red buai, whereas 60% had the perception that this risk existed when chewing the buai without swallowing it.

Low birthweight was defined as weight below 2,500grams. The study showed that pregnant Papuan women who are betel nut consumers are significantly more likely to deliver an infant with a lower birthweight, as average birthweight of chewing mothers was reduced by 238 g.

Although the largest birthweight reduction was found to be related to gravidity (technical term for the number of times a woman has been pregnant), betel nut chewing was the second most important predictor of decreased birthweight. (Some people may say that smoking or malaria may be important predictors of birthweight, however, literature show in this paper show that there is a significant variation in birth weight even in malaria strong areas showing that malaria is not the only important factor influencing pregnancy and for smoking, the chemical similarities between nicotine and arecoline are similar)

They concluded that 'health education on the harmful effects of betel nut use especially during
pregnancy is essential. To be effective, this kind of education programs should be included not just into antenatal care programs, but also into adolescent education.'

Now, I believe that this study alone should be a wake up call to women assess their betelnut chewing habits or smoke at any stage during pregnancy. Although the relationship between betelnut and birthweight is studied here, I think it must also be noted that birthweight of babies in PNG can also be influenced by factors such as mother's nutrition, mental health, education level, socio economic status etc.

Buailess in Perth

Many Papua New Guineans just love chewing betelnut. It has become part and parcel of PNG life and is often celebrated in art, storytelling, celebrations, 'custom wok' and many other events. I, for one, love chewing betelnut for its mild naracotic effect. It has a similar effect to caffeine but doesnt cost that much as compared to a cup of coffee or a can of coke. For the uninitiated, betelnut chewing refers to the chewing of three ingredients - the nut of the Betel Palm, a fruit of the Piper betel vine known to many Papua New Guineans as 'daka' and also lime powder made from coral. Betel nut, known scietifically as Areca Catechu is chewed among people who live in he Pacific, Aisia and even to the coastline of East Africa. In the late 1980s, It was commonly known as the fourth mostly widely used drug worldwide after caffeine, nicotine and alcohol (Marshall 1987)*

Knowing Australia and its strict quarantine laws, I knew I wouldnt be able to get some betelnut over to Perth so I sort of made up mind and resigned myself to a 'betelnutless' life for the next few months. However, my fears were laid to rest on the first night i arrived in Perth from Brisbane:The first time I landed at Perth domestic airport, a Papua New Guinean gave me a betelnut to chew! The betelnut was soft and squishy but chewable (if there is such a word), the lime was a white paste and very strong. I had to chew this with a dry 'daka' leaf, it was so dry that it was brittle. But hey this was Australia so i had to make do with what i had. They told me that there were a couple of Chinese shops around the city that were selling betelnuts, with lime and 'daka' but ran out quickly.

Well last month (February), after numerous phone calls and searches on the internet, i was able to locate a Chinese Store in Leederville, just a few minutes of Perth City. The Chinese store was located right a the corner of Tennyson street and Oxford Road, Leaderville. The asian lady just saw the bilum I was carrying and already knew what I had come for. I just had to ask if there was betelnut in the shop and she was away, leading me down the aisle and headed for the frezzer. Out came the betelnut and daka which i bought for AUD$35.50 (around K80) for 12 large betelnuts and 5 packets of 'daka'. Man, they were just so expensive!

So, for all those Papua New Guineans living in Perth or those intending to come here as students or to work here, dont be 'buailess' when you are here.

* Marshall, M: Anoverview of drugs in Oceania, in Drugs in Western Pacific Societies: Relations of substance: ASAO monograph Number 11, Association for Social Anthropology in Oceania Monograph Series, Edited by Lindstrom L Lanham, md, University Press of America, 1987, pg 13-49