Pondering about sunam snails.....

Recently, I had a student send me a questionnaire for a research paper concerning Manusians and the perception of 'Brain Drain'. The following are my response to the question.

1.      When was the last time you went home to Manus? December 2011

2.      Do you think Brain Drain is a serious issue for Manus? Yes/No (Explain)
It would have been really good if you could have given a definition of the term Brain Drain here in this questionnaire. But it is okay, i will try to answer it as best as i can. To me, the definition of brain drain is to loose qualified, competent, skillful and knowledgeable people to another place, setting or environment. From this definition here, I would say that yes it is a problem and a serious issue. Firstly, competent and qualified manusians can make a serious endeaviour to build Manus in terms of infrastructure, community leadership, environment and conservation, education and health. When we loose people like this to other provinces, they gain and our provinces misses out.So yes it is a serious problem in for our province.
 

3.      What is your perception about Brain Gain, Brain Exchange, Brain Drain and Brain Circulation, do you think they contribute to development in Manus? Yes/No (Explain)
Yes of course. People who are qualified and competent are required in Manus to help Manus improve and move forward. We all know that many Manusians hold high profile jobs all over the country and even overseas. To have them back in Manus would be ideal but I believe that this cannot take place.
 

4.      What do you think the causes of Brain Drain are?
I would say lack of opportunity is the key cause. There are almost very little avenue for highly qualified Manusians in whatever field they are in to come back to manus and do things as they would like. For Manusians coming back to Manus to help Manus grow while they are still in their best years will not happen. For example, a highly qualified mechanical engineer cannot come and work in Manus as the working environment is insufficient to compensate his skills, ability and leadership. He cannot come and work at, for example, a company in Loregnau where the job is concerned with rebuilding, maintenance and engineering of light and heavy vehicles, outboard motor engines maintenance and general multiskilled engineering even if he wants to. Working in a place like Western Australia where the mine is world class and opportunities to learn cutting edge technology is ever present is a place where a young man in his best years will want to work. Besides, his qualification, leadership and skills are compensated richly compared to if he was working in Manus.The opportunity to do something unique is much more appealing unlike the situation in Manus.
The second cause is the desire to have a better living standard especially for families. Manusians who become qualified and then have jobs, want a better life for their families. When i mean better living standard, I mean better primary education, better health care, efficient law and courts, wider access to good and services – all things that are lacking in quality in Manus right now. Many manusians want better living standards for their families and when they can afford to have these standards, they will continue to have them in other provinces especially in the urban settings of Port Moresby. Manus doest have the economy to support these so called ‘better living standards’ so people who want to have them, move over to where it is thus leaving Manus. For example, a Manusian who becomes a aircraft engineer will move to Australia and become a permanent resident as he believes that his family will benefit directly from services in that country- a visit to Manus is solely for family events   

5.      Do you in one way or the other support family members back at home?
Yes.

6.      Manus Province alone receives more remittance compared to any other province in PNG. If there is so much money circulated in the provincial economy, how can you describe the basic infrastructure and other development in the province?
I dont think that we should just assume that because there is money sent through remittances, that there will be improved infrastructure. I think there is a difference between personal remittance and basic infrastructure. I think we cannot say that because we have sent more money home, it means there is more money and this equates to improved infrastructure. I think the money that is sent home is spent on personal/ basic goods and services like food, fuel and clothing but more importantly, Manusians themselves are great savers of money. A villager will act as if they have no money but in reality, that person will save a large amount of money in keep it safe in box, in a tin or under the mattress. Only when there is a ‘custom wok’ then the money will come out. Again this money is spent on goods and services and nothing from personal remittances gets spent on infrastructure like roads and bridges. Unless the provincial government sets a specific policy or law that deducts percentages from remittances to specifically build infrastructure in the provinces then surely high remittances will equate to the type of high value infrastructure we could have in the province.


7.      Do you think we can solve the issue of Brain Drain? Yes/No? (Explain)

At the moment, i dont think we can. Maybe in the future when the economy grows because of a mine, fisheries or tourism and the local economy grew, then Iam very sure that many Manusians would want to go back home. I also think that to solve brain drain is a myth. I mean brain drain is phenomenon that will always happen to other provinces in this country other regions of the world too. Africa has doctors who leave their country to go and practice in Europe and nurses is Australia now want to work in Europe – all because of the strength of the euro currency – again a desire for a better living standard and opportunity to practice.

8.      Ho would you best categorise yourself, a product of Brain Drain, Brain Gain, Brain Exchange or Brain Circulation?
I do not know what these terms means but i will say that Iam living in Madang and working here whereas I could be useful working and living in Manus. My province and family looses out because Iam giving my services, time and effort towards my employer's dreams and vision.

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A letter to Teen Me

Recently while surfing the web I came across a website of a person who wrote a letter to herself as a teengaer and addressed her younger self as 'Teen Me'. I thought it was one of the coolest things I had seen so far as the lettter was addressed to her younger self in the third person.
So I've decied to write a letter to Teen Me. As a teenager, I got transferred to ECOM High School and started school in the beginning of 1995. Below is a letter to my self as a teenager in ECOM.

Dear Teen Me,
It’s the beginning of the year 1995 and you have entered a new school. I know when you first entered the brick building known as the boys dorm at the old site, you must have felt uneasy and confused about what to do. Your dorm was just a few steps from the practical skills building and the girls dorm was just across a few meters away. Don’t worry too much about making friends. For the next two years, you will learn to develop friendships with some unique people especially the students of 9B. Don’t worry about the setting of the school – classroom buildings made from sago leaves and cane sewn blinds and floor of sand– as many years from now you will say you came from a humble school; -).
I think one of the best people you will ever meet and enjoy his friendship the most will be Nick Paran from Kawaliap. He will be your desk mate and over the course of the next few months, you will grow to like his character. You and him will team up with Kilepak Kiliwi and Simon Kawetan, two guys from your mothers’s island, Mbuke, and at certain times during classes you will make all kinds of silly jokes concerning food and the way it is cooked. You will laugh so hard as you have never laughed before and there will be tears in your eyes. The other students will get angry at you guys for laughing yourselves silly and will want to stop you. Teen me, these times that you laughed with these four guys will be some of your best memories of high school ever!
Teen Me, you will be a coconut climber and climb so many coconut trees at the old site and in the bushes surrounding the school area. Once you leave ECOM, you will hardly ever climb coconuts again and these days will be only treasured memories. Why I say is because some 17 years from now, you will be overweight and wear thick glasses and coconut climbing will never be a part of your world...hahahaha.
I think one of the teachers that will ignite your passion for Maths and Science will be Mr. Basil Pere. You will be enthusiastic about learning Pythagoras theorems and Odds ratio – subjects that you have had a distaste for when you were in grade 8. Another teacher that will stand out will be Mr. Henry Apo, the guy who actually was Bundrahei High School’s first principle, I think. Yep, he will teach you English, Social Science and Religious studies? Well after all these years you will still remember one bible verse he talked about: 1 Timothy 6:10 For the love of money is the root of all evil and he explained that it was not money but it was the love of money that was the root of all evil and for the first time you will know the difference. Another task master aka teacher of yours will be known as Mr. Saramasi, the guy from Mortlock who married a lady from Pere village and who 17 years from now will be the principle of Karkar High School. Yeah one thing that you will remember many years after your stay in ECOM will that you will learn the scientific names of vegetable from his classes and they will become like second nature to you. These scientific names will include Ipomea Batata (kaukau) cocos nucifera (coconut) and colocasia esculata (taro). Another of your teachers that will have an impact on your life – well your cooking and dining life – will be Mrs. Pokawin, yes the wife of then Premier of Manus or was it Open Member for Manus? Anyway, since ECOM is one of the very few schools where all students are taught Home Economics and Practical skills, you will actually learn how to cook in her classes! And I tell you that her lessons from your days in ECOM will always have an effect on the way you will prepare and cook food. Wow does that say too much about her? Yes Teen Me, all these teachers of yours will influence your decisions about life and later in life when you are in you 30s, you will appreciate these people in ECOM. Yes don’t woory about starting a life chapter of your life in this church run school because Teen Me, many many years from now, you will very much treasure your time in ECOM because it gave you some many good memories about life as a teenager. So don’t worry, get up and mingle with your class mates and get to know them well. They will be your friend and family over the next 24 months.
Well Teen Me, I have to leave you now and go attend to somebody special. You know what? One day you will have a special person in your life - a child! Yes a child, Teen Me. A lovely, lovely human being that will light up your life. I will tell you more about her...yes Teen Me, its a girl!...Maybe next time, I will write another letter to encourage you during your time in ECOM. I have so many good things to tell you about ECOM especially in grade 9 and then in grade 10. So catch later Teen Me.

Your older self from 2012

Kanu blong mi

'Kanu blong mi' translated to English simply means ‘my canoe’. A canoe, as a noun, is simply a small and light boat which is often pointed at both ends and is propelled by paddling. When I went home recently, I took some pictures of some men travelling from the mainland to a outer island. Since it is quite expensive to travel on motorised fibreglass boats (because of the high cost of petrol), many people still use the canoe for transport.

Most small canoes are wooden, single hulled supported by an outrigger. The canoe is pushed forward or backward with single blade paddles, by a person sitting or kneeling in the canoes hull. Over long distances, a person can paddle on each side of the hull alternatively to maintain stability, direction and stamina. In some cases, the canoe can have a mast and a sail and is propelled forward by wind and directed by a person, who holds a single blade paddle, as a rudder .

In many coastal areas of PNG, where places and people are separated by the seas and rivers, the canoe has always been the most popular mode of travel on water. In Manus province, my island province of PNG, the canoe is used for travel extensively -to bring garden produce to the markets, moving household stuff, fishing expeditions, going to school, trading...making it an essential part of Manus society. When the canoe gets old and a bit fragile, the outrigger is disassembled and hull is used as single canoes, similar to a kayak or used a decanter in the sago making process.

Steffen Dalsgaard (2009) described the skill of canoe bulding in Manus as more than just having the knowledge, especially when it came to the building and craftsmanship of large sailing canoes. The skill was an attribute of both genealogical relationships and ethnic belonging.

This, he explained, was that the transmission of knowledge was important when arguing that one knew who to buiild a canoe. For example, in many parts of Manus where the building of large sailing canoes that where once used for trade and warfare, are now a dying art among the young. One could claim knowledge of such canoe building when they watched their father work or through relationships and converations with elders who knew how.

Dalsgaard also commented that one could claim knowledge of canoe building becasue of his ethnicity. For example, those in the outer islands of Manus claim superior knowledge of canoe building skills and art, than those who live along the coastlines of Manus. However, as seen today, ethnicity alone cannot gurantee skills of canoe building as old men and women die without pasing this knowledge on.

In Manus society, canoes also play a part in wealth distribution. For example, Carrier and Carrier (1982) who studied Ponam islanders on the north coast of Manus, explained that when groups of people go for a fishing expedition and come back, the fish (wealth) caught is distributed equally to all those who have taken part in the expedition. They said that unlike the Western system of wealth distribution where wealth is distributed according to labour achieved, wealth is distributed to capitals (such as canoes, net rights,) rather than to labour. This is like saying that everyone who goes on a fishing trip gets an equal share even though they have worked or not.

Carrier and Carrier also found that a canoe could be built by anyone and given to anyone the maker chooses unlike other things such as net or reef rights. The researchers found that unlike canoes, net rights are always owned by patrilineal groups and not everybody on the island.

Alas, today these cultures, skills, craftmanships, inticate knowlege and tools of large sailing canoe building are definately fading more and more into oblivion as Papua New Guineas embrace modern methods of seawater transport and modern fishing methods.

References

Steffen Dalsgaard (2009) Claiming Culture: New Definitions and Ownership of Cultural Practices in Manus Province, Papua New Guinea. Published in The Asia Pacific Journal of Anthropology Vol. 10, No. 1, March 2009, pp. 20 32

James G. Carrier and Achsah. H. Carrier (1983) Profitless Property: Marine Ownership and access to wealth on Ponam Island, Manus Province, Papua New Guinea, Published Joural of Ethnology Vol 22, No.2April 1983, pp 133-151