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People grieve differently...

As Janet entered the student mess, her mind was still on that assignment she had submitted. It was 6.30am but the mess was abuzz with student voices and sounds of laughter filled the corners of the large room with its tiled floor and wooden tables. As she scanned her student ID card at the entrance, she wondered how she was so late in handing the major paper to her lecturer. She had done it again. She promised herself that she would never hand in her assignment late again. But that was last year. She just couldn’t repeat the unit one more year. She was 27. She was too old to be in Year 3 again. Her cohort had all completed four years in the Bachelor of Communication Arts program. That was four years ago. This was the second time she was repeating this 'Mass Media Theory' unit. Maybe learning at university was not her cup of tea.   

The worker behind the mess counter didn’t even look as he gave her four slices of bread. Everyone knew him as ‘Tino’ but none of the students knew his real name. He was too busy sorting out the thin slices of bread for the next student behind Janet in the student line. The white bread didn’t look appetizing. Her stomach growled as if to confirm its dislike for the dry bread. But she knew she had to eat this and drown it down with the cup of black tea. This mess was her only place to eat. Her dad had paid for her school fees while working the coffee gardens back in the cool Erap mountains in Nawaeb District. He was as strong as a bull on the Markham plains, worked hard during the coffee season and his financial support for his daughter was unwavering. Janet knew this and never asked more of her father than what was required. Once she arrived at Divine Word University campus in Madang from Morobe, she ate all her meals at the mess and saved the money her father had given her, for toiletries.     

Janet placed her porcelain cup of tea on the table and then pulled the green plastic but sturdy chair away the blue table. She slumped down. She had sat close to the wired window of the mess and away from the rest of the students. She didn’t want the bright and chirpy students to invade her moment. As Janet took the first bite of the bread and swallowed, she wondered why Mrs. Kisanumbuki had allowed her to submit the assignment late. She was a good teacher – cheerful and bright in her class presentations but she was as tough as nails and took great importance in making sure every student submitted on time. She had been teaching at the university for 18 years and never accepted late work. But she had just accepted Janet’s late work. Did she care about Janet? Did she feel sorry for Janet? 

The next mouthful of bread was too dry to swallow. Janet dipped the white bread slice into her tea cup. If Mrs. Kisanumbuki accepted her assignment, then maybe she had felt sorry for Janet. When Janet handed in the handwritten paper assignment a day later after the due date, Mrs. Kisanumbuki didn’t say a word. She just accepted the assignment as if Janet had not submitted late. Janet remembered that earlier on in the semester, Tony and Palek had handed in their assignment late by just 30 minutes but Mrs. Kisanumbuki came into class the next day and made a big fuss about students submitting late. But this had not happened when Janet handed in the assignment. The bread was already soggy and Janet used her spoon to scoop the bread and swallowed it on one gulp. She didn’t like it one bit.

Janet lifted her head and saw that she was alone on the table that could seat 10 students. She was lonely as a single cloud in the sky. She didn’t care about being alone. Even though she was in a class of 30 other students, she never really connected with anyone. Did the other students in class look down on her as a repeating student? Was that why Mrs. Kisanumbuki did not scold her for being late? Did Mrs. Kisanumbuki look down on her as well? She took another sip of tea. Looking around the mess, the students began to line up to get breakfast. The line didn’t move quickly. Tino was arguing with a student at the counter. Janet didn’t bother to hear what the argument was about. She sipped her tea again. She was like this. She didn’t bother with those who had no impact or influence on her life. She just got on with what she was tasked to do. This was the quality that Hornibrooks PNG Limited saw in her when they first recruited her two years ago when she dropped out at Uni. They loved her no nonsense leadership over the two years she worked at the Lae office. She did find a purpose in her work. They told her that if she completed her Bachelors Degree they would place her as the Area Manager for Momase Region. This was before COVID came and they had to let her go. She had found the motivation to come back to complete her studies.  

Janet decided it was time to leave the table. 

“May I sit here with you?” Janet’s train of thoughts were abruptly broken by a voice of someone familiar. It was Sevese! Of all people, it had to be Sevese. Janet really liked this guy but never had the courage to speak to him. Even in the classroom, she always avoided looking at his direction because if their eyes ever met, her heart would jump out of her chest! Janet couldn’t even muster a sentence and meekly said: “Yes em orait.” 

Sevese sat across from her. How could this lanky guy from Kerema just sit at her table? Janet’s heart raced a thousand beats in a minute! 

He dipped the slice of bread into his cup of tea. Before Janet could say anything, Sevese looked up from his tea cup, looked at her and in a quiet but stern voice he said: “Did you know that Mrs. Kisanumbuki’s daughter, looks so much like you? The one that passed away so suddenly at the beginning of this year?”

Janet sat still. She understood everything.

Ends////

Ps:  I have been telling students for the last couple of weeks to write a 1000 word short fiction in our PNG Literature class. We studied two short stories by Clive Hawigen titled 'Keeping the cold chain' and 'Revenge is such a bitch' and used it as inspiration to keep short stories to a particular activity rather than a series of activities due to the limited word count.

So this week I decided to bite the bullet and write my own short story to use as an example for the students. The theme of the short story is 'interconnectedness' which basically means people are connected in some way through their action or non-action. The message of the short fiction is that 'people grieve differently'.

The fiction story above is the example I gave in class.

Buying my first SLR camera

Sometimes buying something can be a moment you remember for a long time.

I remember the day I bought by first SRL camera with my own money. It was a day around February of 2023. I had gone to Theodist a few days earlier and checked the shelves where the camera were. I took some pictures of the various camera and their prices. Then I went home and did some very basic research - I checked video reviews of each of the brands that I had seen. 

I guess the reviews that are online on YouTube are really good.  Some like these:

 Some of these videos are great and provide valuable advice on the use and functionality of the camera.

The next day, I took the bus to Eriku, walked down the pathway to the main road and walked to Theodist. I went straight it and and went to the camera section. It was morning and there were not a lot of people around. I told the sales representative that I wanted to purchase the camera. She went away and came with a camera that was still in the box. We went to the counter and I paid using my card. It was like a blur but all the money that I had saved up from the recent SME work, I put into the camera. I felt proud of myself but at the same time I felt that I had placed all my eggs into one basket. It was like a do or die moment but I wanted this. I knew this was a step up from the phone I was using to shoot videos. It was time to move up. 

So after I got the camera, I decided to do a test run and see the different functionalities. I did a video for my old organisation - PNGFHA. This was the organisation that gave me a job straight out from University so I wanted to do something from them. So I thought this would be the best opportunity to do this video for them. 

Here is the video:

So yes this is a small story of me purchasing my very first SLR with my own money. It was a great investment and will help me as I undertake my video making journey. 

A visit to Lowa village

Walked from the house three hours to visit Lowa village market and the walked back - a total of six hours. My phone said 13 km but I swear it must have been further than that.

My escorts - Peechee and Ku-uh

When we crossed from Liap to Lowa, we entered into the Lelemadih-Bupichupeu LLG area. Liap is in the Pomotu Ndrehet Kurti Andra LLG area of Manus so we literaly crossed one local government area into another. It wasnt a great market today but i got betelnuts, fish, mumu tapiok and some donuts. I say it wasnt great because it wasnt as busy as could be. Usually the place would be packed with people from Liap, Lowa, Mwaramuan, Lopahan, Drayau, Ahus and Powat 

The village soccer field is next to the market. Wanpla selfie pastaim!

Not too many people came today but I still got my betelnuts!

Then strolled to the edge of the village where there is a famous hole in a stone island. As you stand there you look eastwards towards Mwaramuan, Lopahan, Drayau and Powat villages respectively. People from these villages including Liap and Ahus Islanders congregate every Saturday here at the market.

One of the best things about this village are the clean 'streets' which cut through and across the whole village. 

The seashore at the the village

Im trying to pose while someone interjects..lol

The streets! Thats me and papa at the back

The village is virtually at sea level and is also part of the swamp area. There are mangroves at the back of the village so there are definitely crabs and seashells around. 

Just lying about in the mud at the village

Look at these shells!

 One of the most significant structure is a stone just across the seashore looking towards Lopahan village on the east. This stone rises above the sea line and has a whole - a perfect circle - which may have been carved out long ago. Here is a picture of the stone.

The stone is furthest is the one that has a hole on it.

Anyway, that is my story today. Life does really go on....

Village Living

One of the best things about living in the village is the fresh earth food - kaukau, cassava, banana and taro. It feels good when you eat from the earth you have cleared and tilled. 
 

Just having a cup before the sun goes down. 

Even having a wash in the river beside the house is refreshing

Yes village living can be a healthy option as it provides an environment for us to connect with out culture, traditional practises and extended families. But it must be noted that living in rural and remote part of Papua New Guinea can be unpleasant experience if you are sick or need medical attention. This is because many vital government services are lacking in these rural areas. Yes we own the land and do whatever we want on the land but we cannot fully utilise our land and live on it if the government of the day cannot uphold and sustain basic government services like schools, clinics, roads and bridges. 

Life is tough in Manus!

Sago Beating

 This week is sago beating time! You have to do this job of beating sago so you can have food. 

The white house on Pamachau

 A few days ago when travelling on the south coast of Manus, we came past Pamachau. It is a very small island just a few hundered meters or so off the mainland of Manus. The space between this island and the mainland, where Waratalai and Lawes are, creates a narrow waterway where boats travel through when the high seas are rough. Many people who travel on the south coast come past this group of four or five houses which are literally on stilts due to rising sea waters.

The fascinating thing about this picture is that I first saw this white house on a person's laptop at DWU in Madang so many years ago. He had this picture of the house on his laptop's desktop. I had asked this person why he had this as his desktop picture and he would proudly tell of this spot here. Of course it was my late colleague Mr. Kichawen Chakumai and this was his house. He was one of PNG's senior and qualified health administrators serving in the early government health's 'one system' just after PNG's Independence, then the two health systems in the 1995 Organic Law on Provincial & Local Level Government era and then the new 'wan system tasol' in the 2007 Provincial Health Authority era (health managers know what Im talking about...). He was also a Health Extension Officer who became an academic at DWU and taught many HEOs and Health Administrators/Managers that came through DWU.

My eyes watered as i stood on the boat in the mid morning sun and saw this white house. The last time I saw him alive was when I helped carry him from his house to the car to go to Modilon Hospital some three years ago. I wished that when i finally travelled this way, I would have stopped the boat to come meet you and hug you under your white house. Sometimes we miss people not because they are gone and are no more in our presence but we miss them more because of the 'what ifs' and the 'what could have beens'.

I salute you and I miss you too!

The PNG PM at 49 in 1985

 Today, as I was going through some old newspapers, I came across the picture of one of Papua New Guinea's great leaders - Mr. Micheal Somare. He was the first PNG prime minister and one of the founding leaders of PNG's independence journey.

What took be aback from this picture was of how young he looked when he turned 49. 

The picture appeared on the front page of the Post Courier on Tuesday, April 9th, 1985. 

 

A loss for Manus

Ah sore...Dr. Gabriel Kulwaum...a loss for Manus! He did his PhD at the University of Queensland with his thesis titled 'Problems of devolution in Papua New Guinea education' in 1995. I remember when I was in high school at ECOM, he was a dedicated school Board Chairman.

One day he came to school and found that the students in one class were making a lot of noise and he went in to investigate. He found that the teacher had just left to find buai/smoke at the nearly village. Dr. Kulwaum quickly took his vehicle, went to the village and literally chased the teacher back to the classroom.
When students faced disciplinary actions during weekends he would interrupt the school assembly on Monday morning and lecture the whole student body: 'hamaspla haus yu buildim pinis na yu laik marit? Hamaspla kanu yu sapim pinis na yu laik wokim family? Hamas spia botol yu stretim pinis na yu laik pait? Hamaspla saman blo kanu yu pasim pinis na yu tok yu man?'

I salute you for the fact that you impacted the lives of Manusians for so long in so many areas of their social and cultural wellbeing. My sincere condolences to his family.

Oh sumatin laif....

Oh sumatin laif!!..Taim yu stap sumatin lo high school or secondary school or college or university, nogat man bai luksave long yu. Sampla taim bai yu nogat soap, towel, bedsheet or matress. Yu bai struggle igo inap yu pinism skul blong yu. Na taim yu holim wok olgeta man bai kam na tok 'Oh that's my son' or 'That's my daughter right there'.....oh PNG, yumi sa win tru yah!...lol

Domestic Violence in PNG

 So many women are dying and have died of domestic violence in this country. Those who are posting on social media, please keep on posting and talking about it so that this issue becomes part of our everyday discussion. Too many times, it is ignored and kept out of public discussion.

I believe domestic violence is a systematic problem nationwide and therefore needs a systematic approach towards solving or reducing the problem and this needs to start at the top - political leaders. Political leaders as a group, wield great power including the political will to change something in their favour. If we have the political will to win, create and bankroll the South Pacific Games and the APEC meetings, then why cant we for something that matters to our loved ones? Our hauslain? This 100% male parliament is not even close to hearing the cries of women. We need more women political leaders who, as a group, can change the momentum on the fight against domestic violence. This cannot happen in one go but over a number of years.

Come on women, 2022 is the year for change. Stand up, be counted and vote women into parliament! Imagine if 50% of parliament were women! Maski long votim ol man bikos nogat senis kamap na ol meri dai yet. Imagine the countless women who are in rural areas of PNG who face life like what this young lady went through everyday. We need a systematic change where relevant government agencies are adequately funded, legal systems and protocols for perpetrators are fasttracked, safe houses become the norm, hotlines are toll free, training for law enforcement, etc.

This fight needs political will to kickstart it. We have signed petitions, international conventions, ran campaigns etc. Inap! Sanapim wanpla meri lo komuniti blo yu, votim em lo 2022 na em bai go na rausim ol tambaran lo displa haus yah! Na yupla ol meri, inap lo votim ol man!! Displa pasin we igat 20 candidate na wanpla meri, maski votim ol man! Even if you dont like her, just block vote na yumi salim displa meri go lo Waigani! We need more firebrand Josephine Abaijahs and straight-shooting Carol Kidus! Come on, let us vote for change in 2022!

A wedding!

What a privilege to attend a wedding!

Its not often that I get an official invitation to attend a wedding but today was different. I was invited by Jerome and Aloisa to attend their wedding.

The wedding took place at the DWU chapel.

The church was well set up and nicely decorated with the theme of red, pink and white.

I took Lordes as well and we went.

We arrived 10 minutes earlier than everybody. We met Professor Peter Anderson and then waited for everyone to turn up.

Inside the church, the place was amazing with bright colours, flower petals sprinkled on the floor, flowers placed neatly here and there, balloons, white sheets dangling from stands, a red carpet.....it was very nice!

Then the couple did their procession with their bridesmaid and the groomsmen. All were immaculately dressed - the ladies with pink and the guys with dark suits.

I don't know why I got a bit misty eyed when they both read their vows....it just says so much about committing oneself to another person. It really is a powerful moment when one person says something so meaningful and profess their love to another person in front of a community. It really is.

Just as the event was getting more beautiful, Lordes said she was feeling cold and her hands trembled. I asked her if she was ok, she looked at me with worried eyes and I know something was not right. I led her outside the chapel. When we were outside, she asked me to carry her home.

When we arrived home, she was shivering profusely. I gave her some panadol and told her to lie down. She didnt have fever so I assumed the panadol would calm her down and I would go back to the wedding. After few minutes she was shivering but this time I became concerned. In that brief moment, I thanked God for giving me the right mindset to get her quickly to a health facility. Later on, after everything had worked out and I reflected back, I just knew that if I had not taken her to the hospital, she could have lost her life. It was that serious! I quickly called the ever reliable 'Hilux' and he quickly came and took us to the private clinic along Modilon road. When we arrived the service was really fast and efficient. Lordes's temperature was 39. 4 degrees and they gave her arthemeter and christapen! It was malaria.

Now I look back and at that moment I had made the right decision in taking her very quickly to the health facility. It really could have been worse!According to Malaria Control handbook for Papua New Guinea, four out of every 10 outpatient visit to a health facility in PNG is a malaria case and around 600 people die annually from Malaria in PNG!

Anyway, my daugther and I missed a great wedding event at the chapel and the reception at the Madang Resort hotel.

A very big congratulations to Mr. and Mrs Semos!

Coca Cola names on 330mls cans

Over the past few weeks, I have began to see the new marketing scheme put up by Coca Cola here in PNG. I am referring to the current use of common names together with the catchphrase ' Share a Coke with ___________ (name of person). The campaign to put names on the soft drink began in Australia in 2011 and then spread to more than 70 countries. It has been used on coke bottles and cans as well. In Australia, any person interested in having their names on the cans could ask for it with name characters up to 14 letters

The person who came up with this idea is a genius! Why I say this because the intended (if it was intended) effect is that when people buy these 330 mls cans of coke here in PNG, they actually share the can they bought or are drinking on social media, particularly Facebook. I am also on Facebook so I can see family and friends posting their cans of coke when they have found their names on the can. The recent one I saw yesterday was about the name of the place: Madang! I guess its something new, interesting and unique and the cans cost K2.00 and is often available throughout PNG. Once the cans on social media, it has a ripple effect as other people too want to share their names as well. This 'share a coke with' campaign is something people can relate to and of course identify with and so the social media posts continue to grow.

Once Coca Cola begins to put the original Papua New Guinea names on the cans of coke, this will reach another level altogether. Currently we are only seeing the common English names like Eddie and Latifa as shown on the two cans on my table. If Coca Cola PNG chooses to increase the names to include local or indigenous names such as Kisakiu or Kanawi or Kusunan or Poilep (a sample of  names from the Titan language areas in Manus province), then it will be something else.  I guess once we reach the names that are indigenous names that come from our villages or family members who bestow these names on us, then I imagine two things will happen:
1. Papua New Guineans will love coca cola more and cherish the idea that a huge company could care enough for that person and therefore print their names. They will drink the sweet liquid and then keep the can as a souvenir. Of course social media photos will grow as more unique names will appear on the cans. It is a special feeling when your unique name is on a can that someone else in the country has in their possession. It makes someone feel unique and special when people see your indigenous name on the can.
2. People will begin to question the use of indigenous names on the cans. I imagine some people might even begin to question the use of original names by a multi-coporation company and if they can actually do this. This is because we haven't seen Coca Cola PNG asking for people's names to be written on the cans like what is being done in Australia. What about issues of copyright? Will Papua New Guineans feel that such a huge company is using their unique names to sell for a profit?  

Maybe I am making a mountain out of a mole hill. Maybe. We will see how this progresses in the coming weeks!

See yous!