May 3rd is Media Freedom Day

Today is the 3rd of May. We often put this day down on our calendar as 'Media Freedom Day' - a day dedicated to remember and celebrate the work of journalists and media workers. This year's theme:  A Press for the Planet: Journalism in the Face of the Environmental Crisis, encouraged all of us to reconsider how we, as news reporters, journalists and communications people report and inform the public on rising environmental issues and climate change. 

The students of the Communication Arts (CA) Department at Divine Word University in Madang took to the schools in the surrounding community to inform them of the remembrance and magnitude of the Media Freedom in light of rising climate and environmental issues. 

At first assembly on a Friday morning, the first group of CA students arrived at Kusbau Primary School. The school currently has 1,700 students and 53 teachers and CA students quickly adapted to the use of loud hailer and began their engagement with the student body during school assembly. 

 Then at around 11am the next group of CA students visited Lutheran Day Primary School and talked to five classes of grade 7 students. The students of Lutheran Day Primary School were inquisitive, asked questions and prizes of DWU diaries and DWU calendars were given to students as well.  

Another group did visit Tusbab Secondary School but I did not tag along with them. Instead, I again went with another group who visited Holy Spirit Primary School. This is a large school that filled the hall. Even though I did not get official numbers, the students that attended the awareness were from grades 6, 7 and 8. 

Yes today was an eventful day and we hoped we did justice to the day to remember the work of journalists all around the world. To remember those who have fallen and suffered because of their role in seeking the truth and to celebrate the fundamental principles of journalism.  

Today, the CA students held their own in front of so many of these primary school students. It was nerve wrecking for some while for others, it was continuation of their professional growth as public speakers. I admired how they carried themselves and spoke on climate change, environmental issues and simple ways we, as Papua New Guineans, can help inform ourselves of these issues and address them in our communities. 

Some day, these students will become professionals and look back and reflect upon their lives as students and I know this will definitely be a highlight for many of them.  HAPPY MEDIA FREEDOM DAY!

Hibiscus on the fresh earth

This afternoon I saw something that unsettled me. 

There was a burial of a person in the public cemetery. There were around 12 people there. Around four women were crying - their voices already weak and raw after much crying - as the body was lowered into the ground while two men quickly dumped spades of ground over the casket. The rest of the group just slumped down in the shade of the metal fence that ran alongside the cemetery, hiding from the overpowering afternoon sun. 

The thing that struck me as something different was that those 12 people were the only people there. There were no cars or flowers or groups of people or sad songs as is commonly seen during burial ceremonies. They all wore black clothes but they seemed like they just wanted to bury the body and then go home quickly. I was thinking that it might have been a person who was not thought of well in the community or a criminal thus it seemed no one wanted to come and say their last goodbye.

I walked away and an hour later I came by the cemetery. Everyone had left by then. I saw the place of burial and it was an unmarked grave with just three or four hibiscus flowers heaped together on the fresh earth. That's all. Nothing more. Truly, we came into this world with nothing and we will leave this world with nothing. Blessed is the name of the Lord!!!!!!

The public cemetery was overgrown with grass and a beaten track runs through it

Flight Simulation on Google Pro

 I'm sure many people know this already but I didn't!

I found out just today that you can actually do a flight simulation on Google Pro. on your laptop. So naturally, I did a flight simulation over Lorengau town😀🤣. The images on the Lorengau map are from a few years back but its ok. You can click on two locations eg: Momote and Lorengau and the flight takes you from point A to Point B while you see places. 

Coming in from highway into Lorengau

Flying in from the north coast over Lorengau town

Google Earth Pro is a software that you can download on your desktop or on your mobile device

Using keyboard keys is good but for those that have a gaming joystick, you can really control the flight indicators well like speed and height above ground. I used the keyboard keys and of course crashed multiple times! 

Yes I did this using Digicel data so was good to move and maneuver.

Newspapers in PNG can reduce sports gambling among young people

 Gambling in many countries is often thought of as a form of entertainment, characterized by betting or wagering something valuable or financial such as money (WHO, 2024). The furthest I have delved into gambling may have been playing Bingo when I was in the village over the Christmas holidays. But believe me when I say that gambling has risen in Papua New Guinea especially among vulnerable groups such as young people (ABC Pacific, 2023).

Casino gambling came into the scene through the passing by PNG Parliament of the Gaming Control Bill 2007 that allows casinos and internet gambling in PNG (Rayel et al., 2016). Over the years, as internet became easily accessible, Papua New Guineans began to take up online gambling with some ordinary punters loosing up to K1000 (US$300) in a year on Australian National Rugby League betting application NRL 365 (ABC Pacific, 2023). In Australia, around 80,000 to 160,000 Australians experience problem or addictive gambling which includes a range of negative social outcomes such as criminality, housing instability, relationship problems, financial difficulties such as indebtedness, and domestic violence (Miller et al., 2014). This might be happening in PNG too though there is little research being done on this. In Australia, younger men are most at risk of falling into gambling because they are more exposed to sports betting normalisation processes such advertising during NRL games on TV or on social media platforms during sports updates (Seal et al., 2022).

Young people who are not careful can loose their hard earned cash to online gambling

However, the media can be an avenue to call out addictive gambling especially newspapers which can help vulnerable groups such as young people. Firstly, Miller et al, noted that newspapers should frame stories around gambling by including the voices of problem gamblers. While these problem gamblers might be reluctant to share their stories, at least the story begins the debate around reducing the addictive nature of gambling. Journalists have a responsibility to reduce gambling in our communities by finding problem gamblers or reformed gamblers and doing their stories. Secondly, another way to tackle problem gambling is to combat it with advertising. There is already evidence that advertising leads to increased risk of gambling (McGrane et al., 2023) so newspapers must turn this around by using advertisements to reduce addictive gambling patterns by providing strategies such as setting personal limits on betting (ABC Pacific, 2023). Who will foot the advertising bill? Miller et al (2014), pointed out that there must be collaboration between the media and health organizations to develop ways to financially back advertising against gambling.

Newspapers can be a used by public health organisations to reduce gambling among young people

So personally, I believe that if you have never tried online gambling, do not try it as it can become addictive and lead to social and health problems for you down the line. Even if you already began sports betting, seek to set a limit for bets or never bet more than you can lose. The PNG Government must also see this as a rising problem and find ways to address this before many more social and health problems arise.

 

References

ABC Pacific. (2023). Online sports betting is on the rise in Papua New Guinea, but experts warn of risks associated with gambling. Retreived from: https://www.abc.net.au/pacific/programs/pacificbeat/png-gambling/102006846

McGrane, E., Wardle, H., Clowes, M., Blank, L., Pryce, R., Field, M., Sharpe, C., & Goyder, E. (2023). What is the evidence that advertising policies could have an impact on gambling-related harms? A systematic umbrella review of the literature. Retrieved from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0033350622003420

Miller, H. E., Thomas, S. L., Robinson, P., & Daube, M. (2014). How the causes, consequences and solutions for problem gambling are reported in Australian newspapers: A qualitative content analysis. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, 38(6), 529–535. Retreived from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1326020023022124?via%3Dihub

Rayel, J., Manohar, P., Atu, I., & Raka, R. (2016). Gambling Tourism in PNG- A Grace or a Curse?: Implications of the Proposed Casino Gambling as Perceived by the Community. Retreived from: https://devpolicy.org/Events/2016/PNG-Update/4c_Rayel.pdf

Seal, E., Cardak, B. A., Nicholson, M., Donaldson, A., O’Halloran, P., Randle, E., & Staley, K. (2022). The Gambling Behaviour and Attitudes to Sports Betting of Sports Fans. In Journal of Gambling Studies (Vol. 38, Issue 4). Springer US. Retreived from: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10899-021-10101-7

WHO. (2024). Addictive Behaiours: Overview. Addictive Behaviours. Retreived from: https://www.who.int/health-topics/addictive-behaviour#tab=tab_1

 

Amazing Pero Pero

Madang has some really good places to visit if you are looking for a getaway.  

I recently took my children for a tip to a rural guest house on Karkar Island in Madang. You have to travel for about an hour out of Madang town until you reach Megiar village. Then you can get on a boat and travel for another hour on a speed boat to get to Kuburne village. 

On arrival, you will see that the guest house is located in the village setting but the owners have moved a bit to the edge of the village and set up their lovely guest house. The guest house, set in the lovely Kuburne village, has two bungalows which are well made and comfortable. The interior of the two houses are done well - you have polised wooden floors, comfortable chairs, proper solar lighting, running water for bathrooms and toilets.  

The meals prepared by the owners were great and we loved the lemonade made in glasses with straws. We had fruits, eggs, buns, fish, fried chicken during meals and my kids enjoyed it. 

You can watch the full video of our trip on YouTube: Amazing Pero Pero

See you there!

Bridging the Digital Divide?

Sometimes I see my relatives in the village have good phones - smart phones - despite us being in a rural and remote area. Most use it to call others, send text message and watch stored videos. Apart from that, they use it for internet access ocassionally as network coverage is not full especially on the coastlines. However, as they move up the mountains they are able to get access since Mt. Pawih a good reception.  So when I'm in the village (Liap/Derimbat village, Manus Province) and you see that people own good touch screen phones then I thought best to conduct a small session the usage of Whatsapp. 

This includes explaining the concepts of basic flow of data from phones through internet to reach others. This basic overview provides my relative with an understanding how how they can purchase data to use tools such as WhatsApp to communicate personally or in business. 

Manus is a difficult place to do business, especially for SME's to thrive. This, in my belief, is due to the high cost of fuel. It is the single most important factor because everyone as to consider the cost of fuel and factor it into their prices of the goods and services they sell. So using tools online can reduce some of the costs especially those around communication, advertising and ordering items. I hope my relatives can use these digital tools and thus reduce the digital divide that continues to be present in our country. 

Rempi Youtube #madang #Madang #explore #papuanewguinea

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!