10 things I think I think

The format of this entry is stolen directly from Peter King, Senior NFL writer for Sports Illustrated. He is the best football writer on the planet. Anyway, I tried to write a ‘closing thoughts’ essay and was having all sorts of problems so I turned to the old numbered list, first cousin to my beloved bullet points. Here we go…

1. I think what you have in PNG is a violent collision between a tribal society and modern technology/methodologies. In Kundiawa, there is an computer shop with an internet connection and not 50 meters away lives a family in a hutch with no running water, electricity or gas stove – living exactly like their ancestors did hundreds of years ago. The contrasts are startling and don’t mix very well.

2. I think the term ‘developing nation’ has a negative, almost pitied connotation. USA was once a developing nation – a collection of farmers and laborers in an untamed, rural territory. But America had time to develop, and went through several stages along the way. PNG is only 30 years old yet has advanced a great deal, taking short cuts with the help of foreign aide.

3. I think PNG is not a poor country. This is not Afghanistan – a baron, mountainous wasteland. Nobody is starving to death in PNG. The land is a green, lush paradise – there is nothing that cannot be harvested here. Beneath the mountains lie fields of minerals and ore that could be exported. The country just needs to tap into their own pool of resources.

4. I think PNG is too dependent on foreign aide. The first thing organizations do when wanting to start a project in PNG is to write a funding proposal to AusAide or another donor agency. There is an underlying thought process that just assumes Australia or England or whatever will come and bail out PNG if a crisis comes down.

5. I think the loyalty towards the clan, over the loyalty to country, is the biggest obstacle in the effectiveness of the national government. PNG people care about their family – the wontok system. The country is a distant second. Politicians make decisions and misappropriate funds to help out their own clan. Policemen do favors for their wontoks and allow them to commit crimes unchallenged. The PNG people waved the country flag around a few weeks ago for Independence Day but their patriotism begins and ends with their own village. This problem is not ignored by the government – a national campaign with the theme ‘Let’s put PNG First’ has flooded media outlets for weeks. The clan ties are strong – a sense of national pride and identity will take time.

6. I think the AIDS epidemic in PNG is frightening. It is reaching Africa proportions. Many organizations are conducting tireless awareness campaigns but it is a tough sell. You have a society that is deeply religious, believes in the wrath of god and that sinners are justly punished. So when a person dies of AIDS, the consensus is that he/she was struck down for their crimes, whatever they may be. Now you have volunteers streaming in, warning of a mysterious disease that EVERYONE can contract if they do not practice safe sex. Oh, and by the way, the symptoms of the disease won’t show up for a few years. And you won’t actually die from the disease itself but from ANOTHER illness that could not be fought off because of the former disease. Try explaining that to a villager who does not speak English.

7. I think PNG is in jeopardy of becoming a drug haven – Central America style. You have a rural, relatively lawless nation with an ideal climate. Everything grows here. You have Australia to the south and China to the north – countries with money and a recreational drug habit. You have a corrupt police force and easy access to automatic weapons. I would not be surprised if cocaine started streaming out of PNG – and it might be already.

8. I sometimes think it would do PNG better if all the volunteers and missionaries and Non Government Organizations (NGOs) pulled out and let them figure out everything on their own. It won’t happen. Australia wants to keep an eye on their little buddy to the north and fear radical religious groups streaming through PNG, rallying new followers.

9. I think that the volunteers that I have come in contact with have been some of the finest people I have ever met. There is an unspoken bond between the volunteers in PNG. We all know we are far away from our homes and families and friends and we are exposed in this wild land so we all got to stick together and watch each other’s backs. Furthermore, almost everyone is intelligent and hilarious. I am in good company.

10. I think I have gotten much more out of this experience than PNG has gotten from me.



That’s it. I fly out tomorrow. Australia for a couple weeks and then back to the USA. Home. I doubt I will ever return to Papua New Guinea. These are strange days, for me. I feel different.

The blog will continue though the venue will change. Australia looms.