I'm a police man...i'm going to rob this bank
Trip Start
May 18, 2008
1
17
18
Trip End
Jun 16, 2008
Kundiawa,
Papua New Guinea
Thursday, June 12, 2008
1. As mentioned before, the roads are unpaved, rocky and poorly maintained, but really who needs infrastructure when...
2. Landslides occur frequently and the government could care less when the poor majority can't afford to contact the government in Port Moresby, when...
3. Flying is the only efficient way of transportation
4. Therefore, "parliamentary democracy" is a complete farce run by a corrupt elite unconcerned by the fact that...
5. Clan warfare is still commonplace, often spilling out into the streets, whereas gun warfare is isolated to battles in the bush, not on streets. Quite civilized, i must say.
7. Cannibalism is back
8. Life expectancy is a paltry 45 years - malnutrition is widespread, I have never seen so many club feet (or bare feet) in my life. Cleft lip, spine ebbifida, AIDS/HIV, and cancer also plague the population.
9. Corruption even effects things like cell phone service, which recently arrived but the foreign provider is banned from contacting landlines and cellphones operated by the government provider.
10. Although the land is extremely fertile, domestic trade is impossible due to road conditions, so most families are subsistence farmers
11. Von Dutch clothing and accessories are widespread here, and NOT knockoffs. That's when you know your brand has hit rock bottom!
12. You can only get used clothing and books here and the children wear tshirts that say offensive things like, "fuck your mother" because there is tight control on things such as foul language, pornography, etc. Basically, social freedoms are restricted but killing and corruption are ok.
13. Though nominally Christians, they believe in black magic. Women are accused of sorcery, beheaded and burned. Child abuse and domestic abuse are prevalent especially in rural areas where volunteers cannot access.
14. There is no culinary tradition - the only dish is "throw everything into a pot" for breakfast, lunch & dinner. There is no tradition of hygeine so people spit, walk barefoot, don't clean their clothes, brush teeth or bathe very often (in the towns, BO is the overwhelming scent), and the women often have facial hair (beards) that they don't take off. All very bizarre. Garbage is dealt with by burning it on the side of the road.
15. Wealth/handouts are given to the tribal head, who will indiscriminantly dole out benefits to his tribe, if at all.
16. Work is a new concept for PNG, so most use it as a place to nap, charge their cell phones, play solitaire. The concept of "firing" is also new, so fired people remain on the payroll and/or you have to wage a protracted multi-month battle just to get the keys back or get them to move out of their office. Some people turn their offices into a home, since its nicer than their village.
17. Overheard at Bank from man in one flipflop: I'm a police officer...One day I'm going to rob this bank. I'm serious. I'm serious. This is discrimination!
18. You know there's a problem when the aid workers from Africa are like, THIS PLACE IS CRAZY!
19. African aid worker: I don't understand...in my country, we just gun them all down. Why don't we just gun these people down??
