Trouble with the rubbish

PNG is often described as a violent country, sometimes unpredictable and everyone here is advised to "expect the unexpected".

I should point out that everyone I've met, at work or socially, has been friendly, welcoming and hospitable. However its true that violence is more prevalent here and on a scale that we may not encounter at home. It may help to understand the context once you learn that rape only became a criminal offence here three years ago. Arguments and disputes have traditionally been resolved by physical means and by inter clan fighting. Its a tradition that remains. The problem is that nowadays its fought with high powered automatic weapons rather than sticks, stones and axes. My hosts are understandably very anxious about me walking around Hagen on my own. They are not necessarily concerned about direct attacks on me but as they say " you don't have to be the target to get caught up in something"

I have been in Hagen for 10 days and the three incidents described below have all happened in that period.

1.Someone threw a hand grenade at the police !

2. The airport was closed for a day when it was sealed off by an entire clan demanding compensation for one of their "wontoks" who had been shot in the hand by the police during an incident at the airport. They have threatened to repeat the action until compensation is paid.

3. The rubbish in my compound is collected in wheelie bins and taken to the tip on the outskirts of town once a week by the caretaker and labourers who work for the Baptist Union. Last week on the way to the tip their vehicle was attacked by a large gang who not only threw rocks but were armed with automatic weapons - intent on stealing the vehicle. Our people managed to escape with the vehicle, but, as you might expect, they are not keen to go back to the tip and the rubbish is now piling up around the bins in the compound.

Maybe its worth telling the story about the two guys from Papua New Guinea who visited Europe and were taken to the World War 1 cemeteries in Northern France. Standing in front of the rows of thousands of crosses they turned to their hosts and said " You people just keep going until everybody is dead. We would never do that."

So maybe its just a question of perspective?