| Business |
The thieves in our midst
THEFT does not occur on its own
accord. The removal of property takes place at the hands of cheap
and nasty little criminals.
Few of these people steal out of desperation or because of
overpowering poverty. Many steal because it’s something to do, a
cheap thrill. Most of these petty criminals are unemployed through
choice.
Those who are unemployed because they cannot find work, rarely
give up the struggle to succeed. They don’t steal.
They don’t cause nightmares for the rest of the community. They
are honest and given the chance, hard-working.
There are thousands of them and they deserve the support and
understanding of the whole community.
The sleazy criminal element deserves the attention of the police
and of the courts.
They are the element that disrupts our lives and causes suffering
among the people.
That is, of course, exactly what they set out to do.
Yesterday, there were several stories that underlined the
activities of some of these low-lives.
One involved the hard-pressed linesmen of Telikom and the other
the guardians of our National Library.
In the Telikom case we reported, yet again, the cutting of cables
in the Gerehu suburb last Friday night.
Once again lines to distant parts of PNG and even some
international connections were abruptly severed.
Telikom is offering a reward of K10,000 for information that will
lead to the conviction of criminals found guilty of vandalising
telephone cables. Such a reward shouldn’t be necessary.
The fact that Telikom has created such an incentive is a sad
comment on the depths to which our urban society has plunged.
It’s in the interests of us all to report these criminals to
police or to Telikom – and we should not need the lure of K10,000
cash to do so.
The telephone service exists for everyone to use. These days it’s
a vital security link between the householder and hospitals,
doctors and police stations.
To dig up cables, cut them and take time to remove lengths of
interwoven and often weighty copper wiring is not the work of five
minutes.
And since these criminals are also born cowards, they much prefer,
like rats, to hunt in packs.
So we are talking about a number of people gathered around a point
in the street removing perhaps a cement protective tablet, hauling
out cables, hacking through them, pulling as much length as
possible out and then making their escape.
And we are supposed to believe that these people are invisible to
the community!
Later the copper wire will turn up at any one of a number of
unscrupulous dealers where it will be secretly sold.
These buyers are also not invisible. They do not act on their own.
Many work at otherwise legitimate businesses that employ a number
of staff.
Yet they too remain “unknown” and untouched by police or other
government agencies.
Like most people in Port Moresby, we’ve had our fair share of
trouble with telephones.
We’ve waited for months for a new connection. We’ve had
ridiculously inflated phone bills, and almost had to go to court
to insist on billing justice.
But we need to stop throwing the phone at Telikom.
Telikom staff are currently working against huge odds and against
too many criminal members of our own community.
Let’s keep an eye open for the thieves in our ranks, and hand them
over to the authorities.
The other story that points to a breakdown in our society
concerned the theft of 10 computers from the National Library.
These machines form the nucleus of the internet café being created
within the library as part of the K7 million Australian funded
revamp of the building and its services.
As Board of Libraries and Archives chairman Oseah Philemon said:
“This is a crime against the children of PNG.”
It is just that and a crime against all those who wish to access
the world of information that lies at the fingertips of anyone who
can type into a computer.
These are major community assets.
They are among the many attributes that define a community.
We urge ordinary people to keep their eyes open.
And when you see thieves at work, make it is your business to
report what’s happening.
 
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