GOOD morning, PNG.
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WE can do little more than express our shock at the devastation in Oro and let our people in that province know that we stand with them in this moment of terror and deprivation. At the same time we hope that every concerned government body is even now working to capacity to ease the suffering and deal with the situation.
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MANY of us – and particularly those who live in the comfort of our cities – tend to forget that PNG can be nature at her wildest. We cannot afford to pretend that nature will be tamed in time – it won’t, and we look forward to constructive action by the National
Government, as promised before the elections, to
re-think both the national and provincial emergency services.
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IN 11 days time, the people of Planet Earth will mark World AIDS Day. Each year we plead for a public demonstration of concern and involvement in every provincial capital and in Port Moresby. We know the National AIDS Council is pre-occupied with fighting this disease, but the simple gesture of wearing a red ribbon to mark the tens of millions who have fallen victim to AIDS is something we should all be proud to carry out.
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WE remember Richard Jones, a young VSO from the UK, who was working in Madang last year. Richard inspired hundreds of school children attending local schools to make thousands of red ribbons for World AIDS Day. It was a touching and effective gesture and one that should be copied by every school in the country.
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AND it should be initiated by Papua New Guineans; we’re the ones the epidemic afflicts. It’s time we
publicly displayed our concern for those with the disease and our determination to stop this shadowy killer from claiming any more victims. If we pull together we can defeat this threat – and make the
thousands who are suffering from AIDS aware that they are among friends and family as they battle to survive.
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FOR those readers who are dry and safe – have a pleasant day, and spare a thought for those who have lost everything. Cheers!
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– Dee Nesenolis