The world knows PNG

THIS rebuttal is aimed at Glen Burua’s letter in The National on March 15 under the headline, ‘It is good to have vision’.
As a Papua New Guinea humble citizen, I am unhappy with the statement he inked, especially on the 10th stanza of his letter.
This is what he wrote: “I had a recent trip to the United States and at the airport, my driver asked me: ‘Where are you from?’ I said: ‘I am from Papua New Guinea’.
“What he said next was: ‘Where the hell is Papua New Guinea?’
“I do not blame him for not knowing our country. I will blame us for not doing the best we could to raise our country to the top.”
I say, the United States and PNG have a long story to tell where our two countries have strengthened bilateral relationships through trade and by taking part in global community development affairs.
In recent years the role we play in the world, like our hosting of Apec, has enabled foreign countries to know where we are on the world map.
If you walk around the streets of Port Moresby and consult a taxi driver by asking him where Washington is located, he will shout and say, USA.
The driver of the taxi Burua got into in the United States probably doesn’t know much, and we shouldn’t be blamed for that.
However, Burua has raised an important subject.
PNG is a young nation. We are still striving to reach the level of the developed countries.
There’s someone working around the clock, like you and me, to get PNG to the top by fighting against social disorder and corruption and enhancing physical development.
The combined effort of everyone to contribute to nation-building is highly commendable.
We must be proud of it.

Junior Abraham Kupstar
Nationalist