Fraternal calls for unity in tragedy

By LARRY ANDREW
THE nation must stand together in the face of tragedy and calamities even if they are painful, the Lae ministers’ fraternal has said.
Pastor Newman Watapi, the vice-chairman of the fraternal, said the air crash which claimed 28 lives, the landslide which buried homes and people and the ship disaster early this month would not be easily forgotten for those who lost loved ones.
He said it would take a long time for families to get through the mourning.
He said citizens had wept together despite differences in culture, language and heritage showing that in time of sorrow, or victory, the people would be united.
Watapi was speaking to the NGOs, provincial government members, families and friends of the survivors and those still missing from the ferry disaster.
He said it was a wake-up call for the government to improve vital services in the transport industry (air, land and sea) and quality service to the people because PNG “is not a second-hand nation”.
The ministers’ fraternal called on the government to stop bringing in second-hand ships and planes.