outback to jungle

Musings on experiences of volunteering in Papua New Guinea with some gratuitous domestic social and public comment

Monday, January 30, 2006

did I know this man?

Yesterday, Sunday, I caught the PMV (Bus= Public Motor Vehicle) in to Church in Lae. As I was walking across the street I heard a voice call my name and I assumed it was a fellow parishioner. Hello Geoff, you live next to me remember. Look my car has a puncture and my wife has my money to enroll the kids at school. You lend me some money and I'll pay you back at the house this afternoon. He told me the repair would cost 15k or 17K and I told him that was a lot of money and I would have to go to the bank. That's OK he assured me. I told him I had to go to church. That's OK, I'll wait for you he promised. Fortunately there was a baptism on and I thought Oh good, and with a long sermon, he'll tire of waiting for me.
Unfortunately after church there he was - he'd come in to church to help wait for me. I told him I had to have a cup of tea and then visit a friend. That's ok, I'll wait for you at the bank he assured me again. And I asked again how much he needed to repair his car and now it was 20k to 25K. I asked him about the 17k and he said that would be enough and I then asked him about where he lived , next to me in Markham Place - yes thats right he said just next to you. I couldn't place him but if he did live next to me I didn't want to be a bad neighbour and seem rude or racist for unable to remember his face.
Then I started to think about the hide of people. He'd obviously not taken the trouble to make himself that well known to me that he could presume to ask me for money. There are a lot of people in Markham place and he could have been any one of them. But here he was he had made me feel bad about not lending him money when it was his fault that he presumed a "friendship" which wasn't there. I know I am easily conned and these con men make you feel guilty about not acceeding to their requests. I did the cowardly thing and stayed with my friend for over two hours before I went to the bank to see how genuine he was. He wasn't there. Thank God

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