outback to jungle

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

Monday, April 24, 2006

yair but Geoffrey remember

why you came here. This is a developing country. This is a developing country. This is a ... You have to make allowances. You have to make allowances. You have to.. How many allowances do I have to make before this becomes a developed country? With the resentment being felt by the academics I am starting to feel resentment myself. Was I brought up here on the cheap as a volunteer because they did not want to lose their own gravy (K500 for living away from home allowance, boat allowance, hire car allowance, best hotel allowance, lawn mowed allowance) by having to pay international weighted salary which would eat into U reserves they keep for themselves? I'm beginning to feel like a sucker, used beyond my job description, ordinarily a good thing for one's CV - advertise for a position at low rates and then pay the same low rates for performing duties of a much higher order. I wouldn't mind the low rates but I feel the managers are treating me in the same way as the phone thief in laughing and mocking me at his coup. I told the boss this morning I want to stay here in order to get teachers doing U level courses to upgrade their skills so there will be an immediate follow through into the isolated communities. I used to be a bleeding heart until I came here. Why do not the leaders care as much about their people as a volunteer does? This is a developing country. The leaders are developing too. You have to make allowances. If I have to make allowances, why don't they?

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