outback to jungle

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

Tuesday, July 11, 2006

Have you ever taken the time

to talk about it? At least a dozen times in letters to the editor and elsewhere have I come across the expression "ignorant and offensive" with regard to attitudes about PNG. I got one myself yesterday and I am very sorry that I wrote ignorant and offensive comments. I should not do that. Obviously a correspondent was offended and for that I am sorry. Was it ignorant? Dialogue helps to break down the barriers. You cannot understand my perspective if you do not talk to me. I began the dialogue with the blog and the correspondent elected to participate in the dialogue with a comment. But where can we go from here?
I thought I was understanding. I hear things in my office and through emails and through people who should not talk to me because I am only a messenger. I get ideas through Nationals and obviously there is more than one national voice just as there is more than one national voice back home. I feel very sorry. My haus meri told me this morning that the other wait man for whom she works three days a week is going back to Australia and if she cannot get work with a wait man replacement then she is going to be in difficulty. This is wrong that she would be in difficulty. That is what I was trying to say. Without reservation though, I am sorry to have been offensive.

1 Comments:

At 9:45 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Nice idea with this site its better than most of the rubbish I come across.
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