outback to jungle

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

Monday, July 10, 2006

I wear my heart on my sleeve

and this gets me into trouble. I know it does and I continue to make the same mistake. Recidivism is what they call it as repeat offenders in the criminal domain. I don't know what they call it when you just try to make things work in the social and humanitarian domain. Four million nine hundred and fifty thousand Papua New Guineans are the ones I want to help but I am not doing anything and I am getting frustrated. It is not my country so I have to take orders but I am not being given orders. A correspondent wrote saying I was ignorant and offensive and I apologise because I certainly did not mean to offend. I see these nearly five million people whom I came up here to work with and the people in the church and in my office and on the buses and walking to and fro Uni and at the movies the other night and on the klostu sporting fields and my haus meri and my guards and the technicians fixing my TV and the people at Tumua village. My frustration is not directed at you.
Thank you to my correspondent for pointing my ignorant and offensive attitude. However as another letter said, if you have heard it before, then has nothing changed? What can you do to help to ensure no-one else has these offensive and ignorant attitudes?

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