P.N.G. Gossip Newsletter - 26 Jan 2005

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PNG Gossip Newsletter Meri Milne Bay

Welcome to the

Papua New Guinea Gossip Newsletter


A very special welcome is extended to any new readers. If you have comments or suggestions to make then please use the contact form.

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Articles for this newsletter

To send a message for submission to the PNG Gossip Newsletter -- please use the contact form

 

Neo Melanesian

"Pidgin English"

Also see the article about a "new" Neo Melanesian / Tok Pisin dictionary below.

Tok Pisin English
lok lock (n)
lokim lock (vb)
lokim dua lock door
meri female / wife / woman
nek throat / tune / voice
pret frightened
pret / poret afraid
pretman / man bilong pret coward
sampela several / some
skul school
skulim teach
sua sore / wound
tok say / word
tok / toktok talk

Remember that this mailing list is mainly meant for people who have an interest and already know a little bit about the people and geography of Papua New Guinea. The PNG Kina, which is mentioned from time to time in this newsletter, is currently worth around 30 - 31 United States cents but varies on a daily basis.

If you are really keen on finding out what the Kina is worth a currency converter, for most world currencies, can be located at http://www.michie.net/pnginfo/moni.html

Interested in having your own Web Site? Worried about the cost? It may be cheaper than you think. Take a look at pricing at the PNG Web Hosting site. Sites with 2500MB of data, 40 GB Transfer per month and 24/7 ticket/phone support for US$5.00 per month. -- Domains US$9.00 per year.

 

Want to find out more about Papua New Guinea? Try searching at http://www.michie.net/pnginfo and http://www.michie.net/png_faqs. The PNG Business and Tourism Directory located at http://www.pngbd.com is also an excellent place to look for PNG information.

For those who are not so familiar with the geography of Papua New Guinea I suggest taking a look http://maps.expedia.com and then click on the find a map option. Go to this link for a quick start to a link to a map of Port Moresby. http://www.michie.net/pnginfo/pom-map.html

Also remember that the accuracy of the information in this newsletter should not be relied upon - it is, after all, a gossip newsletter.

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Links

Wewak Guest House



A new web site developed by Michele at Bluefin Consulting Ltd is now online advertising the Wewak Guest House -- http://www.wewakguesthouse.com



Bill Purcell's Site



I slipped up with Bill's website mentioned in the last edition. I advertised an old address (URL) that he no longer uses. Bill's aviation site can now be found at -- http://www.billpurc.com/aviation.htm -- Bill is a pilot who has flown many, many hours in Papua New Guinea. For all of you who have lived in PNG and dealt with Pidgin he has a short article on that very subject at -- http://www.billpurc.com/tokpisin.htm

Bill is in the process of selling his house and he has dedicated his homepage to the sale. If you are interested in purchasing a house in Eatons Hill in Queensland visit his homepage at -- http://www.billpurc.com



National Disaster Centre



A web site for the National Disaster Centre has come on line recently . It can be found at -- http://www.pngndc.gov.pg -- worth taking a look.



Budget Travel



http://www.budgettravel.com/png.htm



Wikipedia



Wikipedia is a free web based encyclopaedia and the information it has on PNG can be located at the following web address -- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papua_New_Guinea



Internet Service Providers



Originally there were five Internet Service Providers distributing the bandwidth allocated by the government body Tiare. This has been reduced to four. Bandwidth into and out of PNG has been hampered with the "loss" of an Intelsat satellite. Bandwidth has been reduced to 75 percent making it very difficult for people to access their favourite websites. The four surviving ISP's are -

Daltron -- http://www.daltron.com.pg
Data Nets -- http://www.datanets.com.pg
Datec -- http://www.datec.net.pg
Global Technologies -- http://www.global.net.pg



Tourism Offices



http://www.tourismmorobe.org.pg -- Morobe Tourism site
http://www.milnebaytourism.gov.pg -- Milne Bay Tourism Site
http://www.pngtourism.org.pg -- Main Government Tourism Site
Papua New Guinea Tourism and Business Directory -- http://www.pngbd.com
http://www.eastnewbritain.com -- East New Britain Tourism Promotion Web Site
http://www.tourismwestnewbritain.org.pg -- West New Britain Tourism Promotion Web Site


 

 

News Items

Telikom / Econet



Econet Wireless has taken the government to court over their failed bid to buy Telikom. Econet asserts that the Government of PNG unlawfully terminated the contract for privatisation of Telikom and claim that they were the successful tenderer after satisfying all requirements set by the Independent Public Business Corporation. Econet are claiming over K1.6 billion in costs and damages for the alleged breach of contract. Econet claim that the damages are calculated at US$524 million. This is the estimated value of the Telikom transaction over a period of 20 years based on today's value.



Tok Pisin Dictionary



This country and its education system has been without dictionaries for thirty years. The only dictionary of Melanesian Pidgin to English and English to Melanesian Pidgin has been out of print since the 1970's. Now, The Jacaranda Dictionary and Grammar of Melanesian Pidgin by F. Mihalic S.V.D. is available again in 2005. This 375-page dictionary is a vital tool in the education process of training people to speak, read and write the Melanesian Pidgin language.

This trusted and concise dictionary that has an excellent Grammar of Melanesian Pidgin section in the front, along with twenty-three Word Group sections at the back:

Schoolroom Terms; Anatomical Terms; Physiological Terms; Diseases and Sickness; Medicines, Remedies, Nursing; Carpentry and Building Terms; Mechanics and Engineering; Nautical Terms; Fish, Fishing and Sea foods; Animals, Insects, Hunting; Birds; Plants and Trees with their Scientific Names; Fruits, Vegetables, Gardening; European Foods; Household Terms; Clothing: Native and European; Terms used by New Guinea Police relating to Courts and the Law; Doctrinal Terms; Ethical and Moral Terms; Biblical Terms; Names of Books of New Testament; Liturgical and Worship Terms; Liturgical Feasts and Seasons

This dictionary can be yours now for under K20 per copy.

Order today at -- ssaholt @ datec.net.pg -- or phone Steve Aholt in Goroka at +675 732-2164

The number of copies is limited so order today.



Law Awareness Book



Stanley Kuli Liria has produced a book to raise awareness of the law for non-legal professionals. It has been written to be as simple as possible. The book explains the rights, freedoms, court processes and other basic areas of law which the grass roots people need to understand to appreciate relations and interaction with others in the society. The author comes from the Southern Highlands Province of PNG and is a practising lawyer. -- http://michie.net/pnginfo/law.html



PNG Poet



A poet from PNG has been nominated by the American based International Society of Poets as amateur poet of the year. The poet, Benjamin Vali, is an instructor at the Timber and Forestry Training College in Lae. The nomination puts Mr Vali in the running for a $US20,000 prize.



Sineboudalili



Can anyone help out this reader? In 1980 I bought a wonderful children's book at the Port Moresby airport. It was a folktale and the name sounds like "Sina Buda Lilly". We lost the book many years ago and want very much to replace it. Can you tell me if there is still a book that tells the story of "Sina Buda Lilly"

Thank you very much,

Bob Beckler

Here is one answer from Nori at Air Niugini -- the book is about a lady called 'Sineboudalili'. Don't think the book is available these days. Nori even went to the trouble of checking with a good contact at the National Library and she has confirmed that it is out of print.

Does anyone know where a copy of 'Sineboudalili' can be found? For a story about Sineboudalili try -- http://www.pngbd.com/forum/showthread.php?t=3703



Coming Events



Legal Year -- The official opening of the 2005 legal year will be on the 1st of February. A Church service will be held at the Korobosea Seventh Day Adventist Church.

Mining Conference -- PNG's premier mining conference will be held between the 23rd and 25th of May at the Lae International Hotel. This will be the seventh Geology, Exploration, and Mining Conference. For further information please contact the PNG Chamber of mines -- conf @ pngchamberminpet.com.pg - Telephone +675 321 2988 and Facsimile +675 321 7107.



Pokies Govt Payout



Over a period of nine years the pokies have collected K900 million from players. Of this the government has been a winner and collected K522 million, provincial government have had a small share (K48 million), gambling operators (K106 million) and site owners (K223 million). Port Moresby is the unofficial gambling capital of PNG with the most money being lost by the players. Players are losing an estimated K6 million a month in Moresby.

Here are the figures outlaid since the machines were officially introduced in 1995

1995 - K6.7 Million
1996 - K57 Million
1997 - K77.5 Million
1998 - K86 Million
1999 - K106 Million
2000 - K100 Million
2001 - K106 Million
2002 - K110 Million
2003 - K116 Million
2004 - K128 Million



Illegal Immigrants



A crackdown on illegal immigrants around the country has seen authorities lock up 10 individuals in Madang and several others asked to produce work permits. Officers from the Internal Revenue Commission, Immigration and police questioned the alleged illegal immigrants. The 10 were locked up because they as they could not produce any papers to say they were legally residing on the country while the others claimed that their passports and other supporting documentation was in Port Moresby for processing. Similar stories are being echoed from other provinces around the country.



Cancer Equipment



Chewing Gum Company, Wrigley PNG Limited, have donated K20,000 to the Angau Memorial Hospital towards the purchase of cancer detecting equipment. The money will go towards the purchase of a laparoscopy. A total of 15,000 cancer cases are detected each year and half of these are associated with cancer of the mouth attributed to the chewing of betelnut with lime.



Bomana Break Out



Officials have put down a break out from Bomana jail, just outside Port Moresby, to negligence responsible for guarding the prisoners. 65 prisoners dashed for freedom on the 18th of January. Two officers have already been suspended as an inquiry into the jailbreak gets underway and it is expected that more officers will face disciplinary action. Only 10 escapees have been recaptured so far and the bodies of two have been found near the Laloki River. It is believed that they may have drowned while trying to escape by swimming across the flooded river.



Weightlifting Record



Dika Toua has won gold at the Australian Youth Olympic Festival in Sydney last weekend. Competing in the women's 53 Kilogram class Toua lifted 110 Kg in the clean and jerk to grab gold after managing only 75 Kg in the snatch. The clean and jerk bettered her own Oceania record of 107 Kg set only recently and is a new Commonwealth record.



PNG Swimming



In a recent newspaper report young Krystal Babao (17 year old) has said that she is happy to have a clean swimming pool going on to say that in PNG the pool is frequently closed because it is not safe to swim in the local pool. Krystal was down in Australia for the five-day Youth Olympic Festival.



Air Niugini



The Chairman of the Air Niugini Board of Directors, Mr Joseph Tauvasa, has presented a cheque for K100,000 to the Hon. Dr Puka Temu, Minister for Lands and Chairman of the Nation-wide appeal for the National Government's drive to raise funds for the Tsunami disaster.

Air Niugini also presented K50,000 to Caritas PNG for the Manam Volcanic Disaster appeal. Mr Tauvasa said that the Directors, Management and Staff share the grief of the relatives of victims affected by the recent tsunami. While the hearts of many Papua New Guineans went out to those who were devastated by the tsunami, Air Niugini also acknowledge the plight of the Manam people affected by the volcanic eruption.

Mr Tauvasa said as a good corporate citizen, Air Niugini cares about the people in Papua New Guinea and the global village. He said it was a humanitarian obligation to make a generous donation to help rebuild the lives of survivors. "Although this is a modest donation, we wish this donation to go a long way in assisting the survivors rebuild their shattered lives".



Goroka Rotary



The Rotary Club in Goroka has donated nine wheelchairs to physically challenged people at the Gouna Shopping Centre recently. Over 150 people attended the presentation. There are 20 more wheelchairs will given out to people that need them. The Wheelchair Foundation and Rotary International Foundation donated the wheelchairs. The Candy Shop in Goroka donated free ice cream on the day.



Death Penalty



The report on the death penalty is almost ready to be given to Cabinet for consideration. PNG currently has laws supporting the death penalty but it does not have any mechanism, both regulatory and physical buildings and equipment to implement the death penalty. Some PNG people have already been sentenced to death and their cases are in various stages of appeal.



Maprik Radio



The FM radio station intended to serve the area around Maprik should be able to swing into operation shortly after the Civil Aviation Authority gave permission for the station to erect an 80-metre tower to hold the antenna. It is intended that the radio station will be used to communicate health, education and agriculture programs to farmers in the area.



Oil Refinery



The InterOil oil refinery just outside Port Moresby is running in full swing. It is capable of refining oil from various sites around the country not only the oil produced at Kutubu.



Children Travel Free



Air Niugini has introduced, with conditions, a special adult fare that allows one child to travel free of charge. The child must travel on the same flight as the adult.



HIV/AIDS in PNG



The following article has been reprinted from Jane's Newsletter and is about HIV/AIDS -- http://www.janeresture.com

Of increasing concern is the evidence that Papua New Guinea is in the grip of a burgeoning AIDS epidemic on a scale already being compared to that experienced in some African countries. Official records point to just under 9,000 people having been diagnosed with HIV/AIDS in Papua New Guinea, but some health authorities have estimated that the numbers could be as high as between 50,000 and 80,000. Indeed, Australian experts have predicted that more than one million people may have the disease in six years. In a country with a population of about 5.4 million, this is a frightening statistic.

Sadly, it is the women of Papua New Guinea who seem to be most affected. For example, in the 15-29 year old age group, twice as many women have been infected as men, according to 2003 statistics from Papua New Guinea's National AIDS Council Secretariat. More than one in every 100 pregnant women has tested positive to the virus. The main cause of infection is heterosexual transmission followed by parent-to-child transmission.

Indeed, 90 percent of Papua New Guinea women have contracted AIDS from their husbands. The women know that their husbands have more than one partner but they do not know who the other woman is and, if they talk about it, they can be beaten up. Sadly, these women simply have no control over their sex life.

http://www.janeresture.com/png_home/index.htm



HIV/AIDS Update



PNG has over 9000 confirmed cases of HIV/AIDS out of a population of approximately 5.5 million. This is the highest number of confirmed cases in the Pacific region. It has been reported that 14 people die of AIDS every day at the Port Moresby General Hospital and a further 115 new cases are diagnosed every month at the same hospital.



Coconuts and Tearooms



Do not forget to try and get a copy of an excellent book that covers an attempt by one person to record some of the history of coconuts, tearooms and Rabaul. The book, called appropriately Coconuts and tearooms, covers the eruption of the volcanoes around Rabaul in 1937 and the preface covers the reason why Pat's book is of extreme historical value. In 1942 the Japanese invaded Rabaul and destroyed irreplaceable records. I recommend that you somehow get to a library and grab a copy of the book titled "Coconuts and Tearooms" by Pat Boys. National Library of New Zealand ISBN 0-473-01724-5

It is copyrighted in 1993 but covers a six-year period in the 1930's. The book started out as ten foolscap, single-spaced pages that Pat's mother had written about her experiences. With this meagre beginning an a keen interest to preserve a little bit of the history of the Rabaul area and helped by over 200 photographs taken by her father Pat has been able to produce a wonderful 140 plus page book. The only complaint I could find about the book was that I wish the photos were in colour! Now if I could only buy a plantation for the price mentioned in Pat's book but using the money I earn today without subtracting anything for inflation!



Ramu Highway



As reported in a previous edition of the PNG Goss. The road between Madang and Lae was cut recently. Work is progressing towards clearing the blockage so that traffic can return to normal. The road also serves as an alternative access point to the highlands from the coast.


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-- THE END --

Some of the ways of saying "that's all" are courtesy of Liz and her friends at the University of Technology in Lae. http://www.unitech.ac.pg

If you can add to this list then please send email to PNG-News@pnggossip.com

 

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Created 26 Jan 2005
Updated 26 Jan 2005

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©2005 - 2009 Gia Mann