Comments

This is the most appropriate opinion and analysis about the current Micronesia movement.  We just need to listen, not tell them.  I have been listening to what Micronesian leaders and people are telling.  Micronesia sub-regionalism started in 1999, when President Nakamura removed “South” from the South Pacific Forum.  I have observed this and keep writing what I heard and watched. https://yashinominews.hatenablog.com/entry/2021/02/25/Micronesia_%281%29_History_of_the_Pacific_-_contribution_by_Prof__Akio_Watanabe_and_myself

I lived and work in Port Moresby in the eighties. I lived alone with two small children in the then unfenced Adcol compound. I travelled extensively for work - almost all provinces except the Sepik, Oro and some of the islands, often with the children in tow. I was never once assaulted, abused or threatened in either Port Moresby or the provinces. I learned that there were some places you did not go at certain times and some things you didn't do, but I recall that time as one of the best periods of my life. I maintain contact with one local family who were my immediate neighbours, and the family of a former student. My children played mostly with local children and I am convinced the younger didn't realise he was a different skin colour to the local children. He spent most of his time in local homes. The older child teamed up with one of the neighbouring boys to sell frozen drinks at the highlands rugby league games. It was a wonderful way for them to grow up and a classic example to support the view that racism is taught and not born. And I personally never felt that they were at any risk as they wandered freely with their friends.

A thought provoking article! It does make me wonder how different the world's political landscape would be had native populations been given the same circumstances as Somaliland.

We also have reason to value education for its non-monetary benefits, eg learning how wonderful nature is (physics, biology), enjoying the rigour and elegance of mathematics, finding out about our psychological biases and how we can best overcome them, figuring out what a just society entails so we can make good collective and personal choices, etc. We should ask Mr Caplan if he actively discouraged his own children from being educated. Just curious to know if he really believes in his own arguments or this is just hypothetical thinking.

That paper is fascinating. Thanks for sharing, Ryan.

Nice review, Matthew. Thought this paper might interest to you and anyone else who reads through, if you have not already seen it. A neat modern test of HK vs. signalling in university by Carolina Arteaga, coming out in favour of the former also: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0047272717301809?via%3Dihub Cheers, Ryan

The post here and comments are really informative and touch on some important issues that impact on the Covid discourse in PNG, and neighbouring Solomon Islands. I have seen the same type of responses on every Solomon Islands' forums, and have no doubt it is reflective of the conversations on the streets, in the villages and households. Points made about the amount of misinformation and 'bullshit' that has been spread by the 'West', to, for and about Pacific Islanders and other indigenous populations, since colonial times, certainly creates an environment of inevitable distrust, as stated by previous commentators. Not surprising that 'hope and prayer' become the ultimate 'solution'.

Many thanks for this thoughtful analytical piece. It accords with my own experience among the people and cultures of Vanuatu. What seems clear is that sorcery and magic are integral to the world view of the local people, and are therefore deeply entrenched. Contrary to assumptions, it seems not to be the case that increased levels of 'western' education or 'Christian conversion' will automatically eradicate these practices. The fact that they remain prevalent across PNG (and I would think all Melanesian communities) attests to this. Your own proposals about how to engage with these practices seems well informed and appropriate.

Thank you for this blog post (and yesterday’s first part). The image on this blog post is of a smartphone. In yesterday’s post, you mentioned that the online portal can be accessed on any internet-capable device (‘smartphones, tablets or computers’). Do you know what percentage of RSE workers have smartphones or other suitable devices? Thanks, Amanda

From Peter Dwyer and Monica Minnegal Thanks to both Sue and Yvonne for your important and thoughtful article and comment. We do wonder whether antivax sentiments are stronger in PNG than they are elsewhere in the world and agree with Yvonne that, in PNG, many people are simply questioning ‘the way things have been done so far’ and would like access to answers they can trust. MP Bryan Kramer wrote on Facebook that he would take the Covid-19 vaccine and said why it was important. Thirty-two of 86 comments on his post rejected his argument: they asserted that vaccination was not in accord with God’s plans, the disease was fake, so-called medical ‘experts’ could not be trusted, ‘whites’ were treating ‘black’ people as guinea pigs, Kramer had no authority to speak because he lacked medical qualifications, and Kramer had himself been infected because (unlike most Papua New Guineans) his immune system was weak. Eight brief comments agreed with Kramer, nine wrote that vaccination should be a matter of personal choice and 28 wrote of their sense of confusion and their desire for more information. Eight correspondents asked for details of the late 2020 report that University of PNG scientists had discovered a cure for Covid-19 disease and had been awarded a grant of K10.2 million. [This issue recurs often in social media posts.] And, as is common in PNG, one correspondent asked what had happened to all the money that had been allocated to handle the pandemic. So about one third of the comments on Kramer’s post were unambiguously opposed to vaccination. Reasons for opposition on this and other posts vary enormously. They are often inconsistent. In one stream, Australia is thanked as ‘our mother country’ for providing vaccines to PNG. In another stream, responding to the same news item, Australia is party to a plot to destroy ‘PNG people’ and gain unrestricted access to the mineral wealth of that country. In one post, God has sent floods to Australia as punishment for forcing vaccines on PNG. In another, ‘high profile’ PNG citizens keep dying at the Pacific International Hospital because the expatriate doctors employed there have fake qualifications. The theme that often recurs, and warrants attention, is an understanding that God has blessed Papua New Guineans with ‘natural’ immunity. Our optimistic guess is that people will assess available evidence, respond to what is emerging as a dire situation and, in the end, for the most part, decide to be vaccinated. Regrettably, there are some senior politicians who, though stressing that vaccination will not be mandatory, are not forthcoming about the importance of achieving high levels of vaccination. Other politicians are unwilling to speak to the press on this issue (Post Courier, Mixed reaction over vaccines, 24 March 2021). These men are not being helpful, some of them could do with re-education. So too, it seems, could Mark Zuckerberg. Today, in a mix of Tokpisin and English, the administrator of the Facebook group Fly River Forum advised that posts opposed to vaccination may be rapidly taken down to avoid the possibility that the group itself will be closed by Facebook. ‘Olgeta post or comment where mipla workim against long kissim sut em line blong yumi long Facebook ol rausim same speed. … Please bear in mind the platform is privately owned by bata Zuckerberg na ol mobs blong em.’ With that kind of censorship, who wouldn’t be inclined to conspiratorial readings of the world of Covid and rich white men’s power.

I'm late to this, but it seems to me that the Pacific Islands Forum "simply isn’t that important to its members" might be correct if the measure of the body is deep regional integration or the regional provision of services. However I would argue that the value of Pacific regionalism is, as much as anything, linked with the assertion of Pacific regional identity, and as a forum for collective diplomacy in pursuit of shared interests. As Greg Fry explains, Pacific island societies have deployed a regional identity “as a shield against global forces” and regionalism has been embraced by island leaders, not as a means to achieve market efficiencies or to pursue deeper integration, as per the model of regionalism in Europe, but rather to achieve political ends. Thus, Pacific regionalism has served as an “arena for negotiating globalisation, as a source of regional governance through agreed norms, as a regional political community, and as a diplomatic bloc” (Fry 2019. Framing the Islands: pp.21).

Thank you, Charlotte, for an excellent piece. Great to know about the progress with RSE workers' superannuation deductions. It makes a lot of sense that this part of workers' income, though voluntary, goes back to their NPF accounts. It supports a long-term goal of Pacific labour mobility programs of workers' earning helping to improve families' economic and social well-being. Hoping very much that the Australian labour mobility programs take a similar approach - there are too many workers here who still don't know how or if they could withdraw their superannuation when their contracts end.