Country profile

Papua New Guinea      New Zealand Capital Port Moresby Wellington Population 5.9 million 4.1 million Official language/s English, Pidgin & 800 others English and Maori Per capita income US$660 US$27,250 NZ$1=US$0.70 NZ$901 NZ$38,928 Life expectancy 56 years 80 years Under 5 mortality rate 74/1000 5/1000 Adult literacy 57% 99% (Source: UNICEF The State of the World's Children 2008)

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People
It is said that in Papua New Guinea, each village has a different language, and this is not far wrong. There are around 800 different languages spoken in Papua New Guinea, and more than half of these are completely unrelated. While English is the official language and is taught in schools, Pidgin (known locally as Tok Pisin) and Motu (from the Papua region) serve as a trading languages between tribes.

Highland tribes in Papua New Guinea are isolated from each other, however conflict between different groups is common and very dangerous due to the high number of guns.

Papua New Guinea has the lowest living standard of nations in the Pacific, with around 40 per cent of its population living on less than US$1 per day; this increases to 85 per cent in rural areas. Lack of employment and high levels of poverty are causing rural to urban migration, and some 15 – 20 per cent of the population now live in the towns and cities, creating large squatter settlements in most urban areas.

Geography
Papua New Guinea shares the island of New Guinea, the second largest in the world, with Indonesia. Some 600 smaller islands, atolls and coral reefs make up the rest of the nation. The rugged volcanic landscape consists largely of tropical rain forests, mangrove swamps, lakes and fast-flowing rivers. Mountainous terrain makes travel, communication and delivery of services difficult.

Located on the equator 160 km north of Australia, Papua New Guinea’s climate is tropical. It is humid all year round and temperatures on the coast are generally 25 – 30C. Further inland and at altitude it cools significantly. The wet season occurs between December and March, and it is generally drier between May and October.

History
Melanesians settled in Papua New Guinea thousands of years before the first European contact was made by the Portuguese in the early 1500s.

The British-governed south was handed to Australia in 1902, with the German-controlled north also passed to the Australians after the First World War. Australia administered the combined areas until independence was granted in 1975. Strong relations with Australia are maintained.

During the 1980s-1990s the island of Bougainville fought for independence. Up to 20,000 people died during the war. The peace agreement, which was signed in 2001, provides for autonomy and an eventual independence referendum.

Economy
More than 80 per cent of the population undertakes subsistence farming, supplemented, where possible, by fishing and hunting. As transport systems are poor, villages are generally self-sufficient. Where markets can be accessed, the main crops sold are coffee, copra, cocoa and palm oil.

The country has many natural resources, including timber, minerals and marine life. The main exports are oil, gold, copper ore, logs, palm oil, coffee, cocoa, crayfish and prawns. The timber industry has caused considerable environmental damage, as has the mining industry, which has also often been surrounded by conflict. Tourism, especially ecotourism, is being promoted by the government. Papua New Guinea is heavily reliant on foreign aid, particularly from Australia.

Education
Although education is a fundamental right under Papua New Guinea’s constitution, in many communities school services are poor. Just over half the children complete primary school, while around a quarter never enrols in education. Primary school lasts for six years and secondary school four. A small number of secondary schools offer two extra years of education.

The cost of sending a child to school deters many families from enrolling their children, while in rural areas, girls’ contribution to their families’ domestic life and income mean parents often consider their education a poor investment.

Health
As with education, the isolation of rural communities makes delivery of health services expensive. For many years a ‘first aid post’ system has been the main stay of Papua New Guinea’s health services, but this has collapsed in many parts of the country. There is a lack of trained health workers, drugs, equipment, transport and communication. Health facilities, including staff housing, are in a poor condition. Often the closest first aid post is several hours’ walk away, so traditional herbal medication is still used.

Pneumonia, malaria, tuberculosis, typhoid, measles, diarrhoea and meningitis are the main health problems. Child vaccination rates are low.

In 2002 Papua New Guinea became the first country in the Pacific with a recognised HIV/AIDS epidemic. It was estimated that at the end of 2003 between 0.3 and 1.0 per cent of the country’s population was infected. Some 63 per cent of HIV/AIDS cases reported have been in the Port Moresby area. The number of reported infections is increasing annually by between 15 and 30 percent. Increasing flows of seafarers, international tourists and contract workers in and out of the Pacific contribute to its spread. Most HIV-infected people are aged between 15 and 34, the most economically productive age group. As the situation is similar to Africa of the 1990s there is real concern that prevalence could grow exponentially.

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PACIFIC PARTNERS UPDATE 2007

PEACE BUILDING

“Peace-building is about (re)building networks of social relationships, addressing the root causes of conflict and past grievances and facilitating the non-violent transformation of conflict toward just systems and peaceful communities.” Bill Lowry, World Vision International director for peace building and reconciliation

The situation
The communities of the Weathercoast in Guadalcanal Province, Solomon Islands, have suffered extreme violence and displacement caused by political unrest and tensions between the Government, major militant groups and villages. The conflict, which occurred mainly between 1999 and 2003, destroyed property, disrupted supplies and services, and resulted in the rape and abuse of many women and girls. Young boys were murdered or recruited to assist in the fighting, and domestic violence increased dramatically. An estimated 2,000 people were forced to flee their homes during the conflict.

In 2003, the situation began improving with the arrival of the Regional Assistance Mission (RAMSI), and displaced families started returning home. However, they now face the enormous task of rebuilding their homes and villages and learning to live at peace with those who have hurt them. People on the Weathercoast have a traditional system of mediation and reconciliation, but because of the breakdown in leadership and the intensity of the conflict, these traditional systems are not functioning to their full potential.

Without peace, communities find it difficult to focus on normal aspects of rebuilding their lives. Many people do not feel safe travelling to the nearest clinic or school for fear of reprisal from a neighbouring village for events that occurred during the tension. Others are unable to access their gardens to replant them, because they have unreconciled differences with neighbours.

What World Vision is doing
In August of 2005, World Vision began the Weathercoast community peace-building project to assist community leaders in negotiating peace and reconciliation in this part of the Solomons. Its goal is to strengthen traditional Melanesian peace-building skills in 30 conflict-affected communities by July 2008. Traditional systems of reconciliation along with skills introduced by World Vision are being used to enable the communities to reconcile after years of tension and conflict.

World Vision staff are currently holding five-day community justice workshops that teach the PEACE foundation Melanesia’s approach to reconciliation. Because the approach supports existing traditional methods, it is likely to succeed in helping people to reconcile, rebuild their lives and have freedom to travel between villages. The project focuses on ensuring local members are trained so they can continue these practices once World Vision is no longer working in the area.

In response to the workshops, one community member said previous attempts by other organisations had not been successful because residents were not taught to mediate themselves. “Because World Vision is educating us instead of doing the work themselves, we believe we have found a way of achieving real and lasting peace,” he says.

Lasting change not only requires an outward commitment, but also a change on the inside. Reverend Raymond Lee, one of the participants on the course, said as a result of the programme “we will be able to bring everlasting peace to our communities, because it develops peace within the heart of human beings”. With the help of our supporters, this is exactly what World Vision aims to do.