My letter to The National got published !!

The letter I sent of to The National Newspaper a couple of weeks ago was published last Wednesday.

Yeehaaah !!

My short story about receiving a spot-fine after spitting buai at the bus stop near the main markets in Lae was puiblished last Wednesday, 26th of July 2006.

The story was published with the title : “Living the PNG way” under the Letters section and read as follows:

“Living the PNG way”

I HAVE lived and worked in PNG for
about 16 months and, during this relatively short period, I have
fallen in love with the land and its people.
There exists in PNG a level and quality of human interaction that
has all but disappeared from my city of origin, Sydney.
I have heard that there are three types of visitors that come to
the Land of the Unexpected – missionaries, mercenaries and
misfits.
Based on this classification, I am proud to call myself a misfit.
I chew buai and walk the settlements. My closest friends are
nationals.
I’d much rather sit on the ground than a chair and I get around
barefoot.
You are more likely to catch me down at the local markets
conversing in Tok Pisin than at the Yacht Club.
I catch PMVs to get around and pickpockets at the bus stops leave
me alone as I know many on a first-name basis.
Raskols are humans too, you see, trying to make ends meet just
like the rest of us.
Life in Lae is tough for those without work. Besides, raskols and
pickpockets get hungry too.
The other day we were waiting for a PMV at the main market in Lae.
I was with my PNG girlfriend, her father, younger brother and we
were headed up to Kaubasis, a village in the Chuave district of
Simbu.
PMVs on the day were scarce and the wait was turning out to be
long, so I decided to cross the road, buy some buai and have a
chew.
The red mouth was coming along nicely and, after a couple of
spits, I was suddenly approached by a not-so-friendly-looking
council ranger wielding what looked like an old fan belt.
He asked me to accompany him to the main market security office
and told me that buai spitting was an offence punishable with an
on-the-spot fine.
My girlfriend’s father started to argue with the council ranger.
In order to avoid an escalation of conflict, I suggested to my
father-in-law that we accompany the ranger to his office and that
I would pay the fine.
As they say back at home: “Do the crime – do the time.”
Once in the security office, and with a crowd slowly gathering
outside to see what was going on, we were confronted by four or
five burly rangers. This did not seemed to deter my girlfriend or
father-in-law from speaking their minds.
The arguing and swearing continued for a little longer and,
eventually, I asked if I could have my say. In Tok Pisin, I told
the room that if a person commits an offence – black or white – he
or she should pay the price. I then agreed to pay the fine,
apologised for being a public nuisance and agreed to “never” do it
again.
In summary, I am a little embarrassed at having contributed to the
sprawling rubbish that so characterises PNG towns and also
consider myself to be a law-abiding citizen.
In my view, the effort made by the local authorities to clean up
Lae seemed to be working, especially around some of the public
places. Unfortunately, locations that are not patrolled remain as
filthy as ever.
Having said that, there lurks within a bikhetman (larrikin) who is
a proud buai chewer and thrilled to report that more than likely,
I am the first non-national in PNG to have been spot-fined for
spitting buai.