brad brace contemporary culture scrapbook

June 27, 2008

2007 Ethnic violence in Vanuatu

Filed under: General,global islands,ideology,vanuatu — admin @ 4:42 am

Almost 200 people have been arrested in Vanuatu after tribal violence flared amid claims of black magic.

Three people have been killed in the South Pacific island nation.

A state of emergency has been declared after fighting broke out at the Blacksands squatter camp on the outskirts of the capital, Port Vila.

The fighting – sparked by accusations that a sorcerer had used witchcraft to kill a rival – escalated rapidly and spread through the settlement.

Blacksands is home to thousands of people who have migrated to the capital from other parts of Vanuatu.

Villagers from the islands of Ambrym and Tanna fought with machetes and knives. Local police said the ethnic violence was the worst the Melanesian nation had ever seen.

It left three men dead and others seriously hurt. Dozens of people have been arrested, including a number of tribal chiefs.

A state of emergency has been imposed and public meetings have been banned for the next two weeks.

The country’s unarmed police officers have been given special permission to carry weapons just in case there is more trouble.

Many residents across Vanuatu’s archipelago have been forbidden from travelling to Efate, the main island where Port Vila is located.

Although Christianity has strong roots in this corner of the South Pacific, witchcraft and superstition remain powerful forces.

On the island of Tanna villagers worship a mystical American called John Frum, while others believe that the husband of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II is a god. Vanuatu’s Great Council of Chiefs is expected to meet next week to look at ways to defuse tensions between rival tribes in Port Vila.

Kastom

One of the many unique aspects of kastom is the bulu scar. Believing they are vulnerable to an attack from a devil while walking alone through the forest, the people from this highland tribe of Vanuatu go to painful measures to do what they believe will protect them. Taking a burnt thorn from a sago palm, they push it into their flesh and then set it on fire. It sears the flesh, festers, and then forms a scab which will heal into a bulu scar. They do this because they believe that by enduring this pain they arouse the compassion of a powerful spirit they call Taute, and in turn Taute empowers the bulu to ward off evil spirits and damate (ancestral ghosts) when they travel through the jungle.

A boy receives his first bulu when he is five to seven years old. At that time, a minimum of five holes are burnt into the flesh of his biceps and as many as thirty if he can endure the pain. Since they believe a protective spirit enters each wound, they feel the more the better. After receiving their bulus, the boys are lowered into a pit where they live in isolation for ten days surviving only on wild yams that have been cooked in bamboo. During these ten days the boys are forbidden to leave the pit for any reason. This period of isolation is believed to be a form of rebirth and spiritual growth.

June 19, 2008

Coin Shortage, Tooth Surplus for Solomon Islands

Filed under: General,global islands,solomon islands,wealth — admin @ 10:16 am

Yes, yet another nation is reporting a coinage shortage, this time it being the Solomon Islands in the South Pacific Ocean region. The difference between this shortage and shortages in other such places as India and China is that primitive money items traditionally used in barter may become a handy backup in the Solomons.

The Central Bank of Solomon Islands has called on citizens of the island nation to cash in their coins. Both the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and Radio New Zealand International reported May 1 that Solomon Island businesses and local merchants were simply running out of coins to use in commerce.

Part of the problem, according to the ABC, is that “The low value of coins in Solomon Islands’ currency has led many there to either hoard them, or to give them as gifts to children.” RNZ added, “However, the number of people doing this is starting to affect businesses.”

Denton Rarawa is the acting governor of the Central Bank of Solomon Islands. He was recently quoted by both sources as saying, “When coins don’t come back into the system we have to continuously mint new coins,” adding, “The bank has now begun a public appeal asking Solomon Islanders to cash in their coins for [bank] notes.”

So, what do you do if you live or work in this South Pacific archipelago and run out of coins to use in commerce? According to an April 30 Wall Street Journal article by Yaroslav Trofimov, you do business the old fashion way. You use dolphin teeth.

Have any doubts about if dolphin teeth, wild dog teeth, tapa cloth, feathers of specific exotic and likely endangered species of birds, or any of a number of other things that were at one time used as what in numismatics is usually dubbed “odd and curious money?” Ask the International Primitive Money Society. To put in a shameless plug for the IPMS, the organization can be contacted at 2471 SW 37 St., Ocala, Fla. 34474 or through Charles Opitz at opitzc@aol.com. The IPMS meets at the annual American Numismatic Association convention. It will hold its next meeting in Baltimore Aug. 1 at 4 p.m. in Room 318. The IPMS publishes a newsletter twice a year containing original articles on primitive money and offers free ads to members.

Getting back to Trofimov’s Wall Street Journal article, the author states: “Over the past year one spinner tooth has soared in price to about two Solomon Islands dollars (26 U.S. cents), from as little as 50 Solomon Islands cents. The official currency, pegged to a global currency basket dominated by the U.S. dollar, has remained relatively stable in the period.”

Apparently dolphin teeth must be all the rage in the islands. Central Bank of the Solomon Islands Governor Rick Houenipwela is described in the article as an investor in dolphin teeth, purchasing what is described as a “huge amount” a few years ago.

Houenipwela is quoted in the article as saying, “Dolphin teeth are like gold. You keep them as a store of wealth – just as if you’d put money in a bank.” It doesn’t sound as if Houenipwela’s commodity position will encourage people to want to put Solomon Island coins back into circulation.

Houenipwela has had his chance to literally put his dolphin teeth into the bank. Some time ago he was approached by local Solomon Island businessmen who wanted to establish a bank in which dolphin teeth could be deposited. Houenipwela declined the request not because he didn’t think it was a good idea, but because only conventional currency can be deposited in banks under Solomon Islands law.

According to the Trofimov article, “Hundreds of animals are killed at a time in regular hunts, usually off the large island of Malaita. Dolphin flesh provides protein for the villagers. The teeth are used like cash to buy local produce. Fifty teeth will purchase a pig; a handful are enough for some yams and cassava.”

According to Trofimov, the ancient native tradition of purchasing the bride with dolphin teeth is alive and well, also encouraging the use of odd and primitive money over that of metal coins. The Wall Street Journal article identifies one individual as needing 5,000 teeth for an upcoming double wedding of his two sons. This individual ordered the teeth through someone at a hunting village in Malaita.

The natives aren’t particularly humane about how they harvest the dolphin teeth, according to Trofimov. The natives still use the traditional method of nearly suffocating the dolphin, then cutting off its head with a machete.

One individual who sells dolphin teeth was quoted in the Wall Street Journal article as saying, “The white man’s money will end, but the dolphin teeth will always be there for us.” It would appear the Central Bank of Solomon Islands may have a challenging time getting people to put metal coins rather than dolphin teeth back into circulation.

June 16, 2008

Thailand’s ousted premier says realignment of stars in early July will ease political tension

Filed under: General,global islands,thailand — admin @ 9:48 am

Ousted Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, a firm believer in astrology, said Monday the realignment of stars in early July will help defuse political tension that has been building as anti-government protests enter a fourth week.
Thailand’s discord heightened Monday after two small bombs exploded in Bangkok, though no one was injured, and the anti-government People’s Alliance for Democracy tied up traffic for hours in the latest protest against the current government.
«Be patient with the headache-inducing situation until July 2,» Thaksin told reporters. «Mars moving close to Saturn causes the headache. When Mars leaves, the situation will ease.
Thailand is a moderning, Buddhist nation, but fortunetellers and superstition play a major role in society, even among the Western-educated elite. Political decisions in the past have been known to be influenced by fortunetellers’ advice.
Before Thaksin was toppled in a 2006 military coup, respected astrologer and Senator Boonlert Pairintra predicted Thaksin’s downfall, saying that the planet Mercury used to favor the prime minister but was later eclipsed by the God of Darkness.
Thailand’s latest political tension revolves around Thaksin, who returned from exile earlier this year to face corruption charges against him now that a new elected government has taken office.
Demonstrators have been holding sometimes-violent protests since May 25 to demand the resignation of Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej and his coalition government. The protesters say Samak is a puppet of Thaksin.
Samak’s People Power Party won the most parliamentary seats in a general election last December meant to restore democracy after the coup. Samak’s new Cabinet is packed with allies and relatives of Thaksin, and critics say rehabilitating the former leader _is among the new government’s top priorities.
A court disbanded Thaksin’s Thai Rak Thai party last year and banned him and more than 100 other party executives from public office until 2012.
Animosity between pro- and anti-Thaksin forces has been simmering. Overnight Monday, two men riding a motorcycle threw small explosives at a house used as an office by Sondhi Limthongkul, a media mogul who is a leader of the anti-government alliance, police Lt. Banyong Daengmankong.
The bomb did not make it past the house’s compound wall and exploded on the sidewalk nearby, Banyong said. No one was hurt and only slight damage to the sidewalk was reported.
On Monday, about 4,000 People’s Alliance for Democracy protesters marched to the headquarters of the Election Commission to call for the resignation of some commissioners whom they accused of dismissing fraud allegations against Samak’s party candidates and political allies.
Police barricaded the commission building and the protesters dispersed after a few hours.
The People’s Alliance for Democracy also held large street demonstrations in the months prior to the 2006 coup, helping undermine the stability of Thaksin’s government. Thaksin had been accused of abuse of power and corruption.
Separately, opposition Democrat Party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva said his party planned to lodge a no-confidence motion in parliament on Tuesday against Samak and several Cabinet members «who have caused a lot of damage and will cause more damage to the country» if they remain in power.

June 13, 2008

Malaria poses big challenge

Filed under: disease/health,General,global islands,png,solomon islands — admin @ 9:36 am

Malaria remains one of the major public health challenges in Papua New Guinea with more than one million reported cases a year.

World Health Organisation (WHO) representative Eigil Sorensen said this in a media release on Friday to mark World Malaria Day.

Dr Sorensen said outbreaks of malaria in the highlands region continued to have a high mortality rate and more efforts would be required if the country was to reverse the incidence by 2015.

According to a WHO research, 40 percent of the world population is affected by malaria. It affected more than 500 million and killed more than one million annually.
Dr Sorensen said the distribution of long-lasting insecticidal-treated nets and the introduction of malaria rapid diagnostic tests had contributed to the reduction of the disease in some parts of the country.

This was facilitated by increased funding from the global fund to fight HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria, and through the efforts of the PNG national malarial control programme, government staff and Rotary Against Malaria.

“Prompt diagnosis and treatment remain one of the key elements of malaria prevention but the availability and distribution of medical supplies are adversely affecting the programme in rural areas,” Dr Sorensen said.

He also commended the Department of Health for revising the guidelines for malaria treatment in March and for excellent consultation with national and international stakeholders in this connection.

The new national treatment guidelines would introduce the latest treatment for malaria as first-line treatment for malaria in the country. Studies had shown the insecticidal bed nets and the availability of effective drugs had led to a clear drop in malaria-related deaths among children in Africa.

Dr Sorensen said the challenge was to make bed nets obtainable for everyone at risk of malaria, especially children and pregnant women and make the new anti-malarial medicines in the revised treatment guidelines available in rural areas.

June 12, 2008

Soaring cost of living sparking protests across Thailand

Filed under: General,global islands,thailand — admin @ 8:32 am

Tens of thousands of heavy trucks are threatening to cause havoc in the Thai capital while fishermen have begun burning their boats in nationwide protests against soaring prices of fuel and other essentials, protesters said Thursday.

The government has until next Tuesday to subsidize fuel for truckers or face at least 100,000 vehicles rumbling into already traffic-clogged Bangkok, said Thongyoo Khongkhan, secretary-general of the Land Transport Federation of Thailand.

Also protesting or planning to stage demonstrations in this still heavily agricultural nation were garlic, cabbage and rice farmers, along with fishermen.

A government spokesman said money has been allocated to subsidize some costs of the farmers, fishermen and transport workers.

“The government is trying its best to reduce the immediate problem of the various groups of protesters,” said Natawut Saikau.

“The ongoing protests are not affecting the stability of the government but merely affecting the feelings of the people,” he said.

Prices for some commodities, such as rice, have risen because of greater worldwide demand, but farmers complain that these have been offset by skyrocketing inflation spurred by soaring fuel prices.

Thongyoo said a half-day strike Wednesday by truckers who parked their vehicles on highways across the country was only a prelude to next week’s possible push into Bangkok.

“Yesterday we merely showed our power by parking the trucks on the roads, but if the government fails to meet our demand, the federation has decided to make June 17 D-day when we will bring at least 100,000 trucks into Bangkok,” Thongyoo said.

The federation demands that the government sell diesel to them for 3 baht (9 U.S. cents) less than the market price per liter and allocate funds to the federation to convert truck engines from diesel to cheaper natural gas.

Finance Minister Suraphong Suebwonglee brushed aside the threat from truckers, saying authorities were working on a plan that would help reduce costs in the transport sector.

“I am not concerned about the truckers threat to strike because the government is seeking to subsidize the transport sectors as the whole,” Suraphong said without elaborating.

The president of the Fishing Federation of Thailand Mana Sripitak, meanwhile, said that more than half of the 50,000 fishing boats under its wing are being kept ashore because of the high cost of diesel.

Some fishermen have burned their boats in protest, he said, as the federation negotiated with the government for subsidies.

Farmers have in recent days staged protests in Bangkok asking the government to relieve their debts while rice and garlic farmers in northern Thailand have demonstrated against the high cost of living and the low prices for their crops.

Adding to the government’s woes is a threat by major labor unions to join up with pro-democracy demonstrations that have been occurring daily in Bangkok in recent weeks.

June 10, 2008

New foundation seeks to preserve rare Vanuatu language

Filed under: global islands,language,vanuatu — admin @ 1:40 pm

France’s former president, Jacques Chirac, has launched his new foundation,which will support projects aimed at promoting sustainable development and cultural diversity, with a special focus on languages and cultures threatened with extinction.

One of its first projects will be a programme to preserve what is left of the Araki language, now spoken by only eight people on one island in Vanuatu.

June 9, 2008

Solomons looks to adventure tourism

Filed under: General,global islands,solomon islands — admin @ 7:55 am

Once lauded as the holy grail of scuba diving, the Solomon Islands is about to be reinvented as an adventure holiday and cultural tourism destination.

A tsunami devastated parts of the island chain’s western province last year, killing 55 people and the 2006 riots in the capital Honiara prompted travel warnings by Australia and other western nations.

But the setbacks have not deterred a new private airline, Sky Air World, from launching regular international services between Brisbane and Honiara.

Fishermen, boaties, kayakers, surfers and divers are among a new breed of travellers heading to the isles to unwind on island time.

“Shark point is probably my favourite dive site in the Solomons,” English-born dive guide Graham Sanson says.

“It has got to be one of the top 10 sites in the world.

“You always see reef sharks, rays, grey whalers, snapper and dolphins and then there’s a whole network of cave systems out there.”

While destination names like Shark Point may not be the most tourist friendly, there’s no disputing the Solomons as a classic palm tree, tropical island destination.

Visitors soon find friendly local people who maintain strong cultural traditions, an array of fascinating World War Two relics, delicious seafood and a choice of more than 990 islands to explore.

Within an hour of arriving on the island of Gizo, the gateway to the Western Province, I jump on a fishing boat and head out to surf the afternoon away in glassy conditions at a nearby point break called Paelongge.

A five-metre tsunami ripped over Paelongge reef just over a year ago, demolishing the overlooking coastal town and leaving only a church standing in its wake.

But memories of the devastating inundation have failed to deter a group of dedicated local kids who surf the break each day after school.

Freshly caught fish greets us as as we arrive on dry land and witness a relaxed trade in yellowfin tuna and whole bonito at the local markets.

I expect to be bombarded by hawkers selling their wares, but instead we are met by friendly vegie sellers and fishermen sporting orange betelenut-stained smiles.

Traversing the mountain spine of the island on the back of a four wheel drive the next day opens up a whole new perspective of Gizo.

Some villages are still being rebuilt with the assistance of aid agencies following the 2007 tsunami which forced many people to move from the coast to the dense jungle interior.

It’s a somewhat different experience to that which greets thousands of Australians who travel to Fiji, Vanuatu and more established Pacific island destinations each year.

But if you’re prepared to rough it a bit, there are great rewards.

Chief Executive of Sky Air World David Charlton has been in negotiations with Solomons officials to open up a new direct tourist route from Australia to the western province of the island chain.

But for now tourists need to fly to Honiara and connect with a small aircraft run by the national carrier Solomon Airlines.

“We are eager to fly to the western province once an upgrade of the Munda airstrip has been approved,” Charlton says.

“From there people can be ferried to Gizo and other nearby islands.”

Like much of the tropics, malaria is prevalent in the Solomons, so travellers should consult a GP before leaving.

It’s a great nation to visit if you want to meet locals untainted by western commercialism and for travellers who are eager to discover coral reefs and pristine islands dotted with traditional thatched homes on stilts.

There are hundreds of islands where the locals live simply, picking yams and fishing each day from their dugout canoes.

Other mangrove-covered areas have active crocodile populations which keep residents on their toes.

“Since the gun amnesty a few years ago, we’ve found people less inclined to fish around Munda at night without a weapon,” a local policeman tells us.

Now, it seems it’s wiser to stick to fishing during daylight hours.

It was with some unease however that we motored past fishermen in a high-powered longboat, examining the tourism potential for the island of Gizo, while many locals were still concentrating on rebuilding their tsunami-damaged homes and schools.

Boats are the primary form of transport, which makes World War Two history lessons as easy as taking to the water.

Little surprises greet you along the way, such as snorkelling on a sunken World War Two hellcat fighter plane and visiting Kennedy Island, where US President John F Kennedy swam ashore and helped his injured crew after his boat, the PT-109, was rammed by a Japanese Destroyer.

There are also limitless dive sites which offer access to a huge variety of tropical marine life.

And a mandatory visit to Skull Island leaves you with a fascinating, if somewhat stomach-churning, insight into the traditions of headhunting.

Hundreds of skulls of chiefs and honoured headhunters have been preserved within a stone memorial on the tiny island.

The permanent guardian, a weathered old man who still keeps an eye on the skulls collected since the early part of last century, has moved to a nearby island after the tsunami – but visits can be conducted with his approval.

“On headhunting raids the hunters would take the heads using axes and kidnap the women and the children,” Sanson says.

“The children were passed around the village and sacrificed if they did not cry.”

For now, travellers to the western province can fly Sky Air World in comfort to Honiara, but then have to take an older Solomons Airlines’ 19-seater plane from Honiara to the western province.

A range of tours and accommodation options are available throughout the year.

June 7, 2008

Bangladesh mass arrests

Filed under: bangladesh,General,global islands,human rights — admin @ 4:13 am

Human Rights Watch called on Friday for Bangladesh’s emergency government to charge or release thousands of people it has detained in the past eight days.

At least 10,000 people — many of whom have ties to the country’s two main political parties — have been arrested since May 28.

Police say the operation is expected to last one month and is aimed at improving security ahead of the country’s scheduled return to democracy with elections due by the end of the year.

The main parties — the Awami League and Bangladesh Nationalist Party — say the arrests are part of a political crackdown by the emergency government, which has already detained both parties’ leaders.

New York-based Human Rights Watch described the arrests as “arbitrary” and said they could result in a breakdown of the country’s prison system, already under pressure.

“The timing and targets of the arrests are a dead giveaway they are politically motivated,” said Brad Adams, the group’s Asia director, in a statement.

“It’s obvious they are paying the price for the political parties’ refusal to accept the government’s conditions to participate in the elections.”

The arrests began days after the two parties said they would boycott talks with the army-backed administration on organising elections unless their leaders were freed.

Local newspaper The Daily Star said 13,465 people had been arrested since the crackdown began. Police chiefs were unable to confirm that number Friday.

The military-backed government, which came to power in January 2007 after emergency rule was imposed and elections cancelled, last year detained thousands of party activists in a bid to clean up the country’s graft-ridden politics.

More than 150 top politicians have been arrested during the drive while dozens of former ministers and ex-lawmakers have been jailed for up to 20 years.

June 6, 2008

Pacific population nears 9.5 million

Filed under: fiji,General,global islands,palau,png,solomon islands,tuvalu,vanuatu — admin @ 4:56 am

The population of the Pacific is set to reach nearly 9.5 million by the middle of this year.

New data from the Secretariat of the Pacific Community shows the region’s population is growing by 1.9 per cent a year, or 500 people a day.

The population estimates are compiled by the Secretariat from country statistics.

The report predicts the population of Melanesia will grow to more than eight-point-three million people, Polynesia to more than 655,000 and Micronesia more than 530,000 by mid-year.

The largest individual country population is that of Papua New Guinea, which has an estimated six-point-five million people, followed by Fiji with nearly 840,000.

The smallest is Pitcairn Island with just 66 people.

Predictably, the fastest-growing population is that of Guam, where thousands of American troops are being relocated from Japan.

Both Niue and the Northern Marianas are experiencing a decrease in residents, the latter because of the lack of jobs.

June 5, 2008

Men ‘cut up like cattle’ in payback

Filed under: global islands,png — admin @ 4:07 pm

THREE brothers and a cousin were “cut up like cattle” and four other people are missing after Papua New Guinea clansmen launched a payback attack to avenge a murder.

The four mutilated bodies were found at a settlement outside the capital Port Moresby today, police said.

Officers are searching for three women and a child, who were travelling in a ute with the slain men. It is feared they may also have been killed.

Police believe today’s killings were a payback for the murder of another man yesterday.

“This incident was particularly bad,” a police spokesman said.

“Now we are appealing for calm and no more payback.”

Police said the four men, all aged in their mid-20s, were set upon when their ute stopped at a road block at Laloki, outside Port Moresby.

Hundreds of people living in and around the Laloki area have fled their homes, fearing reprisals over the initial murder.

Payback attacks are widespread in PNG, but authorities seek to persuade aggrieved parties to settle matters through police and the court system.

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