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| Port Moresby the capital of Papua New Guinea |
Australian Expats have reported an increase in violence from
nationals in Papua New Guinea recently. The increase in violent attacks on
Australia residents and expatriates who reside in Papua New Guinea is said to
be related to the heightened political instability and unfair funding, among
other factors.
It has been one of Papa New Guinea's most turbulent years in politics and many
doubted that an election would be held. The current government had deferred the
election, which according to Papua New Guinea law must be held every 5 years,
in an attempt to cling to power. The action saw increased violence and large protests.
Prue Omomo who used to reside in Papua New Guinea as a child and now only makes short visits says
“revenge attacks and violence against foreigners has never been an uncommon
thing in Port Moresby”.
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| A home made gun by PNG nations Credit: Colin Crain |
When questioned upon what may have increase the violence against
non-nationals she believed that the cause may be the disparity in wealth
between the nationals and expatriates. Expatriates in Port Moresby have been
renowned for earning large sums whilst their PNG national counterparts live in
near poverty. “Often villagers come into the main cities looking for work only
to find that the foreigners have taken them all, the nationals need money and
turn to crime...The political climate is quite unstable and I think that does
help and desperate people do desperate things.”
Colin Crain, an Australian business man who has lived in Port
Moresby for the last 35 years believes violence has always occurred against
foreigners. “There has always been some issues with the education of acceptable
behaviour and mostly issues are resolved with negotiation but when this breaks
down then physical force is applied...If a national feels slighted then they can
resort to assault and intimidation.”
He believes that as well as the political instability the violence
has stemmed from frustration at the government for misspending funds and
“paying out large sums of money to groups involved in the LNG Project where
these groups do not necessarily qualify to receive these funds...”
The LNG Project is a major Australian-Pacific producer of coal
seam gas transferring it into liquefied natural gas to use as an energy source.
According to the Hay’s 2012 salary guide, expatriats who work in this industry
have a greater income than anywhere else in the world whilst nationals are the
lowest paid, hence causing great frustration towards Australians.
Crain shared with me a plethora of emails from fellow Australian’s
in Port Moresby updating each other on the most recent violent outbreaks.
Emails include details of armed robberies, carjacking and information about the
spread of home-made weapons such as guns. They warn “where possible, personnel should try and park as close to the entrance of shops and
restaurants, etc...The lighting is not particularly good in the car park
extension at SVS so please utilise the security guarding service on offer and
request they escort you to your vehicle.“
These emails aim to keep fellow non-nationals informed of particular violent attacks and
events and their location as a step towards living more safely in Port Moresby.
There are approximately 20,000 expatriates who reside in Papua New
Guinea who work in industries such as mining, tourism, finance and aviation. Expats
have been known to refer to Port Moresby as ‘Operation Deadmeat’.
In the last election held in Papua New Guinea, there were violent
protests and rallies and at least 100 people were reported dead. There is
little doubt that the violence and tension will be any less dominant in this
year’s election.
