Saturday, May 31st, 2008
The rain drives the tourists off the sidewalks, diminishes the Pacific to a neighbourly size, and melts all my plans like ice cream.</p>
I open the paper and read a wandering, questing letter about the ‘beautiful, innocent people of Vanuatu‘, and ache a little because it’s so nearly true.
In the wall-high mirror, a woman spins her Mickey Mouse umbrella, angles it into the wind, and passes the doorway humming. Her vibrant purple and white island dress is garlanded with ribbons and bows.
An obese Hyundai motor coach lumbers to a halt beside the cafe. Emblazoned in heavy capitals along its side: ADVENTURES IN PARADISE. There is no one on board.
I wrote those paragraphs back in 2003. I’d just arrived in Vanuatu, and was trying to express my first inklings of the nature of the people and the place.
The beauty of Vanuatu and its people has worked itself into the very fibre of my being. The ability to remain gracious and smiling through the most arduous circumstances, to snap out a bawdy joke without missing a beat, to remain impassive in the face of gross affront – these aspects of the national character have impressed, confounded and ultimately seduced me.
But this is no one’s Paradise. Nor will it ever be.
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Originally published at the Scriptorum. You can comment here or there.
hard-core, journamalism, social commentary |
Friday, May 30th, 2008
On Wednesday of this week, Minister Edward Nipake Natapei and Australian High Commissioner John Pilbeam jointly announced the creation of a telecommunications Universal Access Fund. Designed to ensure that communications services reach all parts of Vanuatu, the fund was rolled out with an initial contribution from AusAID of 215 million vatu.
The idea is to allow market forces to work in the vast majority of the country, providing mobile telephone services on a for-profit basis. Digicel’s license terms state that it must make its service available to 85% of the population.
Mobile telephone service costs are tiny compared to traditional land lines. Infrastructure is minimal, and it’s not as susceptible to damage by the elements. Digicel is confident that it can profitably provide services over such a wide area. They’re so confident that they’ve ponied up a significant chunk of cash as a performance bond.
In time we’ll see TVL and smaller, ‘boutique’ operators entering these once marginal markets as well. But there will always be areas in Vanuatu that simply can’t be serviced profitably. This is where government enters the scene. They’ve designated a basket of money that will ensure that everyone from Aneityum to the Torres islands has access to mobile phone services.
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Originally published at the Scriptorum. You can comment here or there.
geek, journamalism, soft-core |
Friday, May 30th, 2008
(The interpreter) The Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) leaders’ summit kicks off today in Port Vila, Vanuatu where the leaders of Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Fiji and Vanuatu will meet for two days. New Caledonia’s pro-independence FLNKS lea…
Uncategorized |
Wednesday, May 28th, 2008
I particularly like this one. Thanks to ![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif)
damned_colonial for the idea.
burao, photo |
Monday, May 26th, 2008
Isiu we yumi tokbaot:
Niufala loa long saed blong kakae
(Food Regulation) long Vanuatu
Presented by Ralph Regenvanu.
Studio Guest:
Emily Tumukon
Maneja blong Fud Teknoloji Divelopmen Senta
blong Dipatmen blong Tred mo semtaem
Nasonal CODEX Kodineta
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Saturday, May 24th, 2008
(Originally published in the Vanuatu Daily Post’s Weekender Section.)
Last week’s summit on crime at the University of the South Pacific produced many useful recommendations. Perhaps too many.
The recommendations emerging from the 3 day workshop covered an immense scope: Law enforcement, the judicial and penal systems, the role of chiefs, social justice, ethics and civics education as well as employment were all identified as areas where conditions must improve in order to alleviate crime.
It’s hard to decide whether our comprehensive understanding of the problem should be cause for joy or despair. If we see so clearly what needs doing, why don’t we do it?
Allow me to offer an unwelcome answer: We don’t do anything because we as a society don’t want to.
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Originally published at the Scriptorum. You can comment here or there.
journamalism, social commentary, soft-core |
Friday, May 23rd, 2008
No Communications column this week. I’m a little under the weather. Instead, I submitted The Centipede as a space filler. Read it. Come back when I’m feeling better.
Originally published at the Scriptorum. You can comment here or there.
journamalism, meta |
Thursday, May 22nd, 2008
If you are interested in reading, check out these;
Rampaging Earth
Trek up to Manaro
Uncategorized |
Wednesday, May 21st, 2008
The Chairman of the Vanuatu Financial Services Commission Mr Bill Bani made the following statement in light of the recent flurry of articles on the issue of the very controversial AFP raids on some of Vanuatu’s prominent members of the Finance Centr…
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Wednesday, May 21st, 2008
Ni-Vans have legitimate rights to raise their grave concerns about the actions of AFP. It is very rare that you would get police from another jurisdiction to execute their policing duties in another sovereign country. What ever the Court would decree a…
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