Trouble.

5.55 Have been informed that we have a security situation on NWM
6.07 Helicopter pilot is briefed and will fly to Iagufu to pick up a complement of armed police then fly to NWM, insert the police and extract our personnel.

6.23 Weather has cleared enough for helicopter to take off.
7.06 Personnel returns safely to base. Helicopter to Moro to refuel and then extract police force.

The following transpired after our crew returned. About 16.30 yesterday a group of men from the Toma clan arrived on site and demanded that we vacate the project. The workforce then returned to their camp at the NWM well head and locked the security gates. The men from the Toma clan set up camp outside the fence, nothing unusual so far. Then at two o'clock on the morning a raiding party dug it's way underneath the fence and confronted our workforce yet again. This party was made up from people not related to Toma (i.e. from Tari and Komo). In this area confrontations during night time are virtually always violent, if you have a gripe with someone you confront them during the day, if you want to murder them you go during the night, so our men were obviously on edge. Luckily discussion although heated continued until daylight and at that time we were alerted and the evacuation took place.

At present the party from the Toma clan and various others is camped outside the fence and one of our policeman is staying inside the fence to protect our camp although our supplies of food and camping equipment must now be considered lost.

Interesting travels.

Monty our regular helicopter pilot is a Vietnam veteran and flies like it. I went out for a quick look at the North West Moran line clearing today and we skimmed across tree tops over ridges and through valleys. Then we came to helicopter pad "Bravo" A clearing amongst the trees you can hardly turn a car around in let alone land a helicopter the size of a small truck in, or at least that's what I thought. "A bit tricky, the wind is coming from the wrong direction"  Monty said and then we plunged down into the hole in a sideways motion, a whirlwind of wood chips engulfed the machine a few bounces and we were down. Dave and I spend about twenty minutes talking to the bush cutting crew, who have ended their strike and are back at work, then had them cut down a few trees so we could get enough room to take of again.

Never a dull day out here!

Blogging in times of stress.

Right outside my window a riot is brewing. The issue believe it or not is the quality of people their ID cards. Voices are raised on all sides and our security people are moving into strategic positions. Because all arguments are in rapid pidgin it is pretty difficult for me to follow it but the gist of the matter is that they are not second class citizens and they want "proper" ID cards.

It's a bit later now and the situation has died down with a promise that we will review the quality of the ID cards. While to anyone this would seem like a totally laughable situation to our work force it's utterly serious and their status depends on it.

About ten in the morning now and the mobile squad has arrived. I don't like seeing them here as their solution to any situation is to beat people up and burn a few houses down. A definite case of the cure being worse then the disease. So I guess now we have to negotiate with them as well. "We will give you a meal and cigarettes if you don't kill anyone"

The joy of working in PNG.

'T is the season of Industrial Action.

Our bush cutters have gone on strike again but this time the machinations behind it became a bit more clear. As we already suspected it is all tied in with a promise the government made to the Toma clan for a five hundred thousand kina development grant. The origins of this promise are rather hazy and it appears that the way it was granted is less then kosher in the first place. However we are between a rock and a hard place, it is not our money to give, and the project is simply used as leverage on the government. So we are currently looking at mitigating the fall out from this.

Mean while back in the jungle another group of labourers went on strike because they were unhappy that their company got more money from us per man-hour then they did. It took some explaining for them to realise that a company needs some money for their overheads as well. A pretty nebulous concept to most of them. They have now gone back to work but I doubt that this is the last we have heard of that.

Odds and Ends

I am still working on the monthly report and it's all rather tedious. Unfortunately I expect to spend at least another week on it.

On the upside we have started a regimen of afternoon walks and as it's fairly hilly out here I get some decent exercise. Our route takes us through the village of Sisibia where the locals are starting to get used to us by now, although we still get stopped by plenty of people that want to say hello and shake our hand, then up the hill to our laydown area and then a steady down hill back to the camp. Total round trip time about forty minutes. It gets us out of the office and probably helps our health a little as well.

One of the nicer things to happen while on our walk was children singing to themselves as a form of entertainment. They stand in a circle and sing at the top of their voices. No computer games out here.

We also had our share of labour problems including an attempted murder (prevented by an agreement between the parties on the payment of compensation) and a strike instigated by one of the local land owners. The actual matter in dispute is between his clan and the government and while everyone here believes that landowner is actually correct in his assertions of non performance by the government it hasn't really got anything to do with our project. Anyway after a morning of talks they went back to work again as well. So things are quiet again for the moment.

Daylight Robbery

One of our survey teams ran in a bit of strife yesterday afternoon.
They were returning from the survey of a wellpad in the Tomo area when they were confronted by a group of men wielding home made guns.

An argument ensued over their right to be on the land and the make up of their bush cutting crew luckily one of their bush cutters was a local lad and he managed to cool things down a bit. In the end nothing worse then the gunmen making off with their lunch bags happened to them and when we extracted them from the bush they shrugged it off as one of those things that happen in PNG.

Some notes.
Home made guns are more likely to kill your assailant then you but who wants to take the risk.
This sounded more like a message to the company to negotiate with them then a straight out robbery attempt.

Daylight robbery.

One of our survey teams ran in a bit of strife yesterday afternoon.
They were returning from the survey of a wellpad in the Tomo area when they were confronted by a group of men wielding home made guns.

An argument ensued over their right to be on the land and the make up of their bush cutting crew luckily one of their bush cutters was a local lad and he managed to cool things down a bit. In the end nothing worse then the gunmen making off with their lunch bags happened to them and when we extracted them from the bush they shrugged it off as one of those things that happen in PNG.

Some notes.
Home made guns are more likely to kill your assailant then you but who wants to take the risk.
This sounded more like a message to the company to negotiate with them then a straight out robbery attempt.

Back on track.

I arrived last night in Sisibia after a days travel from Sydney to be told that all is going as planned except for a labour dispute, a contractor that seems to be deliberately slowing work down and as I have just been informed a case of scabies in our local work force. On top of that it has been raining so everything is hot and muddy including my computer.

Looks like it is going to be a regular first day back at work.

On the move again.

After the usual hassles with our travel organizer I am on my way again, first to Sydney, and then to Port Moresby and Moro on Monday. As always Bron and Daniel were there to see me off and although it's difficult to fathom if Dannie understands how long I'll be gone for I am quite sure that he realizes it's more then a day or so. Then again maybe I am just telling that myself to placate my own conscience and my feelings of abandoning him.
The flights so far have been uneventful and even check-in at Auckland airport went without to much hassle. The only brief moment of excitement was when we landed in Sydney and the plane made a bit of a sideway wobble on touchdown. Wind shear I guess.