The Latest

For the people of Bougainville. This page is under development and participation by visitors of the site is welcome.

Thanks to Llane Hadden with VSA in Arawa, for the latest Pics from this weeks peace signing.

Prime Minister Mekere Morauta shaking hands with Joseph Kabui, President of the Bougainville Peoples Congress

New Zealands' Phil Goff Signing the Peace Agreement in Arawa Aug 30

Thanks to VSA for this weeks (4/8/01) latest info. Check out VSAs website at the BI 2000 Links page.

Former Nelson mental health counsellor heads to Bougainville Former Nelson resident, journalist, mental health worker, small business adviser and all round handyman, Murray Benbow is heading to the islands of Bougainville this month to work as Volunteer Service Abroad's field representative. Benbow says he will need to draw on all the multiplicity of skills he has picked up during his varied working life for the Bougainville job. VSA has been working in partnership with local organisations for the last couple of years in an effort to re-build the islands' infrastructure shattered by 10 years of civil war. Benbow says a two-year stint in Zimbabwe as a VSA volunteer working as a small business adviser has given him some insight into both the life of VSA volunteers and the realities of living in society riven with conflict. Benbow and his wife Terry, a nurse, were volunteers in Zimbabwe during the lead-up to the last elections that saw tensions between the ruling party and the opposition movements break out in violence and intimidation. "Young kids were given the message not to associate with us or they would be in for the thick end of the stick." As a former mental health counsellor in Nelson Benbow says he's interested in the process of a community working to overcome a trauma such as a civil war. "Bougainville is in a post-conflict situation and the work VSA volunteers are doing over there is very valuable indeed." VSA volunteers are involved in a number of assignments including a carpentry project which trains ex-combatants in woodworking skills, teaching positions and community health initiatives. The Bougainville job will see Benbow swap the life of a volunteer for the paid position of field representative. The job will require him to oversee all the existing volunteers and liaise with local organisations interested in employing volunteers to pass on skills in short supply. VSA is a not-for-profit international development agency that has been placing New Zealand volunteers in developing countries since 1962. At present it has more than 80 volunteers working in the South Pacific, Asia and Africa. · For more information on VSA visit the VSA website: www.vsa.org.nz ; email: vsa@vsa.org.nz ,or; Ph 04 472 5759.

The Latest at Arawa from Llane - 12 Apr 2000

The renovations at the health centre are coming along nicely except that progress is constantly held up by non or late arrival of materials. The new doctor arrived last week and is proving his immense value. Dr Andrew Burke who's with AVI. He's young, enthusiastic and energetic and everyone is very impressed with him. Other than that, things are much the same. Oh, Max was retrenched in February so that has left a gap. Ien is still here of course and I'll pass on your regards. There is a very big celebration coming up throughout Bougainville in the first week of August. It's the centenary of the arrival of the first Catholic missionaries. Thousands are expected to it including I'm told, cardinals. Certainly everyone is busy fund-raising for money to cover fares, erection of buildings etc.

This is a series of excerpts from Arawa High School Students provided with thanks to Arawas' VSA nurse Llane Hadden.

“I just stood there watching one of the BRA soldiers trembling on the ground with the bleeding head. Five minutes later he was motionless with closed mouth and opened eyes. All these appearances made me pant. Some minute later I took a deep breath and started to drag the death body out of the fighting zone.” - A Hunting for possums “ ... so he choosed one of the tree and started to chop it down but he didn’t notice the long rape (vine) that comes from the tree and under his legs ... he was thrown away down the steep hill ... broke his head, died ... Searched for him in the vast jungle. We found him inside the river with bleeding face. Plenty of flies lay their worms inside it. Our body started to shake like earthquake. We carried him back home ... put him inside the coffin. Next day we carried him to bury him. While we carried him his blood started to run out of the coffin. I was afraid of the bad smell ... I promised not to go hunting by myself.” - C. ... Everyone went into the church to prayer. My father started the prayer and all of us prayed. While we were praying suddenly a big crowded of people came forward to us shouting, swearing ... My father told us to sit down and finished our prayer but we were very frightened so we didn’t finish the prayer only my father finished the prayer. The BRA came ... We ran toward my father ... but the BRA fired guns and we stopped. He looked back and said ‘let them do whatever they want to do to me.’ Just then one of the BRA came toward my father and pushed the two sharp knives on the side of his back, while I was watching my father. The blood came out of his body while he was just alive. Then all of us in the village started to cry. The BRA told us not to cross the border that they put ... They pushed my father to the other side and cut him into smaller and smaller pieces and put him into the bag and threw him into the sea. When my big brothers went to asked them for his body they said they don’t know ...” - D “There was a village feast with dancing in the evening ... All the young people start to drink homebrew in the darker areas ... They kept on dancing so the new group of people came and joined them and dance with young ladies. While they were dancing a young man came and start up a fight. He cut another person neck and his head fell off and rolled away. It was about 4:00am so the dance ended with tears. A murderer got off and ran away no one see him there. So the party owner was in big problem because one man has been killed on his land.” - S. “ ... When the spying started my brother was leading the way ... he was holding an M16 A2 rifle but four of us were holding shot guns ... suddenly we heard a submachine gun got fired ... All of us fell to the ground ... I saw my brother lying on the grass bleeding as if it was a red paint pouring. His neck was chopped off by the submachine gun. Two of our members went and carried him. We went back to our camp with great fear and sadness ... we made a bed and carried my brother up to the village where he got buried.” - F. “ ... we ran away up to the mountains with a few of our belongings. We stayed in the mountains for about two years. We had a hard time, sleeping in caves and eating wild fruits, vegetables and animals. We hardly sleep at night because at any moment we could be found the PNGDF and be killed. Anyway one morning, it happened just as we always thought. One sunny morning our cave was surrounded by armed PNGDF soldiers ... My father was tortured and killed in front of my eyes. They also did the same to my sister and mother ... I cried but I could nothing to save them. But before they could killed me and my brother we managed to escaped and survived ... it still troubles me in my life.” - R. “One Sunday afternoon my grandparents and I were praying after having our afternoon meal. Suddenly while we were praying, we heard people shouting ... they just pull my grandpa ... my grandma pull him back, they pushed her back with the gun. I was following my grandpa, but then a person point me with a sharp knife and I was standing right near my grandpa he plant that knife right through my grandfather. They take my grandpa away and kill him. We don’t know where they put his body. They threw it to the sea or in the jungle. They never tell us why they have killed him.” -

Thanks to the people who sent in these pics. Click on a pic to enlarge.

A donation from NZ being unpacked by Anne Walu, the Home Ec teacher at Arawa Hight School

Nurse Naomi Pinaung with a patient in Arawa Hospital

The Rorovana Guards from the PMG

Bougainvillian Children in the Arawa rain

Murray Benbow of VSA