Go pinis*

The final countdown

Nearly three months ago, I began this blog as a way of keeping  in touch with people while I have been away . It was also a bit of a test for me, a way of seeing what it takes to produce a blog.

And now, after over 10,000 words and more than 90 images in 40 posts, it’s over. Well, almost. This is my last night in Haus 41, then tomorrow I am in the hotel. I fly out Friday, just in time for a mad weekend in Canberra.

It’s been an eye-opener. It’s been testing and nervous and exciting and threatening and busy, busy busy. It’s been an adventure, which is all you can hope for. It’s been an education. It’s been professionally rewarding.

I thought I would end with a photo which I think sums up how I feel about the experience.

This photo is called “The Divide”. On the right is Konedobu compound where I have been living. The highest building is the tower I have been living in. Things to note: solar panels on the roof, the large water tank, the bars on the windows, the height of the trees, the smooth, clean, modern buildings.

On the left is the other PNG. Things to note: the simple and small buildings, the tin roof, the bare ground, the wall made of old tyres.

And of course, there is the large, razor-wire fence running down the middle.

What you don’t see in this photo is the culture, the co-operation, the potential or the promise. PNG has all these things. The challenge for Australia is to make sure we don’t  build the fence too high. The challenge for PNG is to make sure we don’t need to.

*This roughly translates as “go finish”. It is what you say when you are leaving for good.