Joe in PNG
01-18-2024, 06:55 PM
As some of you may know, Papua New Guinea suffered from a series of major riots on 10 January (https://ground.news/article/state-of-emergency-declared-after-rioting-and-looting-kills-16-in-papua-new-guinea_09d8e2).
Basically, a pay cut in the public service payroll led to a police strike. That led to a day of looting in the capitol of Port Moresby on 10 January, and that was followed by a series of copycat rioting & looting in other cities around the country on the 11th.
As it happened, I was quite lucky on the 11th, even though I goofed up bigtime. I happened to have a trip to Goroka town scheduled on that day, and even though I knew about the POM looting, I went ahead with my schedule, around 8:30am. The plan was to stop at 2 stores, then hit the bank. The first store was open, but the two next to it were closed and shuttered. We went on into town, and parked at the second shop. The store was in the process of closing, and running the customers out so they could lock up. We then went to the bank, but they were closed. As we went to leave town, we noticed the change in the large crowds that usually stand around the streets & sidewalks of Goroka. Happily, we were gone before things got nasty about an hour later.
As it happened, there was looting of a few stores, and 3 rioters were shot & killed. Happily, the local law & military was able to shut things down before it got really bad.
So, the lessons from this event:
-Pay attention to the news. As POM goes, so goes the nation, and beware.
-Be willing to cancel and wait for things to settle.
-The first stop should have been a Clue to turn around and go home.
-Likewise the second.
Basically, a pay cut in the public service payroll led to a police strike. That led to a day of looting in the capitol of Port Moresby on 10 January, and that was followed by a series of copycat rioting & looting in other cities around the country on the 11th.
As it happened, I was quite lucky on the 11th, even though I goofed up bigtime. I happened to have a trip to Goroka town scheduled on that day, and even though I knew about the POM looting, I went ahead with my schedule, around 8:30am. The plan was to stop at 2 stores, then hit the bank. The first store was open, but the two next to it were closed and shuttered. We went on into town, and parked at the second shop. The store was in the process of closing, and running the customers out so they could lock up. We then went to the bank, but they were closed. As we went to leave town, we noticed the change in the large crowds that usually stand around the streets & sidewalks of Goroka. Happily, we were gone before things got nasty about an hour later.
As it happened, there was looting of a few stores, and 3 rioters were shot & killed. Happily, the local law & military was able to shut things down before it got really bad.
So, the lessons from this event:
-Pay attention to the news. As POM goes, so goes the nation, and beware.
-Be willing to cancel and wait for things to settle.
-The first stop should have been a Clue to turn around and go home.
-Likewise the second.