National Capital District
Port Moresby
Port Moresby General Hospital

PNG used to promote itself as "The Land of the Unexpected" and it can certainly be that. The day before we were due to travel out to Edevu, on the Brown River, and set up camp, there was a riot at PMGH.

It seems there had been an incident between medical students and soldiers at an ATM on the campus on the Friday, and this had escalated with police involved on the Saturday, and then very early Sunday morning some 30 soliders arrived at the medical faculty, smashed their way through the gates with a pick-up truck, smashed the security post, attacked the students who fought back, and rampaged across the campus on an orgy of destruction, armed with firearms, iron bars and bush knives (machetes).

So much damage and mayhem was caused that the hospital director closed all access from the main thoroughfare and brought in security guards. The area was on lock-down and we lost contact with our students and had problems gaining access to the snek haus where Jasper was holed up with his beloved taipans.

Concerned about the snek haus and the laboratory Dave and I took a drive to the campus this afternoon. The first set of gates were on the ground, the second buckled but standing, the security post had its windows smashed, there were rocks everywhere on the road, scattered burnt out cars, and a stunned silence across the place as students and staff tried to comprehend the violence that has swept across their campus.

We managed to gain access to the snek haus via a back road which was now patrolled by security guards. It was untouched (woe betide anyone who tries to ransack they way through a room full of taipans) as was the lab, but near the snek haus there were ornamental palm trees felled with single machete blows and a car parked on the medical faculty carpark with a 1.0 m vertical machete cut through the rear windshield, and two further cars were burnt out nearby.

The following day there was still trouble with angry students picketting the gates, protest banners, blocked accesses and burning tyres.

Student protest banners on the locked gates to the UPNG Medical Faculty at Port Moresby General Hospital

All this was taking place as the Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd flew into Port Moresby, ironically to discuss Papua New Guinea's law and (dis)order problem.

Click the link for the story as reported in the Sydney Morning Herald

Living in the jungle for a week does not seem such a daunting and dangerous occupation compared to a week in Port Moresby.

The UPNG Medical Faculty was still on high alert, the front gates are locked, the students moved to other halls of residence and lectures cancelled. Dave and I loaded up the Troopie ambulance, picked up Jasper, Owen and Ben and after a stop for kerosene and Jasper's buai, we are finally off to Edevu.

Jasper, Ben and Owen ready for the off