The Bougainville Copper Project: October 2020

22 October 2020

12 October 2020

11 October 2020

In April 2019, Bougainville Copper travelled to Arawa, Panguna and Buka to interview landowners, ex-Bougainville Copper employees, Bougainville Copper Foundation scholarship recipients and people who lived in the mine affected area.

This was the first time Bougainville Copper had been invited back into Panguna since the 1990 Compensation Payments in 2016.

The purpose of the team’s visit was to gather opinions of the villages in the mine area and surrounds. It is clear from the footage which we are about to witness, that our hardworking team, our Village Liaison Officers in particular, are doing a fantastic job, assisting Bougainville Copper re-connect with Bougainville. We hope to continue to strengthen our relationships, support our community and work towards a sustainable future for the people of Bougainville and the company.

8 October 2020

"Your post goes against our Community Standards"

"It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen ..." Actually, it was a bright cool morning in October when I felt like Winston Smith because facebook had just told me "Your post goes against our Community Standards" and took down this real photograph taken on a real Singapore Airlines flight.

I wanted to share it with others in the PNG Expatriates facebook group but Mr "Sugar Mountain" Zuckerberg's Thought Police thought otherwise, and not only took it down but also banned me from posting anything else. What a relief! I've finally got my previous facebook-free life back!

With a name like Zuckerberg, this may be a regrettable throwback to Mr Zuckerberg's humourless Teutonic past, but it still doesn't explain why members of the facebook groups NGI Historical Society and TAIM BIPO, PHOTO HISTORY, PNG, PAPUA & NEW GUINEA with a decidedly learned anthropological leaning are not allowed to publish authentic photos of barebreasted native women or, indeed, native men with penic gourds.

I've just returned from my early-morning walk and found an enormous face gazing down at me from the wall of my house. It's one of those pictures which are so contrived that the eyes follow you about when you move. BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU, the caption beneath it runs.