Natives And Medical

Training

Letter to the Editor I HAVE read with interest (“PIM,”

December) Mr. E. J. Wright’s argu ments against the wisdom of having New Guinea natives trained at the Suva Medical School. But some 30 years’ experience of the New Guinea native leads me to the conclusion that Mr.

Wright may know more about medicine than he does about the mentality of what Jie rather inaccurately terms his “Mela nesian” friends.

He stresses his difficulty in getting the Papuans to accept European medical ser vices. But in the Trobriands, in 1931, while carrying out routine medical work, I had the experience of finding, each Monday morning, at least 200 natives of both sexes anxiously awaiting the open ing of the surgery, where later they would receive health-giving “needles” and other medical care.

It is all a matter of gaining the con fidence of these people, and of their observing results.

The difficulties in achieving satisfac tory results by sending Papuans overseas for medical training arise from two fac tors, both domestic—for the personal aspect is of tremendous importance to the native mind. The first is the diffi culty in inducing many intelligent and educated local natives to proceed far overseas, for four years, away from their kith and kin. The second is the almost certainty that when such refined and highly-trained natives return from the Suva School, they would be treated by the average local officials and residents as mere natives, without special privilege.

Their education finalised, their ambitions stirred by travel overseas, they would be brought up with a jolt that would wound their sensitive nature and discourage them, probably for good.

As for intelligence; the fortunes of war have brought me to the New Hebrides for the time being, and I can inform Mr.

Wright that my experience here with these much older “civilised” Melanesians has convinced me that the much more primitive natives of New Guinea can more than hold their own, so far as initiative and intelligence are concerned, with the natives of these dually-controlled isles.

The loneliest soul in the tropics is the half-caste. He is admitted to the com pany of neither the whites nor the natives. Intensive education of intelli gent natives will set up a class equally remote. That is why, on the whole, I would prefer to see the future Medical Service of New Guinea staffed by white doctors keen on their job, assisted by natives trained locally in primary medi cal work. The time has not yet come for any more ambitious plan.

I am, etc.,

Alexander Rentoul.

Vila, NH.