from the islands press

From The Samoa Observer, Apia Pacific Island mothers are recording the lowest infant mortality rates of any racial grouping in West Auckland, a paper published in the New Zealand Medical Journal says.

Michael Field reports from Auckland that the paper says the reason for the low rate is that Pacific Islanders have the highest rates of breast feeding.

From “keroma’s corner” in The Times of Papua New Guinea, Boroko Outside the court house in Kundiawa last week infuriated relatives of a young girl nearly bashed her because of the manner in which she had answered questions put to her by a magistrate in court a little earlier. The girl had been the victim of a rape incident and her relatives had brought her to the authorities seeking justice. They were hoping that the culprit would be jailed and the girl and her relatives compensated for the offence. In the series of questions put to her the court asked how she felt at the time of the incident. She replied “Mi pilim swit” “felt good”.

From The Samoa Times, Apia Samoan customs will be suspended for candidates and their relatives for a period of some 45 days up to and including any election day if the Electoral Amendment Bill now before the House is passed into law. The proposed bill does not forbid dying during this period but if a close relative of a candidate should be unwise enough to end his days during these 45 days then the candidate must bury the dead relative without making any presentation of “food, beverage, money or other valuables. ”

From the Marshall Islands Journal, Majuro For the first time, 30 women from two tiny, isolated Pacific islands saw horses, cows and a river into which they ran their hands. They stayed in a condominium in Kihei on Maui, where for the first time they watched television, used a refrigerator and discovered running toilets. They rode an elevator for the first time. It carried them to the ninth floor office of the mayor. The brightly dressed women with garlands in their hair had never seen a building that tall. As with any housewife, the women from the 200 acre island of Kili in the Marshall Islands wanted to look at what may be their new home.‘lt was their first trip outside the Marshalls. . .

A letter signed by Lou Freek, Port Moresby, in the Papua New Guinea Post-Courier Can any executive of the Niugini Paper Corporation Pty Ltd, tell me why it is impossible to buy white toilet paper? Why is it only possible to buy colored toilet paper when the dye used in this paper is not bio-degradable and therefore causes pollution?

Please explain.

From “the drum” column in the Papua New Guinea Post-Courier, Port Moresby The Australian news magazine, the Bulletin, and one of its international cousins, Newsweek, are joining forces to produce one very fat weekly edition. A Port Moresby reader reckons it should be called Bullweek.

From a letter signed by Paul W. Black, Ukarumpa, in the Papua New Guinea Post-Courier, Port Moresby Quite a number of times I have seen the PNG flag and provincial flags being flown upside down. A good example of this was last year during the Western Highlands provincial day Also last April, when I was visiting two of my friends who live

near Wapenamanda. I saw the flag being used to clean the roof of the school.

From a letter signed by Charles Eaton in The Fiji Times, Suva Sir, I read with interest Ms Vasantika Patel’s call for more protection of battered wives (FT June 25). Ms Patel unfortunately has not gone far enough and has only exposed the feminine side of the problem. Would in fact the Women’s Crisis Centre cater for men who are subjected to constant verbal bashings, leading to mental anguish, depression and in some cases suicide? It is also recognised that women use a variety of dangerous and sometimes lethal missiles against husbands and lovers rather than fisticuffs normal in male to female aggression. We must welcome Ms Patel’s move for greater controls for domestic harmony. However, the problem is non-sexual: protection must be for all.

From a letter by “Manggi Madang”, Port Moresby in the Papua New Guinea Post-Courier Madang used to be a quiet and peaceful town in colonial days but not today. We, the people of Madang, are kind, peaceful and easygoing people and so is our beautiful town.

But some thick-headed hooligans from other places come to our town and make life harder for us. I therefore strongly support the Madang Provincial Government in their move to repatriate the vagrants of Sepik.

Grass Roots, in the Papua New Guinea Post-Courier, following announcement of relaxed Royal attitudes to souvenirs of Prince Charles’s August visit to PNG.