report

Letters

Games

Sir, I SHARE a fellow-feeling with Cornishman Guy Slatter (PIM Letters Jan ’94). He asks that we readers be reassured that the “new look” PIM will not forget the “smaller island nations”.

As a ni-Vanuatu citizen and reader of PIM for 44 years, I suffered shock at the

reporting by Shailendra Singh under the

heading Vanuatu takes on pressure.

The opening paragraphs of this report on the Fourth South Pacific Mini Games held at Vila are political comment.

The remainder is a diatribe of moans and groans, poor conditions at the Games village, moves to hotels, Vanuatu Public Servants Association strikers, di arrhoea, poisonous water, food shortage, the Games medical officer on strike for a 16 per cent pay rise, missing chefs etc. a nightmare he says. In truth biased

reporting.

Singh has sullied the record in a morass of rumour sourced by the Fiji Times and other media pounced on (he says) by the strikers and perhaps by the strikers leaflets picked up in the streets of Vila.

I was saddened on reading all this on the sports pages of my PIM. Our Mini Games was an ambitious and a successful venture. True to say there were some minor shortcomings as in all ventures of this magnitude hosted by a “small country”. Snide castigations are out of order. Sport is the name of the game.

Politics belong on a different page.

We were honoured by the presence of Kevan Gosper the vice-president of the International Olympic Committee who spoke on the success of the Games, the excellent standard of competition and the friendly atmosphere of Port Vila created by the people of Vanuatu. He has reported the success of the Games personally to the president of the lOC Juan A Samaranch.

Messages of congratulations on the organisation of the Games continue to come from countries, sports organisations and individuals. Finally to say what the Cornishman, diplomatically, did not say I feel that my PIM since takeover and a move from Sydney to Suva appears to be preoccupied with

Fiji.

Walter O’Shea

Luganville Santo Vanuatu Vanuatu Games Sir, I S Rector’s reaction to my reports in the Fiji Times and PIM on conditions at the

Mini Games village is understandable. As

the village manager, they wouldn’t exactly

appeal to him. Rector’s response makes me wonder whether if he was aware of some

problems.

While it is appreciated that hosting a mammoth event as the Mini Games is not easy, to say there were no problems would be incorrect. Contrary to what Rector suggests, I spoke to several athletes and officials from Fiji and from other countries.

I wouldn’t want to go into details but the common perception was that things could have been better. To the athletes’ credit, there was understanding the Games was a first for Vanuatu. When he said no teams moved out of the village, Rector was perhaps unaware of a women’s tennis team which stayed at Olympic Hotel.

He talks of false rumours of “extensive outbreaks of diarrhoea”. I reported there were scores of cases. Of the 15 countries, the Fiji contingent alone had 20 sufferers. Cases began to ease after athletes were supplied with bottled water midway through the Games.

Rector first says my report on food problems was incorrect. In the very next line, he says just what I reported: that a container load of food specifically for the Games was delayed but arrangements were made with local suppliers. The Fiji team management did put out a carefully worded statement in response to my report.

Quite understandably, just as in Rector’s

case, some issues raised in my reports were not mentioned in the statement at all.

Can Rector deny drinking water sup plied to athletes contained mosquito lar vae? Luckily the larvae were spotted before any water was consumed. Rector says team managers agreed unanimously that con ditions within the Games village were “very

good”.

I wonder if the Fiji management raised any questions about conditions after their athlete, Tevita Bola, fell ill. He clearly picked up the virus from the village and was sick enough to warrant concern. The hospital wanted to admit him. In four days, he lost four kilos.

Following that, Bole’s relatives in Port Vila prepared his food, and that of several of his teammates upon their request. Bole did compete in his event later although he hadn’t recovered fully and it affected his

performance.

My job as a journalist was to report the above. I wasn’t in Port Vila as a public relations officer for Rector or the Games organisers. Contrary to what Rector says, attempts were made to seek clarification from officials. Dr Husnoor Ali of Fiji, PNG’s Dr Gideon Kendino, organising committee member Peter Barrat and head chef Graham Underwood were interviewed and quoted extensively in the Fiji Times.

Shailendra Singh

Chief Sports Reporter The Fiji Times Suva