A small case of burning waste.

Well, we bulldoze the site and then the newly exposed waste catches fire in the sunny weather. I'm told it started on its own which is believable enough, but then I spot a truck out the back of the site dumping a load and investigate. Mysteriously enough, as I approach, the load catches fire as soon as it hits the ground away from the main blaze. Then the mad Irish man emerges from behind to catch them red handed at their malarkey for the third time in a week. Its like he hides in the ditch, waiting to leap!

Fire is a madly contagious thing round here and quelling the urge for pyromania will require something akin to invoking the spirit of Red Adair. OK, I exaggerate, but not much.

Ideas welcome on extinguishing blaze.

One problem is solved whilst another problem arises.

The cause was probably 50:50 accidental:deliberate.

This man is on holidays and definitely not scavenging - classic lawyerly chat.



Those aluminium cans aren't going to be much use to him if he continues this carry on.




Not much we can do here, maybe bulldoze a firebreak before the weekend.

Fire; it might reduce waste and increase space but it's an air quality nightmare.

Albinos in Luganville

One of the main things I’ve noticed about living in Luganville is the number of Albinos that you see here on a regular basis. I would say there must be around 20-30 Albinos that live locally and they’re a common sight around town. Coming from North West Ireland Albinos were a less common sight with only 1 or 2 that I ever remembered seeing growing up and since then I‘ve never really noticed that many, no more than a handful. As the years have passed I have had the vague impression from the news that Albinos were much more common amongst the black population compared to the white population in general.

Albinism is a congenital disorder characterised by the complete or partial absence of pigment in the skin, hair and eyes. It is suggested that it more commonly affects black people (1 in 4,000 chance of getting it) more than white people (1 in 17,000).

From a perspective of ignorance, it might be fair to say that being an Albino in Ireland is probably not as big a trial as being one in the tropics in the burning sun, but of course I wouldn’t know. Even in the tropics here in Vanuatu, and with the danger of the suns mean heat on the unprotected sufferers’ skin, the situation doesn’t seem as bad as living in some places in Africa with the condition.

Over the years I’ve noticed news stories from places like South Africa and Tanzania where being an Albino means that you live in fear for your life and not because of the suns scorching heat on your skin. According to reports, Albinos are regularly abducted and killed and their body parts harvested and sold to witchdoctors for the purposes of magic. In some places it is believed that Albinos are cursed and are shunned by society, or that to have an Albino body part in your possession is to bring good luck.

Luckily, here in Luganville, those extreme prejudices against Albinos do not seem to exist and those suffering are free to go about their business in the bright, sweltering heat. Their main problem lies here as they walk about in their shorts and t-shirts without any apparent protection for their skin or eyes. No sun hats, sunglasses, sunscreen and no long sleeves equate to serious skin problems scaled and pocked with cancerous lesions. You would wonder was anyone doing anything to educate them on maybe covering up a bit.

Did I say luckily? My white Irishman skin is like Sherman tank armour compared to this.

Some Reading on the topic

http://www.independent.ie/lifestyle/health/beyond-the-pale-how-albinos-cope-with-other-peoples-prejudices-26294011.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persecution_of_people_with_albinism

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albinism

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-20096144

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-21675536

A Funny Conversation

I had a funny and interesting conversation the other day.

I went to the Land Department to pay for some mapping ordered and beg for a loan of a gps and maybe a measuring wheel. I arrived to discover the man I was having difficulty communicating with by email and phone only spoke Pidgin English and the French language. So I thought, nows the time to practise my school French. We had a 30 minute conversation in 3 different languages simultaneously; French, Bislama and English. Sometimes sentences had all 3 languages. It was forever teetering on the edge of complete misunderstanding and there were frequent puzzled stares, raised eyebrows and gesticulations from both sides. The result was he tried to sell me 3 more maps and aerials but I cried the poor mouth so he gave them to me for free.

That was an interesting mornings work. There was no need for coffee after that; the brain was fully awake.