Little Yellow Taxi

Near Redhook.

National Haus Krai

May 15, 2013
Beginning yesterday through today is National Haus Krai day, a vigil against the endemic violence against women in PNG.  A fact I’ve been made aware of through Facebook and postings showing up there – as well as the two links below.

PNG is a country full of unbelievable phenomenon – and it is often in the international spotlight for the negative reasons – I have purposefully tried to focus mostly on the positive.  There is such a beauty to the country and in so many of the people but domestic violence is a very serious, very heartbreaking issue.  There is no country or culture without problems.

If you spend any time in PNG the stories you will hear that at first sound unbelievable quickly become the norm but are no less horrifying or shocking for their commonality.  A friend who was in PNG for 9 months wrote about this violence here, – where she describes her typical day as a doctor with the Medecin Sans Frontiere (MSF) (aka -Doctors Without Borders).  As she mentions MSF posts are typically found in areas afflicted by violence of another sort but in PNG the domestic abuse is so high (believed to be at an astonishing 100% in some areas) that they have a group in Lae just for the victims of this type of violence.  I remember talking with her and many of her colleagues and hearing about their work.  During those conversations I would always think how fortunate I was to be teaching, to be seeing a more beautiful side to the people of PNG.  What each of those volunteers saw on a daily basis I can’t even imagine.  The cases that Nina mentions in that article aren’t even the worst.  If that’s what you dealt with on a daily basis I can’t imagine how that might change your view on the country and even humanity.

Another visitor to PNG I met this past year was working on a photography project documenting domestic abuse in PNG (he also sited abuse rates at close to 99% in the Highlands).  He talked about some of his subjects – one I’ll never forget was a seven year-old girl, who was taken by her drunk uncle and gang-raped for hours by him and his friends.

Another method of discriminating against women and furthering this abuse is the recent rise in Witch Hunt‘s practices against those believe to be practicing sorcery, also known as sanguma.  The short video in the link is well worth the watch.

Sociologically speaking there are a number of factors that lead to this problem.  On the up-side education, in its many forms, can dramatically reduce many of the factors – whether it’s raising boys to respect women, or communities to be proactive against violence, which is precisely the point of the National Haus Krai.  Awareness is a tool, a starting point, for putting an end to the long line of victims whose scars come in too many forms.

Photo taken in Goroka, 2010 – women and children (all unknown) depicted live in the region where the rates are thought to be close to 99%.

New Museum

City Gardens and Trailer Parks

Saturday, May 4, 2013

It’s New York’s void spaces that make it interesting, the little neighborhood garden’s, the parks, and of course the most famous of them all – Central Park. At the Idea City Street Fest there were a number of creative ideas about inserting more garden’s and parks into the urban environment.

While one concerned citizen showcased plants on the roof of her vehicle this Trailer Park transforms its interior into a portable garden.

Idea City Festival

Saturday, May 4, 2013

I nearly stayed put today, with so many street fests in NYC I didn’t think this one would be too different, I couldn’t have been more wrong…

From the first to the last, from the body movers, to the garbage musicians, from the inventors of games to gadgets, from the space-like temporary architecture, to the fantastic garden interventions the streets were full of ‘creative capital’ – the type that inspires and motivates.  Recycled styrofoam ‘sculpture,’ / ‘pavers’ (???)

A room with a view

at least for now…and you’d think that view would be motivating enough to get me to workout!

Idea City talks

This week I attended a few lectures which were part of a four day ‘conference’ called Idea City.  The lectures focused on our ‘Untapped Capital’ and how cities can prosper from this. Speakers included Joi Ito, (the keynote) who is the current director of MIT’s Media Lab, as well as Japan’s first internet service provider which started in his bathroom…

Tulips on Park Avenue

These are probably the most photographed tulips in the world…  

All up and down the centre median of Park Avenue the scarlet hues attract the attention of anyone with a camera, including myself – it’s impossible to resist taking a couple (ahem, or a lot).

There are a beautiful variety of tulips to be found along the curbs throughout the city right now.and I wonder if any are related to the rare breeds that caused an economic bubble and subsequent crash in Holland 400 years ago when single bulbs made and broke speculator’s entire fortunes.