A trip of a life time
On the 2nd of September, 14 young girls from PNGIMR Goroka took a rather risky trip down the Highlands Highway to Lae, Nadzab airport, in the early hours of the morning to board theAir Niugini Folkeer 100 to attend the 42nd Medical symposium in Port Moresby. After they were rejected seats on Air Niugini in Goroka (even though their tickets were confirmed). Ms Annemarie Laumaea reports on their risky, but exciting ordeal.
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pictured are the 14 pngimr females who travelled to lae to board the plane to port moresby, to attend the 42nd medical symposium, with their police escort. |
That simple right? For some it was all a breeze.
Waltz in, hand in your tickets, receive your boarding pass and voil, you’re on your way to Moresby City.
Not for the unnameable fourteen. Many a trial was in store!
It was common knowledge. Around this time of the year the scientific staff of the Institute of Medical Research mass-travelled to the destination in which, as one of our colleges so candidly put it, “the highlight of our academic year,” the medical symposium, was to be held.
The past years were different. Madang 2006 was a blast!
We arrived in Madang in style, although somewhat dusty and achy from the bumpy ride down the Highlands Highway.
But nevertheless, IN STYLE! Some may even remember the excitement at the reception of the Madang Resort when finding out accommodation arrangements.
The staff went berserk! Some were to sleep on the MV Discoverer, others well, the three-bedroom, air-conditioned, self-contained, newly furnished, mirrors literally everywhere, bungalows, in tropical rainforest style surroundings were what was left. But let us not forget. This is not about Madang. This is about Port Moresby. Where nothing goes wrong! Where airline X’s job is at its best!
Where we, from the wop-wops, are able to see the fast-paced development of this country. Or did we misunderstand something?
Despite arriving at the Goroka airport 7 hours before our flight to Pom, these fourteen, mistaken by some as container-dwelling organisms, were cold-heartedly refused boarding: on both the morning and evening flights!
Airline X’s Port Moresby branch, despite ‘supposed’ advice from staff from Goroka to provide special flights for backlogged passengers, would not initiate a rescue mission despite mass numbers of ‘confirmed’ backlogged passengers from as early as the beginning of the week.
Instead the regular tiny 40 seater aircraft was sent. Tempers raged! Insults and curses filled the air!
Pride plummeted from as high as Mt Michael to, to…well, you can imagine what low it reached!
Some said the tickets ‘did not have a special mark on it’, others cried gender discrimination.
I mean, even boarding pass swaps with male collegues, was disallowed. On what grounds?!! Airline X’s staff maintained that the mistake of having confirmed tickets for the flight a day before was made in the main office in Port Moresby.
Sacrilege! Nothing ever, ever goes wrong in Port Moresby. Nonetheless, the reason for this very, very unfortunate, unforseen circumstance still remains a mystery - to most.
In any case, no travel to Port Moresby was gonna happen for these women until maybe sometime during the week, or worse - INDEFINITELY!!! What did they do? They gave up and went home right?!
NOPE! Not for these hot-headed women.
Arrangements were made, tickets rebooked and at 2 am in the morning, with the protection of two police officers and the serenity of our two trusty drivers, Papa K and Papa B, and the escort of one person’s partner, these fourteen lasses travelled the Highlands Highway to Lae to catch the 7:00 am flight to Port Moresby.
What went through their minds cannot even be described. Especially after hearing that, that very night three women had been taken hostage at the infamous Barola hold-up point.
God-willing, the journey began.
The recently purchased IMR Hi-ace made its maiden voyage, whilst some passengers, made their first, yet very disappointing trip (too dark to sight-see) down to Lae. Unfortunate for some, it was such a bore.
There was a deafening silence! No laughter! No screeching and high pitched giggles that no doubt irritated seniors at the Institute.
None whatsoever! Fear, you ask? Not at all!! Tired! Tired from almost a month of sleepless nights and indisputably well rewarded pestering from that-who-was-in-charge-of trials.
Forty winks was what they got.
Forty winks and before you could even drift into REM Nadzab was in sight.
The girls boarded the flight, with their 32 pieces of luggage, plus, of course, a few bags and boxes of vegetables here and there-Moresby bound.
All went smoothly. How did the Symposium go? Now that’s another story on its own!
These fourteen, geriatrically challenged individuals, overcame fear of the unknown through fear of the Almighty.
They may have missed the opening ceremony and speeches (major shame!).
They may have missed the cocktail night (darn it!) but for these fourteen, much was gained, the women of the Institute of Medical Research learned one thing during that ordeal: UNITED WE FALL! We grab our footing (hopefully) and then UNITED WE STAND!
We believe we now know what IMR really stands for – Institute of the Masculinely-challenged Researchers, ain’t it?
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